What Should I Do after Purifying Myself with Non-purifying Water?

Answered by Ustadh Sufyan Qufi

Question

I used water which was pure but not purifying for ghusl in the past for a while; but I thought it was purifying, and had no knowledge of it not being purifying. Is my ghusl in the past valid?

Also, if I prayed invalidly and didn’t know, so I prayed other prayers without having made up the invalid one [had less than 6 prayers to make up], are the ones after valid?

Answer

I pray this finds you in the best of states.

Performing a ritual bath (ghusl) or wudu with non-purifying water is invalid. If you were in a state of major ritual impurity before using this water, this state has remained. Thus your prayers prayed in this state are invalid because ritual purity is from the conditions for the validity of the prayer. [Shurunbulali, Nur al-Idah]

Allah, Most High, has said: ” O believers! When you rise up for prayer, wash your faces and your hands up to the elbows, wipe your heads, and wash your feet to the ankles. And if you are in a state of ˹full˺ impurity, then take a full bath.” [5.6]

The prayers you have prayed after the invalid prayers are all valid. [Shurunbulali, Nur al-Idah]

It is indeed necessary (wajib) to maintain the proper order between the obligatory prayers (Witr included). [Shurunbulali, Nur al-Idah]

Nonetheless, after missing an obligatory prayer, the obligatory prayer is merely temporarily invalid. If the missed prayer is not made up before the exiting of the fifth prayer prayed after the missed prayer, then all the prayers prayed after the missed prayer become definitely valid. [ibid]

If, on the other hand, the missed prayer is made up before the exiting of the fifth prayer prayed after the missed prayer, then all the prayers prayed after the missed prayer become definitely invalid.  [ibid]

All of the above is conditioned by the fact that you are knowing and remembering that you have missed a prayer. This is not your case, as you didn’t know some of your prayers were invalid, and forgetfulness is also an excuse for leaving the proper order between the obligatory prayers. [ibid]

This is because a human being is not able to perform a missed prayer that he has forgotten about. [Shurunbulali, Maraqi al-Falah]

Allah, Most High, says: “Allah does not require of any soul more than what it can afford.” [2.286]

And Allah knows best.

[Ustadh] Sufyan Qufi
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani 

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.