If someone were to say: “You require him to repeat the prayer because there is an evident difference between him and one who was unaware: the latter had no knowledge at all of the impurity, and so he is excused; whereas the one who forgot was negligent, since he did not hasten to wash it, and is therefore not excused. Moreover, it was part of the Messenger’s guidance to hasten to remove impurity. Regarding the man who urinated in the mosque, he said: ‘Pour a bucketful of water over his urine.’ (1) Thus, he instructed that it be removed promptly. And concerning the child who urinated in his lap, he called for water and poured it over it. (2) Yet people are liable to forget, especially those who are particularly forgetful—so what is the answer?”

The answer is that we did not waive making up the prayer for the one who forgot by analogy with the one who was unaware, such that this analogy could be invalidated by this distinction. Rather, we waived it for the one who forgot on the basis of an independent proof: the saying of Allah, Most High:

“Our Lord, do not take us to task if we forget or make a mistake.” [al-Baqarah 2:286]

It may further be said that the Prophet’s prompt removal of impurity was not obligatory, for Allah, Most High, did not make ablution obligatory—although it is a more emphatic matter than removing impurity—except when one rises to perform the prayer. He, Most High, says:

“O you who believe, when you rise for prayer…” [al-Ma'idah 5:6]

Thus, if a person breaks his ablution an hour before the prayer, he is not required to perform ablution, even though there is a possibility that he may pray and forget that he has broken it. Since this is so, delaying purification is not negligence. Therefore, if he forgets the impurity or forgets to remove it, he is excused. As for the lack of it, meaning that he has no pure garment and is unable to