Do Small Particles In Between Finger Nails Prevent Water Penetrating?
Answered by Mawlana Ilyas Patel
Question
The thumbs of my fingers maybe have a gap between the nail and the side skin that is larger than perhaps the average person. Particles fall into these gaps but can’t be seen unless I pull apart the foreskin and look closely under bright light; sometimes, it also hurts. Water does not remove these particles, and I have no other way but to use a pointy object like a toothpick. I thought this was unnecessary, and now I pull the side skin apart to allow a better water flow and don’t even check to see particles. Is this fine?
The same goes for the fingers of my hand, but the particles here are much easier to remove and see. I have to check each finger individually, and what should I do if the light in the area is insufficient?
Answer
In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful and Compassionate
I pray you are in good faith and health. Thank you for your question and for showing concern for the validity of your wudu.
It is fine to pull the skin slightly apart to allow water penetration. By its nature, water penetrates most things and reaches the smallest of areas. So if there is not enough light to see, like you mention, water would have reached the in-between areas.
Dirt from the ground, moist or dry, on the skin, or in between nails does not prevent the validity of the washing of the skin.
[IbnʿAbidin, Radd al-Muhtar;ʿAla’uddin ‘Ibn ʿAbidin, Al-Hadiyya al-Ala’iyya]
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Wassalam,
[Mawlana] Ilyas Patel
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani
Mawlana Ilyas Patel is a traditionally-trained scholar who has studied in the UK, India, Pakistan, Syria, Jordan, and Turkey. He started his early education in the UK. He went on to complete the hifz of the Quran in India, then enrolled in an Islamic seminary in the UK, where he studied the secular and ‘Aalimiyya sciences. He then traveled to Karachi, Pakistan. He has been an Imam in Rep of Ireland for several years. He has taught hifz of the Quran, Tajwid, Fiqh, and many other Islamic sciences to children and adults onsite and online extensively in the UK and Ireland. He taught at a local Islamic seminary for 12 years in the UK, where he was a librarian and a teacher of Islamic sciences. He currently resides in the UK with his wife. His interest is a love of books and gardening.
