wudu

The tradition & historical record

Wuduʾ (Arabic: وضوء, romanized: wuḍūʾ, lit. 'ablution' [wʊˈdˤuːʔ] ) is the procedure for cleansing parts of the body, a type of ritual purification by ablution, in Islam. The steps of wudu are: washing the hands, rinsing the mouth and nose, washing the face, then the forearms, then wiping the head and ears, then washing or wiping the feet, done in order without any long breaks between them. Wudu is an important part of ritual purity in Islam and is governed by fiqh, which specifies hygienical jurisprudence and defines the rituals that constitute it. Ritual purity is called tahara. Wudu is typically performed before Salah or reading the Quran. Activities that invalidate wudu include urination, defecation, flatulence, deep sleep, light bleeding (depending on madhhab), menstruation, postpartum status, and sexual intercourse. Wudu is often translated as 'partial ablution', as opposed to ghusl, which refers to 'full ablution', where the whole body is washed. An alternative to wudu is tayammum 'dry ablution', which uses clean sand or dust in place of water due to complete water scarcity or when one is suffering from moisture-induced skin inflammation, illness, or other harmful effects. ¹

Qur'an 2:222 says: "For God loves those who turn to Him constantly and He loves those who keep themselves pure and clean."[2:222] Qur'an 5:6 says: "O believers! When you rise up for prayer, wash your faces and your hands up to the elbows, wipe your heads, and wash your feet up to the ankles. And if you are in a state of full impurity, then take a full bath. But if you are ill, on a journey, or have relieved yourselves, or have been intimate with your wives and cannot find water, then purify yourselves with clean earth by wiping your faces and hands. It is not Allah's Will to burden you, but to purify you and complete His favor upon you, so perhaps you will be grateful."[5:6] ¹

Wudu by itself is mustahabb, a recommended act (مستحب), but it becomes obligatory in special conditions such as prayer, reading the Quran, tawaf, etc. ¹

Abu Hurairah narrated in a Hadith, discussing the Day of Resurrection, that Muhammad, when asked if he would be able to recognize Muslims, said: "Yes, you would have a mark which other people will not have. You would come to me with a white blaze on your foreheads and white marks on your feet because of the traces of ablution." Muhammad said that "Cleanliness is a part of faith." Abu Hurairah said: "I have heard the prophet (may peace be upon him) say, 'In a believer, adornment would reach the places where ablution reaches.'" Uthman stated that Muhammad said: "He who performed ablution well, his sins would come out from his body, even coming out from under his nails." Umar reported that Muhammad said: "No one among you does wuḍūʾ and does wuḍūʾ thoroughly – or adequately – and then testifies, 'There is no god but Allah Alone with no partner and I testify that Muhammad is Allah's Messenger', without the eight doors of the Garden being opened to him so that he can enter by whichever of them he wishes." ¹

Permitted ¹

The water of Wudu must be muṭlaq, meaning pure or unmixed (not necessarily chemically pure). The name of a liquid that is normally regarded by individuals as water. ¹

Melted snow or hail Water of ocean, lakes or ponds. Well water Fountain water Tap water Prohibited Green water (green water usually means dirty water) Water made from any trees or fruits Water which contains urine, blood, or stool, or has been touched by a live or a dead animal Used water of wuḍūʾ or ghusl according to the Hanbali school Other acts performed during wuḍūʾ and the detailed acts of the wuḍūʾ can be classed into three types: ¹

The obligation of the following actions is debated among the schools of fiqh, though if not deemed obligatory they are considered recommended: ¹

Intention, i.e. resolving in the heart that one is performing wudu as an act of worship rather than an ordinary cleaning activity. This is obligatory in the Maliki, Shafi'i and Hanbali schools. Performing wudu in consecutive actions, i.e. there should not be prolonged pauses during the ritual. This is considered obligatory in the Maliki and Hanbali schools. Performing the actions of wudu in order, i.e. washing the face then arms then wiping the head and finally washing the feet. This is obligatory in the Shafi'i and Hanbali schools. Wiping the ears. This is mandatory in the Hanbali school. Rubbing the washed organs while washing. This is obligatory in the Maliki school. Rinsing the mouth and nose during wudu. This is obligatory in the Hanbali school. Saying the basmala at the beginning of wudu. This is obligatory in the Hanbali school. It is not sufficient for one to pass wet hand over the feet. Under certain conditions, it can be done over slippers or traditional leather footwear called khuffayn. ¹

The text above is adapted from the Wikipedia article “Wudu”, available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 licence. ¹

wudu is Islamic procedure for washing parts of the body using water before formal prayers, according to the structured record cited below. This entry was generated automatically from that record and has not yet been reviewed by a person familiar with the tradition. ²

The source record links this tradition to 29 external registers, which can be verified through the citation. ²