Can You Wipe over Artificial Limbs?

Question: 396849

I had an accident which resulted in the loss of my right hand and part of my forearm – praise be to Allah, may He be exalted. Now I wear a prosthesis which is attached to the remaining part of the arm. What is the ruling on wiping over the prosthesis when doing wudu when I am outside the home, because it is difficult to take off the prosthesis and put it back on again outside the home, as that requires me to remove my garment, and that is very difficult for me?

Summary of answer

If part of the limb that must be washed during wudu remains of the amputated limb, then it must be washed, and in this case it is not acceptable to wipe over the artificial limb, even if it covers the entire arm.

Answer

Praise be to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah and his family.

We ask Allah, may He be exalted, to compensate you with good.

Wiping over artificial limbs

If it is not difficult for you to remove the prosthesis and wash what remains of the arm, this is what you must do. But if it is very difficult, or you fear that you may suffer harm, then in that case the prosthesis comes under the same ruling as a plaster cast, so you may wipe over the part of it that covers the arm, and whatever part of the arm is uncovered, must be washed.

The scholars of the Permanent Committee for Ifta’ were asked:

By Allah’s decree, I had an accident which led to amputation of my left hand and part of the forearm; praise be to Allah for that. Part of the left forearm remains, and my problem is that I have been given an artificial hand which covers the amputated limb up to the top of the elbow. Because of the nature of my job as a doctor, I have to be outside the home for a long time, nearly ten hours, and I offer Zuhr and ‘Asr prayers in the hospital. When doing wudu, I find it very difficult to take off the artificial arm and the clothes that cover it, because the artificial arm is attached by straps under the clothing and on the right side of the body.

Hence I ask you to advise us, may Allah reward you with good: is it permissible for me to wipe over the artificial arm instead of washing the part of the forearm which remains, but it is inside the artificial arm? That is because of the difficulty involved in taking off the artificial arm . Or is that not permissible?

They replied:

“If part of the limb that must be washed during wudu remains of the amputated limb , then it must be washed, and in this case it is not acceptable to wipe over the artificial limb , even if it covers the entire arm. Rather it must be taken off when you want to do wudu or ghusl. But if it is too difficult for you to take it off when wanting to do wudu, it is permissible for you to wipe over it as you would wipe over a plaster cast . And you must be patient and seek reward in dealing with this. May Allah compensate you for your calamity and grant you abundant reward.

And Allah is the source of strength. May Allah send blessings and peace upon our Prophet Muhammad and his family and Companions. (Shaykh Bakr Abu Zayd, Shaykh Salih al-Fawzan, Shaykh ‘Abd al-‘Aziz Al ash-Shaykh, Shaykh ‘Abd al-‘Aziz ibn ‘Abdillah ibn Baz."(Fatawa al-Lajnah ad-Daimah 4/86-87 – vol. 2)

For more, please see these answers to: 120850 .

And Allah knows best.

Was this answer helpful?

Source:

Islam Q&A