1 / 11
Fard · obligatoryIntention (niyyah)
Make the intention in your heart to perform wudu for Allah. You do not need to say it aloud.
Obligatory in the Shafi'i, Maliki and Hanbali schools; sunnah in the Hanafi school.
Washing each part once is valid; three times is the sunnah. In the Shafi'i and Hanbali schools the order is obligatory.
This trainer shows the common sequence. Details differ between the schools – also learn wudu with a teacher of your school.
The wudu verse
What Allah says about the ablution
The ablution is laid down in the Quran itself: the face, the arms up to the elbows, the head and the feet up to the ankles.
يَـٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوٓا۟ إِذَا قُمْتُمْ إِلَى ٱلصَّلَوٰةِ فَٱغْسِلُوا۟ وُجُوهَكُمْ وَأَيْدِيَكُمْ إِلَى ٱلْمَرَافِقِ وَٱمْسَحُوا۟ بِرُءُوسِكُمْ وَأَرْجُلَكُمْ إِلَى ٱلْكَعْبَيْنِ ۚ وَإِن كُنتُمْ جُنُبًا فَٱطَّهَّرُوا۟ ۚ وَإِن كُنتُم مَّرْضَىٰٓ أَوْ عَلَىٰ سَفَرٍ أَوْ جَآءَ أَحَدٌ مِّنكُم مِّنَ ٱلْغَآئِطِ أَوْ لَـٰمَسْتُمُ ٱلنِّسَآءَ فَلَمْ تَجِدُوا۟ مَآءً فَتَيَمَّمُوا۟ صَعِيدًا طَيِّبًا فَٱمْسَحُوا۟ بِوُجُوهِكُمْ وَأَيْدِيكُم مِّنْهُ ۚ مَا يُرِيدُ ٱللَّهُ لِيَجْعَلَ عَلَيْكُم مِّنْ حَرَجٍ وَلَـٰكِن يُرِيدُ لِيُطَهِّرَكُمْ وَلِيُتِمَّ نِعْمَتَهُۥ عَلَيْكُمْ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَشْكُرُونَ ﴿٦﴾
O you who have believed, when you rise to [perform] prayer, wash your faces and your forearms to the elbows and wipe over your heads and wash your feet to the ankles. And if you are in a state of janābah, then purify yourselves. But if you are ill or on a journey or one of you comes from the place of relieving himself or you have contacted women and do not find water, then seek clean earth and wipe over your faces and hands with it. Allāh does not intend to make difficulty for you, but He intends to purify you and complete His favor upon you that you may be grateful.
What breaks wudu
All the schools agree on these:
- When urine, stool or wind leaves the body
- Deep sleep
- Loss of consciousness
Other points – such as touching, bleeding or other discharges – are judged differently by the schools. Ask a teacher of your school about them.
No water? Tayammum
If you cannot find water, or it would harm you, Allah allows you to purify yourself with clean earth (tayammum) – in the same verse 5:6 and in 4:43. You make the intention, strike clean earth with your palms and wipe your face and hands with them. How many times you strike and how far you wipe the hands is described differently by the schools. As soon as you can use water again, you make wudu again for the next prayer.
Why the ablution is worth so much
إِنَّ اللَّهَ يُحِبُّ التَّوَّابِينَ وَيُحِبُّ الْمُتَطَهِّرِينَ
Allah loves those who repent and loves those who purify themselves.
الطُّهُورُ شَطْرُ الْإِيمَانِ
Purity is half of faith.
Sahih Muslim 223
مَنْ تَوَضَّأَ نَحْوَ وُضُوئِي هَذَا، ثُمَّ صَلَّى رَكْعَتَيْنِ لَا يُحَدِّثُ فِيهِمَا نَفْسَهُ، غُفِرَ لَهُ مَا تَقَدَّمَ مِنْ ذَنْبِهِ
Uthman ibn Affan showed how the Prophet ﷺ performed wudu and passed on his words: whoever performs wudu like this and then prays two rak'ahs without letting his thoughts wander, his previous sins are forgiven.
Sahih al-Bukhari 159, Sahih Muslim 226
Keep learning