Do I Have to Wash Moisturising Cream on My Skin Before Performing Wudu?

Answered by Ustadh Tabraze Azam

Question: Assalam alaykum

Can you please advise what length I should go to ensure all the layers on the face from cream and oil used to massage beard and grease on the hair on my head should be washed out completely every time I make wudu?

Answer: Wa alaykum assalam wa rahmat Allah,

The basis is that your ritual ablution (wudu) would be valid and sound as long as the cream does not form a perceptible barrier upon the skin which prevents water penetration.

This is because the command is to wash the face, and if the face is covered by something effectively akin to a mask, you haven’t fulfilled the command.

It is rare, nevertheless, to have this problem with most standard creams and the like. Ignore misgivings.

[Shurunbulali, Maraqi al-Falah (1.98)]

Consider taking the following free class at SeekersGuidance: Absolute Essentials of Islam: Basic Hanafi Jurisprudence (STEP).

Please also see: How To Perform Wudu When One is Suffering from Eczema?

And Allah Most High alone knows best.

Wassalam,

[Ustadh] Tabraze Azam

Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Ustadh Tabraze Azam holds a BSc in Computer Science from the University of Leicester, where he also served as the President of the Islamic Society. He memorized the entire Qur’an in his hometown of Ipswich at the tender age of sixteen, and has since studied the Islamic Sciences in traditional settings in the UK, Jordan and Turkey. He is currently pursuing advanced studies in Jordan, where he is presently based with his family.