Back to search

Why did you issue a fatwa (religious edict) making it obligatory to deliver water beneath the nail, and does dirt under it prevent the validity of wudu' (ablution), and is this considered an undue hardship?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

What is beneath the fingernails is considered part of the outer body, and it is obligatory to cover it with water. Scholars have differed regarding dirt under the fingernails: some have made it obligatory to remove it for water to reach, while others have been lenient due to the difficulty of avoiding it and the widespread nature of the affliction, such as Al-Ghazali, who argued that the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, ordered the trimming of fingernails and disapproved of dirt beneath them but did not order the repetition of prayers. Some differentiated between dirt generated by the human body and mud or dough, while others stipulated that the nail must be long enough to cover the fingertip. Scholars agree on the obligation of ensuring water reaches beneath the fingernails, except for what they differed upon concerning the dirt under them.

Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026

Read the full answer on Ftawy