Wudu Steps: How to Perform Wudu Step by Step
Wudu is done by washing your hands, mouth, nose, face and arms to the elbows, wiping your head, and washing your feet to the ankles, in that order, three times for each washing.
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The Steps of Wudu in Order
- Make the intention in your heart to purify yourself for prayer.
- Say “Bismillah”.
- Wash both hands up to the wrists three times, rubbing between the fingers.
- Rinse your mouth three times.
- Sniff water into your nose and blow it out three times.
- Wash your face three times, from the hairline to the chin and from ear to ear. Run wet fingers through a beard.
- Wash your right arm, then your left, from the fingertips up to and including the elbow, three times each.
- Wipe your head once with wet hands, from the front to the back and returning.
- Wipe the inside and outside of your ears with wet fingers.
- Wash your right foot, then your left, up to and including the ankle, three times each, rubbing between the toes.
- Say the dua below.
This follows the description of the Prophet’s wudu by Uthman ibn Affan in Bukhari and Muslim.
The Obligatory Acts of Wudu
The Quran (5:6) names four acts: washing the face, washing the arms to the elbows, wiping the head, and washing the feet to the ankles. Everything else is sunnah. Washing each part once is enough to be valid; twice is permitted and three times is recommended.
| Point | Hanafi | Shafi’i | Maliki | Hanbali |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Intention | Sunnah | Obligatory | Obligatory | Obligatory |
| Washing in order | Sunnah | Obligatory | Sunnah | Obligatory |
| Wiping the head | A quarter at least | Part of the head | The whole head | The whole head |
A summary of the usual positions; scholars within each school may differ.
What Breaks Wudu
All schools agree that wudu is broken by:
- Anything that comes out of the private parts: urine, stool or passing wind.
- Deep sleep that takes away awareness.
- Loss of consciousness, such as fainting or intoxication.
The schools differ on other matters, such as touching the private parts, bleeding, vomiting or touching a spouse. Follow your school.
The Dua After Wudu
أَشْهَدُ أَنْ لَا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ وَحْدَهُ لَا شَرِيكَ لَهُ، وَأَشْهَدُ أَنَّ مُحَمَّدًا عَبْدُهُ وَرَسُولُهُ
“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.” The Prophet ﷺ said that the eight gates of Paradise are opened for whoever says this after wudu (Sahih Muslim).
Keeping Track of Your Wudu
Prayer Memory includes wudu tracking on Apple Watch, which reminds you if you may need wudu before the next prayer. Get it on the App Store or Google Play.
Sources
- General guidance from widely cited hadith. The schools differ on some details, so follow a scholar you trust for your own case.
- Quran 5:6: the obligatory acts of wudu.
- Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim: the description of the Prophet’s wudu by Uthman ibn Affan.
- Sahih Muslim: the dua after wudu; wiping over khuffayn.
Frequently Asked Questions
Washing each part once is enough to be valid. Twice is permitted and three times is the recommended practice, except for wiping the head and ears, which is done once.
The Shafi’i, Maliki and Hanbali schools make the intention obligatory. The Hanafi school makes it a sunnah. It is made in the heart and needs no words.
Yes, over leather socks (khuffayn) or similar socks that meet the conditions, for one day and night if resident and three days and nights if travelling (Sahih Muslim). Wudu must have been complete when you put them on.
Washing the face, washing the arms to the elbows, wiping the head, and washing the feet to the ankles, as in Surat Al-Ma’idah (5:6).
“Ash-hadu an la ilaha illallahu wahdahu la sharika lahu, wa ash-hadu anna Muhammadan abduhu wa rasuluh.” The gates of Paradise are opened for whoever says it (Sahih Muslim).
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