✿ Purity from Major and Minor Impurities is a Condition for the Validity of Prayer
Written by: Imran Ayub Lahori
◈ Evidence from Hadith
It is narrated from Hazrat Abu Hurairah رضي الله عنه that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
ولا يقبل الله صلاة أحدكم إذا أحدث حتى يتوضا
[Bukhari 135, Abu Dawood 60, Tirmidhi 76, Ahmad 308/2, Ibn Khuzaymah 11]
❝Allah does not accept the prayer of any one of you when he is in a state of impurity until he performs ablution (wudu).❞
Hazrat Abu Hurairah رضي الله عنه also narrated that a Bedouin began urinating while standing in the mosque. When the people got up to stop him, the Prophet ﷺ said:
دعوه وأريقوا على بوله سجلا من ماء فإنما بعثتم ميسرين ولم تبعثوا معسرين
[Bukhari 220, Kitab al-Wudu: Bab Sab al-Ma’ ‘ala al-Bawl fil-Masjid, Abu Dawood 380, Tirmidhi 147, Nasa’i 175/1, Ibn Majah 529, Ahmad 282/2]
❝Leave him, and pour a bucket of water over his urine. You have been sent to make things easy, not to make them difficult.❞
◈ Obligation vs. Condition
According to the majority of scholars, these three actions are obligatory for prayer, while some claim they are conditions for the validity of prayer. Others consider them Sunnah, but the correct opinion is that they are obligatory (wājib).
[Al-Rawdah al-Nadiyyah 225/1, Fiqh al-Sunnah 111/1]
◈ Definition of Wājib (Obligatory Act)
هو الفعل الذى طلب الشارع طلبا جازما بحيث يثاب فاعله و يعاقب تاركه
[Al-Bahr al-Muhit li al-Zarkashi 176/1, Al-Ihkam li al-Amidi 19/1, Al-Mustasfa li al-Ghazali 27/1, Al-Muwafaqat li al-Shatibi 109/1]
❝A deed that is decisively demanded by the Lawgiver (Sharī‘ah), for which the doer is rewarded and the one who abandons it is punished (e.g., prayer, fasting, etc.).❞
Conclusion
The three aforementioned actions — purification of clothing, body, and place — are obligatory but not conditions for validity of the prayer. This means that if someone omits any of these, the prayer will still be considered performed, although omitting an obligation incurs sin. If they were actual conditions, leaving any of them would render the prayer invalid — which is not the case.
❀ And Cover Your Private Parts (ʿAwrah)
➊ Divine Command
يَـبَنِي آدَمَ خُذُوا زِينَتَكُمْ عِندَ كُلِّ مَسْجِدٍ
[Al-A‘raf: 31]
❝O children of Adam! Take your adornment (i.e., wear your proper clothing) at every place of worship.❞
According to Ibn Kathir رحمه الله, adornment here refers to clothing that covers the private parts (ʿawrah).
[Taysir al-ʿAli al-Qadeer 197/2]
Qurtubi رحمه الله states that this verse indicates the obligation of covering the ʿawrah.
[Tafsir al-Qurtubi 190/4]
The majority (jumhūr) of scholars agree that covering the ʿawrah is one of the obligations of prayer.
[Ibid]
Some people are of the view that covering the ʿawrah is a condition for the validity of prayer.
[Fath al-Bari 13/2]
Shawkani رحمه الله affirms that the correct opinion is that covering the ʿawrah is obligatory, not a condition.
[Nayl al-Awtar 540/1]
➋ Hadith on Preserving the ʿAwrah
Narrated by Buhz ibn Hakim from his father from his grandfather رضي الله عنهم, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
احـفـظ عورتك إلا من زوجتك أو ما ملكت يمينك
[Hasan: Mishkat 3117, Ahmad 3/5 – 4, Abu Dawood 4017, Kitab al-Hammam: Bab Ma Ja’a fi al-Taʿarri, Tirmidhi 2769, Ibn Majah 1920, Bukhari (Muʿallaq) 278, Fath al-Bari 513/1]
❝Guard your private parts except from your wife or those whom your right hands possess.❞
The narrator said, “If one of us is alone (can he uncover himself)?” The Prophet ﷺ replied:
فالله أحق أن يستحيى منه
[Nayl al-Awtar 531/1]
❝Allah is more deserving that one should feel shy before Him.❞
✔ General Ruling
Covering the ʿawrah is obligatory at all times, except during:
- Relieving oneself
- Intercourse with one's wife
- Bathing
It is obligatory to cover it from all people, except:
- One’s wife and female slave
- And (when needed) from a doctor or the like
