Is My Prayer Valid If I Missed Part of Wudu Out of Ignorance?
Hanafi Fiqh
Answered by Ustadh Sufyan Qufi
Question
Is my past prayer valid if I unknowingly washed only the front of my face in wudu, believing it was sufficient? Does ignorance excuse this mistake?
Answer
In the name of Allah, the Most Compassionate, Most Merciful,
I pray this finds you in the best of states.
Generally speaking, in our time, ignorance is not an excuse in Islam despite living in a non-muslim country. This is the position of many contemporary scholars.
To perform a valid wudu, you need to wash your face from ear to ear and from chin to the top of the forehead, your arms up to the elbows, and your feet once. You also need to wipe your head once. [Shurunbulali, Nur al-Idah]
Allah, Most High, says:
“O you who believe when you rise for the prayer wash your faces and your hands up to the elbows, and wipe your heads and (wash) your feet up to the ankles. If you are in a state of major impurity, cleanse yourselves well (by taking a bath).” [Quran, 5:6]
Without these actions, your wudu and prayers won’t be valid, and you will need to repeat those prayers.
And Allah knows best.
Wassalam
[Ustadh] Sufyan Qufi
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Abdul-Rahim Reasat
Ustadh Sufyan Qufi is an advanced seeker of knowledge, originally from Algeria, who grew up in France. He began searching for ways to learn Islam reliably and was disappointed at the answers he found locally.
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.
