Does Rinsing My Fingers after Blowing My Nose Invalidate My Wudu?
Answered by Ustadh Sufyan Qufi
Question
When I put water in my nose in wudu and blow it out with my left hand when pulling out all that’s in my nose. On my fingers, I always get mucus on my fingers, so I put a bit of water on my fingertips to wash that away from my hand because my hand is dirty and to wash that away so when I am washing my face, I use both hands so that my left hand is clean. Is this permissible to do am I adding a step to wudu, please?
Answer
In the name of Allah, the Most Compassionate, Most Merciful,
I pray this finds you in the best of states.
Your wudu remains valid despite taking the time to clean your fingers. [Shurunbulali, Nur al-Idah]
Removing mucus from the nose, whether solid or liquid, will never break your wudu. [Ibid]
This is because mucus is not deemed filthy in the Hanafi School. Only the exiting of filth will break your wudu.
Please see this answer to know what exactly breaks wudu:
It is also not a condition for the validity of wudu that all the actions of wudu happen in a specific order or in succession without any interruption. [Ibid]
This is because Allah, Most High, has not mentioned these conditions in the Quran for a valid wudu.
Allah, Most High, says: “O believers! When you rise up for prayer, wash your faces and your hands up to the elbows, wipe your heads, and wash your feet to the ankles.” [Quran, 5:6]
Nonetheless, it is Sunna to follow the order practiced by the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and give him peace) and avoid any interruption. You will be rewarded for that. [Ibid]
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.
