What is the ruling for forgetting to wash the face during wudu' and remembering it while praying? And what is the ruling for forgetting to wipe the head and remembering it after finishing the prayer? And why did the Malikis divide the conditions of wudu' into three categories, and were they unique in this?

Washing the face and wiping the head are two agreed-upon obligatory acts (fard) in ablution (wudu’). Whoever remembers during prayer that they missed one of them must stop the prayer. And whoever remembers after prayer, their prayer is invalid. If one remembers forgetting to wash the face or wipe the head shortly after, they wash the limb and repeat the rest of the ablution to observe the order (tartib).

If a long time has passed, then according to the Hanbalis, one must repeat the ablution because continuity (muwalat) is considered an obligation. However, according to the Malikis, one immediately washes the forgotten limb with the intention of completing the ablution without repeating the rest, as continuity is waived due to forgetfulness.

The conditions for ablution are divided into: conditions for obligation (when ablution becomes obligatory), conditions for validity (what ablution is not valid without), and conditions for both obligation and validity (if a condition from these is missing, ablution is neither obligatory nor valid).