Title

Is it necessary to remove earrings when making wudu? Please tell me about washing the face.

Question

Is it necessary to remove earrings when doing wudu? Since washing the face from one ear lobe to another is farz in wudhu does that mean we girls have to remove the earrings when doing that since if even a spot such as a strand of hair is not wet then the wudu is considered invalid? Earlier I used to just do the masah of the ear without removing my earring but from what I’ve read do we need to wet the entire ear? So now I don’t wear earrings only because every time I have to remove them. Please tell me. And please tell me exactly regarding washing the face. Thanks in advance.

Answer

In the Name of Allāh, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.

As-salāmu ‘alaykum wa-rahmatullāhi wa-barakātuh.

It is not necessary to remove earrings while making wudu as the earlobes themselves are not considered a part of the face which is fardh to wash in wudu. The earlobes are considered part of the ears. Wiping the ears (including the earlobes) is a sunnah of wudu.

As for what part of the face must be washed in wudu, length wise it is from the hairline (if one is bald or balding then where the hairline normally is) to the bottom of the chin. Width wise it is the area between the two earlobes.   

Earrings should be removed prior to ghusl so that water can reach the pierced area.

اركان الوضوء اربعة وهي فرائضه. الاول: غسل الوجه و حده طولا من مبدا سطح الجبهة الى اسفل الذقن وحده عرضا ما بين شحمتي الاذنين

يسن في الوضوء ثمانية عشر شيئا......و مسح الاذنين ولو بماء الراس

(Nurul-Idah, p 30, 32-33, Misbah Publishers)

And Allāh knows best.

Muftī Asif Umar

Washington, DC (USA)

Concurred by:

Muftī Abrar Mirza

Chicago, IL (USA)

Under the Supervision of Muftī Ebrahim Desai (South Africa)

________________________________________________________________________

DISCLAIMER – AskImam.org questions
AskImam.org answers issues pertaining to Sharī’ah. Thereafter, these questions and answers are placed for public view on www.askimam.org for educational purposes.  However, many of these answers are unique to a particular scenario and cannot be taken as a basis to establish a ruling in another situation or another environment.  Askimam.org bears no responsibility with regards to these questions being used out of their intended context.

·         The Shar’ī ruling herein given is based specifically on the question posed and should be read in conjunction with the question.

·         AskImam.org bears no responsibility to any party who may or may not act on this answer and is being hereby exempted from loss or damage howsoever caused.

·         This answer may not be used as evidence in any Court of Law without prior written consent of AskImam.org.

·         Any or all links provided in our emails, answers and articles are restricted to the specific material being cited.  Such referencing should not be taken as an endorsement of other contents of that website.