Do I Have To Repeat My Wudu If I Missed A Part Of My Ears In Wudu And Made Up For It After My Hands Had Dried?

Question: Assalamu ’alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh, Sheikh. I have a question regarding my wudu. While making wudu, I reached the step of wiping my ears. I took fresh water for wiping them and started wiping both ears. Immediately afterwards, I realised that I had missed wiping a small part of both the ears. Without taking fresh water again, I continued wiping the missed part. By that time, however, my hands had already become dry. After that, I continued my wudu normally, by washing my feet. My question is: Is my wudu valid, or was I required to take fresh water again before wiping the missed part of the ears, since my hands had become dry? Jazakum Allahu khayran

Summary:

Yes, your wudu is valid, Allah willing. You were not required to take fresh water in order to wipe the part of your ears that you had missed.

Answer:

The ears are part of the head, and they are wiped rather than washed. It is authentically reported that the Prophet ﷺ wiped his head and his ears. The basic principle is that wiping is performed with the moisture remaining on the hand, and the objective is not to apply a specific amount of water.

In the situation you described:

You took fresh water and wiped your ears.

Then you remembered that a small part of them had not been wiped.

So you immediately completed wiping it, without a long interruption, although your hands had already dried.

This does not affect the validity of your wudu, because:

A slight drying of the hands after wiping does not require taking fresh water.

Your initial wiping was valid, and what you did afterward was merely completing the part of the limb that had been missed.

If you had taken fresh water, that would have been permissible, but it was not obligatory.

A number of scholars have explicitly stated that taking fresh water for the ears is not obligatory in the first place. Rather, the correct view is that the ears are wiped together with the head, whether using the moisture from wiping the head or fresh water.

From the Sunnah:

It is reported in the Sunan, and Shaykh al-Albani رحمه الله authenticated itfrom Abu Umamah al-Bahili رضي الله عنه that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
"The ears are part of the head."

It is Sunnah to wipe the ears together with the head using the same water. This is the view of the Hanafis, a narration from Imam Ahmad رحمه الله, the opinion of al-Thawri رحمه الله, and it has also been reported from a number of the Salaf. It was the view preferred by Ibn Taymiyyah رحمه الله, Ibn al-Qayyim رحمه الله, al-Sanani رحمه الله, Ibn Baz رحمه الله, al-Albani رحمه الله, and Ibn Uthaymin رحمه الله. I say: All of those who described the Prophet's ﷺ wudu did not mention that he took fresh water specifically for his ears.

From the Scholars:

Shaykh Ibn Uthaymin رحمه الله also said:
"The correct view is that it is not Sunnah to take fresh water for the ears."
He also said:
"It is not required to take fresh water for the ears, nor is it even recommended according to the correct opinion, because all of those who described the Prophet's ﷺ wudu did not mention that he took fresh water for his ears. Therefore, what is better is to wipe the ears with the remaining moisture left after wiping the head."

Conclusion: Your wudu is valid. You are not required to take fresh water to complete wiping the small part of the ears that was missed. Merely drying of the hands after wiping does not invalidate the wiping or require repeating the wudu. In the future, it is better to ensure that the ears are completely wiped the first time, in order to avoid scholarly disagreement and to follow the Sunnah.

And Allah knows best.

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Do I Have To Repeat My Wudu If I Missed A Part Of My Ears In Wudu And Made Up For It After My Hands Had Dried?

Summary:

From the Sunnah:

From the Scholars:

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