Salah guide · purification
How to make wudu
Wudu is the washing before prayer. Here are the steps the Prophet ﷺ showed, what breaks it, and the dua to say after.
Intend, say Bismillah, then wash your hands, mouth, nose and face, your arms to the elbows, wipe your head and ears, and wash your feet to the ankles, right before left. Most parts are washed three times. Finish with the testimony of faith (Sahih Muslim 234).
Wudu in the Qur'an
Wudu is commanded in Qur'an 5:6: “O you who believe, when you rise for prayer, wash your faces and your hands up to the elbows, wipe your heads, and wash your feet up to the ankles.” Read 5:6.
The steps below follow the wudu that 'Uthman ibn 'Affan showed, saying it was how the Prophet ﷺ made wudu (Sahih al-Bukhari 159, Sahih Muslim 226).
How to make wudu in 10 steps
- Intend and say Bismillah. Intend wudu in your heart and say Bismillah (Sunan Abi Dawud 101).
- Wash your hands three times. Wash both hands up to the wrists three times, between the fingers too.
- Rinse your mouth three times. Take water into your mouth, swirl it and spit it out, three times.
- Rinse your nose three times. Sniff water into the nose with the right hand and blow it out with the left, three times.
- Wash your face three times. Wash from the hairline to the chin and from ear to ear, three times.
- Wash your arms to the elbows. Wash the right arm from the fingertips up to and including the elbow three times, then the left.
- Wipe your head. With wet hands, wipe from the front of the head to the back and return, once.
- Wipe your ears. Wipe inside the ears with the index fingers and behind them with the thumbs, once.
- Wash your feet to the ankles. Wash the right foot up to and including the ankle three times, between the toes, then the left.
- Say the dua after wudu. Say the testimony of faith (Sahih Muslim 234).
The four acts named in Qur'an 5:6 (face, arms, head, feet) are obligatory in every school. The Shafi'i school adds the intention and the order; the Hanbali school adds intention, order, continuity and rinsing the mouth and nose; the Maliki school adds intention, continuity and rubbing. Hanafis count these as sunnah. Hanafis wipe at least a quarter of the head; Malikis and Hanbalis the whole head; Shafi'is any part of it.
The dua after wudu
أَشْهَدُ أَنْ لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ وَحْدَهُ لَا شَرِيكَ لَهُ، وَأَشْهَدُ أَنَّ مُحَمَّدًا عَبْدُهُ وَرَسُولُهُ
Ashhadu an la ilaha illallahu wahdahu la sharika lah, wa ashhadu anna Muhammadan 'abduhu wa rasuluh.
I bear witness that there is no god but Allah alone, with no partner, and I bear witness that Muhammad is His servant and messenger.
Sahih Muslim 234: the eight gates of Paradise are opened for whoever says this after a complete wudu.
Jami' at-Tirmidhi 55 adds:
اللَّهُمَّ اجْعَلْنِي مِنَ التَّوَّابِينَ وَاجْعَلْنِي مِنَ الْمُتَطَهِّرِينَ
Allahummaj'alni minat-tawwabina waj'alni minal-mutatahhirin.
O Allah, make me among those who repent often, and make me among those who purify themselves.
Jami' at-Tirmidhi 55
What breaks wudu
All four schools agree that these break wudu:
- Anything leaving the front or back passage: urine, stool or wind (Qur'an 5:6; Sahih al-Bukhari 135).
- Deep sleep, when you are no longer aware (Sunan Abi Dawud 203).
- Losing consciousness, fainting or intoxication.
- Anything that requires ghusl, such as sexual intercourse.
Touching the private parts with the bare hand breaks wudu for Shafi'is, Hanbalis and Malikis (Sunan Abi Dawud 181), not for Hanafis (Sunan Abi Dawud 182). Skin contact with the opposite sex breaks it for Shafi'is; for Malikis and Hanbalis only with desire; not for Hanafis. Flowing blood or a mouthful of vomit breaks it for Hanafis (and Hanbalis if a lot), not for Shafi'is and Malikis. Eating camel meat breaks it for Hanbalis (Sahih Muslim 360).
A doubt does not break wudu: if you are unsure whether you broke it, you still have it until you are certain (Sahih Muslim 362).
Frequently asked questions
Do I have to make wudu before every prayer?
No. One wudu lasts until something breaks it, so you can pray several prayers with it. Renewing it for each prayer is a good deed.
Can I wipe over socks instead of washing my feet?
Yes, over leather socks (khuffs) put on after a full wudu, for one day and night when at home and three days when travelling (Sahih Muslim 276). The schools differ about ordinary cloth socks.
Does nail polish affect wudu?
Yes. Water must reach the nail, so a waterproof coating such as ordinary nail polish stops wudu from being complete. Remove it before wudu.
What if there is no water?
Use tayammum: strike clean earth or dust and wipe the face and hands (Qur'an 5:6; Sahih al-Bukhari 338).
Does bleeding break wudu?
The schools differ. Hanafis say flowing blood breaks it. Shafi'is and Malikis say it does not, and Hanbalis say only a large amount does.
The salah guide
Keep going
From wudu to prayer, on time
Niyat reminds you when each prayer begins, points you to the qibla, and keeps your daily duas, including the dua after wudu, one tap away.
Download Niyat for iPhone Get it on Google PlayThis guide explains common practice with its sources. It is not a fatwa. Where your situation is unusual, ask a scholar you trust.