What is the ruling regarding past prayers and fasting for someone who was ignorant that masturbation necessitates ghusl or invalidates the fast, and what is the ruling regarding the two days on which he masturbated after gaining knowledge, and what is the expiation for repeated oaths to abandon masturbation and then breaking them?
Upon reaching puberty, a Muslim must learn the essential matters of their religion. Masturbation is forbidden (haram) and necessitates ghusl (ritual purification bath), and it invalidates fasting. Whoever masturbated and prayed without performing ghusl must repeat the prayers they performed while in a state of janabah (major ritual impurity). They should make up for what they believe would absolve them of their obligation, and ignorance is not an excuse for not making up prayers. As for fasting, one is not required to make up for fasts invalidated during the period when they were ignorant of the prohibition of masturbation. However, they must make up for the two days on which masturbation occurred after they learned it was an invalidator of the fast. Whoever swore an oath and broke it multiple times without expiating for it, according to the majority of scholars, must offer an expiation (kaffarat yameen) for each instance of breaking the oath. However, the Hanbalis hold that only one expiation is required if all oaths were broken before expiation was performed.
Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026
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