Answered by Shaykh Hamza Karamali, SunniPath Academy Teacher
I thought my wudu was invalid because I was wiping my feet instead of washing them and I wasn’t washing my whole face.
Can someone answer this according to Sha’afi Fiqh?
If I have been performing my wudu wrong for years, do I have to make up all those prayers since I didn’t know or was uncertain if my wudu was right or wrong at the time?
In the Name of Allah, Most Merciful and Compassionate
If you are certain that you previously merely wiped your feet or only washed part of your face during ablution, then those ablutions would not be valid and the prayers performed with them would have to be made up.
If you are not certain but merely doubt whether you properly washed your face and feet, then your previous ablutions remain valid and the prayers performed with them need not be made up.
Keep in mind that if you apply enough water to a limb that the water flows over it, you are considered to have washed the limb even if not a single drop falls off the limb (Hashiyat al-Bajuri). It is not necessary to use a lot of water in order to wash a limb.
And Allah knows best.
Hamza.