Invalid Ghusl & Prayers
Assalamualaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuhu. I pray this finds you in well being inshaAllah.
I would like to ask, if after studying fiqh, I realise there have been errors with my purification (ghusl) or salaah in the past, would that make the past worship invalid ? Would it all need to be re-done ?
Example when I first began menses at 13, I wasn’t aware of the fiqh of menstruation or the faraidh of ghusl. I would have a shower after 7 days and pray my salaah. Sometimes I did see brown spotting after showering but would ignore it and continue to pray.
However, I have no recollection for how long i continued doing that. I don’t remember seeing any spotting as i was growing up.Also with my ghusl, I don’t really remember when I started doing it right, with all the faraidh of it.
My question is, would I need to make up my prayers from the past? I am 37 now.
Answer
In the name of Allah, the Inspirer of truth
The fard (obligatory acts) of ghusl is to wash the whole body once, including rinsing the inside of the mouth and nose. If you did not complete the requisites, your ghusl was invalid. Whatever prayers you offered with this ghusl will also be invalid.
You should try hard and think back to when you started performing your ghusl correctly and estimate how many prayers you offered in this state and repeat those prayers insha’Allah.
Likewise, if you performed ghusl before your menstruation (hayd) ended and did not repeat the ghusl at its completion, this will affect the validity of the prayers prayed until a subsequent ghusl was taken. Again, you should think back and estimate how many years you offered prayers in this way and repeat those prayers insha’Allah.
Once you calculate the total number, it may help to make a spreadsheet to track the prayers you need to make up. It can be easier to start with the shorter prayers, such as Fajr and Maghrib, and move to the longer prayers. We recommend that you try to make up at least one prayer with each current prayer that you offer.
And Allah knows best.
