How to perform wudu (ablution) step by step

Definition and status

Wudu (ablution) is purification from minor impurity with pure water, by washing the face, the hands up to the elbows, wiping the head, and washing the feet up to the ankles, with the intention of worship. It is the key to prayer: the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Prayer is not valid without ablution" (Abu Dawud 61, at-Tirmidhi 3), and "Allah does not accept the prayer of one of you who has broken his purity until he performs wudu" (al-Bukhari 135, Muslim 225).

The evidence of obligation

The obligation of wudu is agreed upon by all Muslims. Its evidence is explicit:

O you who believe! When you rise for prayer, wash your faces and your forearms to the elbows; wipe over your heads; and wash your feet to the ankles. If you are in major impurity, purify yourselves.sura al-Ma'ida 6

The verse ordains four duties: washing the face, the hands to the elbows, wiping the head, washing the feet to the ankles; and adds ghusl in major impurity. The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "There is no prayer without ablution" (Muslim 225), and that no Companion ever prayed without wudu confirms the consensus.

The obligations according to the four schools

Hanafis: four obligations — washing the face, the hands to the elbows, wiping a quarter of the head, and the feet to the ankle-bones. Everything else (rinsing the mouth and nose, three repetitions, continuity...) is sunnah or meritorious.

Malikis: six obligations — the intention, washing the face, the hands to the elbows, wiping the whole head, washing the feet, and continuity (dām). Sunnahs: the siwak, rinsing mouth and nose, three repetitions, starting with the right, etc.

Shafi'is: six obligations — the intention, washing the face, the hands to the elbows, wiping the head (all of it or part of it by two views), washing the feet, order, and continuity.

Hanbalis: seven obligations — the intention, washing the face, the hands to the elbows, wiping the whole head, washing the feet, continuity, and order.

The practical outcome: intention, continuity and order are obligations for three of the four schools; the most visible difference is the extent of wiping the head and the status of rinsing the mouth and nose.

The complete prophetic manner

It is the hadith of 'Uthman ibn 'Affan, the most complete on the subject (al-Bukhari 159, Muslim 226): he performed wudu three times for each limb, then said: "Whoever performs wudu thus, his sins leave his body, even from under his nails"; and he concluded:

Whoever performs wudu thus, his past sins will be forgiven through his prayer.Muslim 226

The detail, step by step:

1. The intention to purify for prayer, in the heart, at the first limb washed.
2. Saying "Bismillah" at the beginning; by the preferred Hanafi view it is almost obligatory.
3. Washing the palms three times before dipping the hands into the vessel (al-Bukhari 158).
4. Rinsing the mouth three times and snuffing water through the nose three times with the right hand, expelling with the left.
5. Washing the face three times, from where the hair grows to the bottom of the chin, ear to ear, passing water into the beard.
6. Washing the hands to the elbows three times, the right first, interlacing the fingers; the elbow is included.
7. Wiping the head once: starting at the forehead, moving the wet hands to the nape, then returning them to the forehead; inserting the index fingers into the ears and wiping their outside with the thumbs (al-Bukhari 185).
8. Washing the feet to the ankles three times, the right first, passing the little fingers between the toes.

The sunnahs of wudu

Among them: performing wudu at home before the prayer, using the siwak, washing with the right hand, drawing water with the right hand, starting with the right for paired limbs, three passes per limb, passing the hand over the whole limb without leaving any part dry, invoking afterwards ("I bear witness that there is no god but Allah..." Muslim 234), praying two rak'as after (al-Bukhari 159: "whoever does so... his past sins are forgiven").

What is not part of the obligations

The following are reported but are not conditions: washing the ears separately (they follow the head); hot or cold water indifferently; drying with a towel (permitted, not to excess as it dilutes the virtues and may shorten the washing); repetition beyond three times (disliked by some, reported by others).

The virtues

When a Muslim performs wudu and washes his face, every sin he looked at falls from his face with the water — when he washes his hands, every sin committed by them falls — until he exits his wudu purified of every sin.Muslim 244

Umm Salama reported that the Prophet said: whoever performs wudu and says, "I bear witness that there is no god but Allah alone, without partner, and that Muhammad is His servant and messenger", the eight gates of Paradise are opened for him: he enters by whichever he wishes.Muslim 234

And Sahal ibn Sa'd reported that the Prophet, sending someone to announce to a man that he had two marks: the trace of wudu and the reward of the salam (al-Bukhari 136); the limbs shine with the light of wudu (Muslim 246).

Differences summarized

• The intention: obligatory (Malikis, Shafi'is, Hanbalis); sunnah/mustahabb (Hanafis).
• Rinsing the mouth and nose: obligatory (Malikis, Shafi'is, Hanbalis by the preferred view); sunnah (Hanafis).
• Continuity: obligatory (Malikis, Shafi'is, Hanbalis); sunnah (Hanafis).
• The extent of wiping the head: the whole head (Hanafis, and one Hanbali view); a part suffices (Shafi'is); the whole head with emphasis (Malikis include the ears).
• The number of passes: three times is a firm sunnah; once suffices for validity for the majority.

Practical notes

• Nail varnish prevents water reaching the nail: it must be removed before wudu; henna does not hinder, as it lets water through.
• Tight rings: one must move the ring or pass water beneath.
• One with a wound or bandage: wash what is healthy and wipe the wound; if harm is feared, one may leave it (the ease of the Sharia).
• One who performs wudu for prayer may pray as many prayers as he wishes with it, so long as it is not nullified (Muslim 225: two prayers with one purification, at the time of each prayer, for the majority; the Maliki view ties the purification to the time).