I suffer from urinary incontinence. 15 minutes before the due time of the ‘Asr (afternoon) prayer, I make Istinjaa’ and Wudhoo’ (ablution) and then perform the Thuhr (noon) prayer and wait for the ‘Asr prayer in order to perform it with the same Wudhoo’. I sometimes do that 10 or 5 minutes before the ‘Asr prayer. Is this considered a concession by Sharee‘ah and thus my prayer is valid? Am I required to make a new Wudhoo’ for each prayer, even if the time between the two prayers is very short? If my prayer in this way is invalid, am I required to make up for the past prayers? Please advise.

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.

A person suffering from incontinence is required to make a new Wudhoo’ for each prayer, according to the majority of scholars. The Maaliki scholars, however, are of the view that when the urine discharges most of the time, Wudhoo’ is not invalidated in this case and one is allowed to perform whatever prayers he wants unless his Wudhoo’ is invalidated by a reason other than incontinence. We adopt the opinion of the majority of scholars.

Delaying the Thuhr prayer to be performed shortly before the ‘Asr prayer does not change the ruling. That is because the reason behind making a new Wudhoo’ for each prayer, according to the majority of scholars, is not the interval between the times of prayers, but because the Wudhoo’ of the person suffering from incontinence is not as strong as the Wudhoo’ of the healthy one. Therefore, they are of the view that such a person must not perform two obligatory prayers with one Wudhoo’.  

Consequently, you are required to make up for the prayers which you performed without renewing Wudhoo’. If you experience hardship in that, however, you are allowed to follow the opinion of the Maaliki scholars regarding the past prayers and then act according to the opinion of the majority in the future.