291. There is no harm in walking while performing wuÃÙ. Thus, if one takes a few steps after washing his face and hands, and then wipes his head and feet, his wuÃÙ will be valid.
Condition No. 11: The face and hands should be washed by the individual himself, and so should the head and feet be wiped by him. If another person performs the wuÃÙ on him or assists him in washing his face and hands or wiping his head and feet, his wuÃÙ will be invalid.
292. A person who cannot perform wuÃÙ himself, should appoint someone to perform it on him. Additionally, if the other person demands wages, he should pay him if he is able to, and if it does not cause him hardship. However, he should make the intention of wuÃÙ himself, and based on obligatory precaution, so should the one assisting him. He should also wipe with his own hands, and if he is unable to do so, his assistant should hold his hand and help him to wipe the part. If even this is not possible, the assistant should take the wetness from the person’s hands, and wipe his head and feet with it.
293. One should not seek assistance in performing the acts of wuÃÙ which he can perform by himself.
Condition No. 12: The one performing wuÃÙ should not be constrained from using the water.
294. One who fears that he may get sick if he performs wuÃÙ, should not perform it. Similarly, if he fears that using up the water for wuÃÙ will result in him remaining thirsty, and the thirst will lead to his illness, he should not perform wuÃÙ. If the thirst does not lead to his illness, he is free to choose between wuÃÙ and tayammum. If he is unaware that using the water is harmful for him, and performs wuÃÙ with it, it will be valid even if he later comes to realize that it was harmful for him, provided that incurring that harm is not forbidden by the sharia.
295. If there is no harm in washing the face and hands with a limited amount of water, which is just sufficient for performing wuÃÙ, and using more than it is harmful, one should perform wuÃÙ by limiting himself to that amount of water.
Condition No. 13: There should be no obstacle on the parts of wuÃÙ which prevents the water from reaching it.
296. If a person knows that something is stuck to a part of wuÃÙ, but doubts whether it prevents water from reaching it or not, he should either remove the thing, or ensure that water reaches the areas below it.
297. Dirt under a fingernail which is of normal length will not harm one’s wuÃÙ. However if the nail is cut, the dirt must be removed prior to performing wuÃÙ. If the nail is abnormally long, the dirt below the area of the nail which exceeds the normal length should be removed.
298. If swelling occurs on the face, hands, frontal area of the head, or upper surface of the feet, due to a burn or any other reason, washing and wiping over it will be sufficient. If a hole is formed in the area, it will not be necessary to make water reach the areas below the skin. In fact, if a part of its skin gets peeled off, it will not be necessary to make water reach areas below the parts which have not peeled off. However, if the skin which has been peeled off sometimes sticks to the body and sometimes hangs loose, he should either cut it off, or ensure that water reaches the areas below it.
299. If a person doubts whether something is stuck to the parts of wuÃÙ, and his doubt is deemed sensible by the people—like a potter doubting whether clay is stuck to his hands after work—he should inspect his hands, or scrub it to an extent that he attains satisfaction that even if clay was previously stuck to his hands, it has now been removed, or that the water has reached the areas below it.
300. There is no harm if the areas that need to be washed or wiped contain dirt, as long as it does not prevent water from reaching the body. The same will apply if following plastering or a similar task, a substance which does not prevent water from reaching the skin remains on the hands. However, if one doubts whether its presence prevents water from reaching the body or not, it should be removed.
301. If prior to performing wuÃÙ, a person knows that some parts of wuÃÙ contain obstacles that prevent water from reaching the body, and then doubts after performing wuÃÙ whether water reached those parts or not, his wuÃÙ will be valid provided he is not certain that he was oblivious to it while performing wuÃÙ.
302. If some parts of wuÃÙ contain an obstacle which at times allows water to reach areas below it, and at times it doesn’t, and having performed wuÃÙ one doubts if water reached the areas below it, he should perform wuÃÙ again if he knows that he was oblivious to this fact while performing wuÃÙ.
303. Having performed wuÃÙ, if a person spots an obstacle on the parts of wuÃÙ which prevents water from reaching those parts, and does not know if the obstacle was present while performing wuÃÙ or appeared thereafter, he should perform wuÃÙ again if he knows that he was oblivious to it while performing wuÃÙ. If he wasn’t, his wuÃÙ is valid.
304. Having performed wuÃÙ, if a person doubts whether an obstacle was present on the parts of wuÃÙ which prevents water from reaching them, his wuÃÙ will be valid as long as he is not certain that he was oblivious to it while performing wuÃÙ.
