Having performed prayer, I found out there were some remains of nail polish on my nails or I discovered that my neck was uncovered due to a hole in the veil I was wearing during the prayer. Am I required to make up for this prayer?

All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, is His slave and Messenger.

The nail polish used by women prevents water from reaching the external parts of the nails. This makes purification imperfect. The nails are a part of the hand and must be washed during Wudhoo’ (i.e. ablution). Allaah The Almighty Says (what means): {O you who have believed, when you rise to [perform] prayer, wash your faces and your forearms to the elbows ...}[Quran 5: 6]

When one performs prayer while his Wudhoo’ is imperfect, his prayer is invalid, even if he did so out of forgetfulness or ignorance. Abu Hurayrah narrated that the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said: "Prayer is not accepted from anyone who nullifies his ablution until he performs another one." [Al-Bukhari]

Ibn ‘Umar narrated that the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said: "Prayer without purification is not accepted ...” [Muslim]

One is excused for ignorance when he violates the forbiddances of Allaah The Almighty but not when he abandons the commands. Performing Wudhoo’ is one of the commands of Allaah The Almighty, and thus one is not excused for abandoning it or performing it imperfectly. The Shaafi‘i scholar, Az-Zarkashi said: "One is excused for ignorance and forgetfulness when he violates the forbiddances of Allaah but not when he abandons the commands."

Uncovering the neck or a part of it without your knowledge does not invalidate the prayer. This is because the neck does not belong to the most private ‘Awrah. The Hanbali scholar, Al-Hajjaawi said: "When some of one's most private ‘Awrah is unveiled, he has to make up the prayer."

Commenting on this last statement, Ibn ‘Uthaymeen said: "This means that a prayer is not invalidated when some of the ‘Awrah, but not of the most private parts of it, is not deliberately uncovered."

Maaliki scholars are of the opinion that uncovering a woman's limbs in prayer does not render it invalid. However, they said it is a recommended act to make up the prayer in time.