Woman removing cotton wool from private area to perform wudhu

Q: When a woman using a cotton ball etc. to prevent discharge, is it necessary to remove it & clean oneself before making wudu again if the wudu had broken? This occurs whilst travelling when sometimes the toilet is separate to the wudu area. Must she remove the cotton & reapply it or is she able to just make another wudu?

A: The Fuqahaa have written that it is makrooh for a woman to insert something in her private area, unless it is done for a valid reason e.g. as a treatment to prevent discharge etc.

If the cotton wool inserted inside the private area is such that the discharge and moisture remains inside the private area and the external part of the cotton wool is dry, then the wudhu of the woman will not break and hence she will not need to make wudhu to perform the next salaah (unless some other breaker of wudhu was found).

However, if the cotton wool is moist including the external part of the cotton wool and the moisture/discharge is on the outer and external part of the private area, then in this case the wudhu will break, hence the woman should remove the cotton wool and clean herself before making wudhu to perform the next salaah.

And Allah Ta'ala (الله تعالى) knows best.

 

Answered by:

Mufti Zakaria Makada

Checked & Approved:

Mufti Ebrahim Salejee (Isipingo Beach)