Must a person afflicted with urinary incontinence observe continuity between Istinja’ (cleansing after urinating/defecating) and Wudu’ (ablution), then between Wudu’ and Salah (prayer)? And does sitting or reading the Qur’an and Hadith during the aforementioned two intervals affect his prayer, given that urine descends intermittently and suddenly? Is it permissible for him to combine two prayers with a single Wudu’, praying Dhuhr at home and Asr at the mosque? Is he obligated to begin with the obligatory prayer before the supererogatory ones? And if he makes a mistake in the prostration of forgetfulness, must he perform it again, and does that affect the continuity between the combined prayers? Is it permissible for a sick person to marry, and must he inform the woman's guardian, and is he obligated to wash his private parts before approaching his wife?
The Shafi'is hold that continuity (muwalat) is obligatory between cleansing (istinja'), ablution (wudu'), and prayer for a person afflicted with incontinence (sils). This means initiating prayer immediately after ablution to minimize the occurrence of the impurity. An exception to this is a delay for the benefit of the prayer, such as covering one's nakedness or waiting for the congregational prayer. Whereas the Hanbalis are of the view that what is obligatory for a person with incontinence is to perform ablution after the prayer time has begun, and then they may pray as many obligatory or supererogatory prayers as they wish. They are not required to re-tighten the bandage.
Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026
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