What is the ruling concerning the prayers offered by a married woman who placed a protective plaster over a wound on her upper arm, and did not notice its presence to remove it when performing ghusl from janabah until four days later? Does she have to repeat them, knowing that the wound was painful at the beginning? And must she remove the plaster from the area when performing wudu, even if it is painful?

If direct washing or wiping of the wound is difficult, your ritual bath (ghusl (definition)) is valid, and so are your prayers, if you wash or wipe over the protective bandage. However, if direct washing or wiping does not harm the wound, your ritual bath is invalid, your prayers are void, and they must be repeated, according to the hadith (definition) in Abu Dawud regarding the necessity of water reaching all parts of the body. Note that slight pain alone does not permit wiping. A shine on the upper arm affects only the ghusl, not the ablution (wudu), unless it is on the elbow.