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Is the prayer of the Imam and the congregants valid if the Imam remembered during the first rak'ah that he had not wiped over his broken arm during ablution, so he wiped against the wall and repeated the opening takbir?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

If someone forgets to wash or wipe a part of the ablution (wudu') organs, their purification is invalid, and they must perfect their ablution. If they remember immediately, they should wash the forgotten part and the parts that follow it. However, if they remember after the limbs have dried or during prayer, they must repeat both the ablution and the prayer. The Imam should have withdrawn, appointed a successor, and performed a correct ablution, observing the proper sequence and continuity. If washing or wiping the wound area would cause harm, he should perform tayammum for it. The Imam's prayer is invalid and he must repeat it. As for the congregant (ma'mum), if they knew about the Imam's impurity during the prayer, they must separate and complete their prayer individually. If they only found out after the prayer, their prayer is valid. For those congregants who realized that the Imam was impure, their prayer is invalid and they must repeat it. For those who did not notice, their prayer is valid.

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

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