Does Clipping Nails or Cutting Hair Break Wudu?

Answered By Shaykh Dr. Muhammad Fayez Awad

Question

Is it true that if someone clips their nails or cuts their hair while in a state of wudu (ablution), they must redo their wudu because a part of their body has been uncovered and did not receive water?

Answer

Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and peace and blessings be upon His noble messenger, his family, and all his companions.

This statement is not correct, and as far as I know, none of the scholars of the four major Islamic Schools of thought have ever said this. The invalidators of wudu are well-known and clearly defined in the books of jurisprudence across the four schools.

In “al-Ghurar al-Bahiyya,” it is stated:

“If someone performs wudu and then cuts off part of their hand or foot, shaves their head, or clips their nails, they remain in a state of wudu.” [Ansari, al-Ghurar al-Bahiyya]

And all praise is due to Allah, the Lord of all worlds.

[Shaykh] Dr. Muhammad Fayez Awad

Shaykh Dr. Muhammad Fayez Awad, born in Damascus, Syria, in 1965, pursued his Islamic studies in the mosques and institutes of Damascus. A graduate of the Islamic University of Medina in 1985, he holds a Ph.D. in Islamic Studies from Bahauddin Zakariya University in Pakistan.

He has extensive experience developing curricula and enhancing the teaching of various academic courses, including conducting intensive courses. Shaykh Awad has taught Fiqh, Usul al-Fiqh, Quranic sciences, the history of legislation, inheritance laws, and more at several institutes and universities such as Al-Furqan Institute for Islamic Sciences and Majma‘ al-Fath al-Islami in Damascus.

He is a lecturer at the Sultan Muhammad al-Fatih Waqf University in Istanbul, teaching various Arabic and Islamic subjects, and teaches at numerous Islamic institutes in Istanbul. Shaykh Awad is a member of the Association of Syrian Scholars, a founding member of the Zayd bin Thabit Foundation, a member of the Syrian Scholars Association, and a member of the Academic Council at the Iman Center for Teaching the Sunna and Quran.

Among his teachers from whom he received Ijazat are his father, Shaykh Muhammad Muhiyiddin Awad, Shaykh Muhiyiddin al-Kurdi, Shaykh Muhammad Karim Rajih, Shaykh Usama al-Rifai, Shaykh Ayman Suwaid, Shaykh Ahmad al-Qalash, Shaykh Muhammad Awwama, and Shaykh Mamduh Junayd.