Tahara

Purification

الطهارة

Allah loves those who keep themselves pure. Two practices: wudu, the quick ablution before every prayer, and ghusl, the full purification required in certain circumstances.

What and when

Wudu is the ritual washing of specific parts of the body before prayer. The state of wudu remains until something breaks it (see the list below).

One wudu can cover several prayers; you only need to repeat it if it is broken.

The six obligations

The six core obligations mentioned in the Quran are:

1Intention
Make the niyyah in the heart that you are performing wudu for prayer or to remove ritual impurity.
2Wash the face
Once, twice, or three times, from the hairline to the chin and ear to ear.
3Wash the arms
Both arms up to and including the elbows, three times, beginning with the right.
4Wipe the head
Pass wet hands over the head once, then wipe the inside and outside of the ears with the index fingers and thumbs.
5Wash the feet
Both feet up to and including the ankles, once and thoroughly, beginning with the right and then the left, being sure water reaches between every toe.
6Order
Maintain the order above and do not let limbs dry before the next is washed.

Step by step in practice

The following practice is taught to us by the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ. Do them in order and the wudu is valid.

1
Say Bismillah and form the intention
Begin with the name of Allah. The intention to perform wudu is held in the heart.
2
Wash the hands
Three times each, including between the fingers.
3
Rinse the mouth and the nose
Three times, gargling water in the mouth and sniffing water lightly into the nostrils, then blowing out with the left hand.
4
Wash the face
Three times, from the hairline to the chin and from ear to ear.
5
Wash the arms to the elbows
Three times each, starting with the right, ending with the left.
6
Wipe the head and ears
Pass wet hands over the head from front to back and back again, then wipe the ears with the index fingers (inside) and thumbs (outside).
7
Wash the feet to the ankles
Once each, thoroughly, beginning with the right foot then the left, being sure water reaches between every toe.
8
Closing testimony
Whoever says ashhadu an lā ilāha illā llāh after wudu has the eight gates of Paradise opened for him (Sahih Muslim).

What breaks the wudu

Passing urine, stool, or wind.
Deep sleep that loses awareness.
Loss of consciousness (fainting, intoxication).
Direct touching of the private parts with the hand.

Tawheed Next: Salah