Must One Make Up Prayers Performed Without Ghusl After Masturbation?
Answered by Ustadh Sufyan Qufi
Question
If one realizes at Isha that they may have been in a state of major impurity due to forgetting ghusl after masturbation, and they prayed earlier prayers without it, must they make up those prayers?
Additionally, if one is unsure about being in a state of major impurity, should they perform ghusl out of caution or ignore the doubt?
Answer
In the name of Allah, Most Compassionate, Most Merciful,
As long as you are not sure that you were in a state of major ritual impurity (janaba), you should assume that you were not. [Haskafi, Dur al-Mukhatar]
The ruling above is a direct application of the following principle: “Certainty is not lifted by a doubt.” [Majalla]
This is, in turn, based on the following verse of the Quran: “Most of them follow nothing but conjectures. Surely, conjectures are of no avail in the matter of truth at all.” [Quran, 10:36] [Du‘ass, al-Qawa‘id al-Fiqhiyya]
You were sure that you were ritually pure. Thus doubts regarding a hypothetical state of impurity can be legally ignored.
Of course, if you are sure that you were in a state of major ritual impurity and you didn’t perform a ghusl afterwards then all your subsequent prayers were invalid and you will have to repeat them.
Allah, Most High, says: “And if you are in a state of ˹full˺ impurity, then take a full bath.” [5.6]
And Allah knows best.
[Ustadh] Sufyan Qufi
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Abdul-Rahim Reasat
Ustadh Sufyan Qufi is an advanced seeker of knowledge, originally from Algeria, who grew up in France. He began searching for ways to learn Islam reliably and was disappointed at the answers he found locally.
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.
