A question about drying the traces of urine

Answer:
- What people are accustomed to—taking hold of the penis with the left hand together with a clod of earth or a stone when leaving the place of relieving oneself—there is no report for it from the Prophet (May Allah bless him and his family and grant them peace), nor from any of the righteous predecessors.
- It is an uncommendable habit, because drying the urine is possible while seated for the one relieving himself; if he dries his urine then he can leave without needing to hold his penis.- Know that nothing of urine is excused, and it is obligatory upon the one relieving himself to be thorough in removing and cutting off the urine. The Sunnah has come to that effect in multiple sound ḥadīths.
Al-Hādī (peace be upon him) said: Water cuts off urine—meaning that when a man urinates and then washes his private part with water, the outflow of urine ceases completely. Accordingly, drying cannot be analogized to washing, for washing cuts off its trace and prevents its outflow, whereas drying does not prevent outflow.
- If a man performs wuḍūʾ and wants to cut off whispers (obsessive doubts), then let him sprinkle a handful of water between his thighs; the whispers will cease, because it will be impossible for the man to know whether anything of urine has exited—due to the abundance of moisture. The default is that nothing has exited, and one does not depart from this default except with certainty—which is not possible amid the abundance of moisture between the thighs.
- The scholars—despite their differing schools—are unanimous that urine and feces are severe impurities from which no amount is excused; they agreed that the ruling of their impurity is definitive. And the Sunnah has transmitted the command to perform natr three times—that is: after finishing urination, a man places his penis between his middle finger and thumb, then with his middle finger wipes/sweeps from the lower part of the penis upward to the upper part, then continues wiping along the underside of the penis until he reaches its tip; this wiping is accompanied by firm squeezing. The one who has urinated does this three times.
- The one relieving himself can avoid anything coming out after leaving the lavatory by being thorough in extracting what remains of urine—first by wiping, then by natr three times or more. If a small amount emerges after he leaves the lavatory, that indicates he was not thorough in extracting what remained of the urine. I have tried that in my own case.
But if a man is thoroughly and fully diligent as we have described, doing all that is reasonably possible, and then something comes out after leaving the lavatory: if it is something that does not stop for the whole time of the prayer, then it is urinary incontinence, and it takes its rulings; but if it does stop, then the worshiper must wash it from his body and from his garment—given what is known of the condition for prayer of the purity of the body, the garments, and the place.