Is a Ghusl Accepted without Wiping the Bandage over an Injury?

Answered by Ustadh Sufyan Qufi

Question

I had an accident and got injured. Then I got a bandage on my arm. And the doctor prescribed me not to let water pass through the bandage. Then I had to perform the ghusl, and I had very difficulty wrapping my arm bandage with the plastic bag. After finishing ghusl my arm was completely dry and I didn’t knew to wipe the bandage with wet hands. What should I do now and is my ghusl accepted or not?

Answer

In the name of Allah, Most Compassionate, Most Merciful,

I pray this finds you in the best of states.

If it was harmful to you to wipe the bandage over your arm with wet hands, then your ritual bath (ghusl) was valid. [Ibn ‘Abidin, Radd al-Muhtar]

If it was not harmful to you to wipe with wet hands the bandage over your arm, then your ghusl was not valid because it was not complete. [Ibid.]

This means that the prayers performed in this state were invalid because you were still in a state of major ritual impurity (janaba).

Nonetheless, if you have not been affected by anything that would entail entering a state of janaba (such as a wet dream), then the only thing you need to do to complete your ghusl is wiping your bandage with wet hands. That’s it. Thus, you don’t have to repeat the whole process of taking a shower and washing the rest of your body. [Ibid.]

You don’t have to wipe all of your bandage with your wet hands. It is enough to wipe out most of it. [Ibid.]

You also don’t need to have a specific intention while doing this wiping for it to be valid. [Ibid.]

Please remember that if wiping it would be harmful, then you don’t have to do anything. [Ibid.]

Please remember also that when dealing with these issues, it is strongly advised to have the opinion of a Muslim doctor aware of the rulings of the Shari‘a. Nonetheless, you are allowed to use a non-muslim doctor and use your personal judgment in those situations. [Ibid]

Proof

All of the rulings above are based on the practice of the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace be upon him). [Marghinani, al-Hidaya]

Ibn ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said: “The Messenger of Allah (Blessings and peace be upon him) used to wipe over casts.” [Daraqutni]

Even if the soundness of this hadith is disputed the practice of Ibn ‘Umar (May Allah be pleased with him) regarding this issue is soundly established which indicates that he learned this directly from the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace be upon him). [Ibn al-Humam, Fath al-Qadir]

And Allah knows best.
Wassalam
[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.