❖ What is the Ruling on Praying Without Wudu? ❖
Source: Fatāwā Amunpuri by Shaykh Ghulam Mustafa Zaheer Amunpuri
Question:
What is the ruling on performing prayer without wudu?
Answer:
Being in a state of wudu is a condition for the validity of prayer. Without it, prayer is not valid.
- If someone prays without wudu out of forgetfulness or unawareness, once he realizes it, he must repeat the prayer, though he is not sinful.
- If someone knowingly prays without wudu, it is a major sin, and he must make wudu and repeat the prayer.
✿ Statements of the Scholars
❀ Sayyidunā ʿAbdullāh ibn Masʿūd رضي الله عنه said:
مفتاح الصلاة الطهور وإحرامها التكبير وانقضاتها التسليم.
“The key to prayer is purification (wudu), its opening is Takbīr (saying Allāhu Akbar), and its closing is Taslīm (salutation of peace).”
(al-Sunan al-Kubrā by al-Bayhaqī 2/16, 173 — with an authentic chain)
Imām al-Bayhaqī رحمه الله graded it authentic.
❀ Ḥāfiẓ al-Nawawī رحمه الله (d. 676H) said:
أجمعوا على أنها لا تصح منه سواء إن كان عالما بحدثه أو جاهلا أو ناسيا … وإن كان عالما بالحدث … فقد ارتكب معصية عظيمة.
“There is consensus that prayer without wudu is not valid — whether one is aware of being without wudu, unaware, or forgetful. If he prays out of ignorance or forgetfulness, he is not sinful. But if he prays knowingly in a state of impurity, then he has committed a grave sin.”
(al-Majmūʿ: 2/67)
Conclusion:Praying without wudu invalidates the prayer by consensus. If done knowingly, it is a major sin; if done unknowingly or forgetfully, there is no sin, but repeating the prayer is obligatory.
