Is Ghusl Valid When a Small Amount of Glue Is Covering My Nail?

I pray this finds you in the best of states.

Your ghusl and prayers are invalid because glue is a barrier preventing water from reaching your body. [Shurunbulali, Nur al-Idah]

In order to perform a valid ritual bath (ghusl) you have to wash your body fully. If even a small part of your skin or nails is covered by a barrier preventing the water from reaching underneath, then the ghusl is invalid. [Shurunbulali, Nur al-Idah]

Allah, Most High, says: “And if you are in a state of ˹full˺ impurity, then take a full bath.” [5.6]

Nonetheless, you don’t need to wash your body fully again. You only need to remove the glue and wash the area beneath because washing the entire body at the same time is not a condition for the validity of ghusl. Thus, you just need to remove the glue and wash your nail to complete your ghusl. [Shurunbulali, Maraqi al-Falah]

As for your invalid prayers, you have to repeat them fully because they were invalid.

And Allah knows best.

Wassalam

[Ustadh] Sufyan Qufi

Ustadh Sufyan Qufi is an advanced seeker of knowledge, originally from Algeria, who grew up in France. He began searching far and wide for answers to the fundamental questions of life and was disappointed at the answers he found. Then, he connected with various traditional teachers and gradually connected with SeekersGuidance. He embarked on his journey of learning through the various teachers at SeekersGuidance, including his mentor, Shaykh Faraz Rabbani. He studied numerous texts in Islamic Law, Theology, Hadith, and other areas with Shaykh Faraz Rabbani and other teachers, including Shaykh Abdurrahman al-Sha‘ar, Shaykh Ali Hani, and others. He is an active instructor at SeekersGuidance and answers questions through the SeekersGuidance Answers Service.