Wudu is the short wash that puts you in a state to pray. It takes about ninety seconds once you know it, and you will do it several times a day for the rest of your life.
It is not the same as ghusl. Ghusl lifts the major state and involves the whole body; wudu lifts the minor state and involves the face, arms, head and feet. If you are in the major state, wudu will not do — you need ghusl first.
﴿ يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا إِذَا قُمْتُمْ إِلَى الصَّلاةِ فَاغْسِلُوا وُجُوهَكُمْ وَأَيْدِيَكُمْ إِلَى الْمَرَافِقِ وَامْسَحُوا بِرُءُوسِكُمْ وَأَرْجُلَكُمْ إِلَى الْكَعْبَيْنِ ﴾
Yā ayyuha-lladhīna āmanū idhā qumtum ila-ṣ-ṣalāti fa-ghsilū wujūhakum wa aydiyakum ila-l-marāfiqi wa-msaḥū bi ru'ūsikum wa arjulakum ila-l-kaʿbayn
O you who believe, when you rise to pray, wash your faces and your arms to the elbows, and wipe your heads, and your feet to the ankles.
What is actually obligatory
Four things, named in the verse above, plus the intention:
If you did only those four, with intention, your wudu is valid and your prayer counts. Everything below is the fuller method the Prophet ﷺ taught, and it is what you should aim for once the basics are steady.
The full method, step by step
- Intend it in your heart. Nothing is said out loud. The intention is simply knowing why you are standing at this sink.
- Say Bismillāh.
- Wash both hands to the wrists, three times. Work the water between your fingers.
- Rinse your mouth, three times. Take water in your right hand, swill it thoroughly, and spit it out.
- Draw water into your nose and blow it out, three times. In with the right hand, out with the left. Gently — this is not meant to hurt.
- Wash your face, three times. Hairline to the bottom of your chin, and from one ear to the other. Every part of it wet.
- Wash your right arm, fingertips to elbow, three times. Include the elbow itself — this is the most commonly missed spot.
- Wash your left arm, fingertips to elbow, three times.
- Wet your hands and wipe over your head, once. Front hairline to the back of your neck, then back again. This is a wipe, not a wash — you are not pouring water.
- Wipe your ears, once. Inside with your index fingers, behind with your thumbs. Use the water already on your hands; do not take new water.
- Wash your right foot to the ankle, three times. Run your little finger between the toes.
- Wash your left foot to the ankle, three times.
What to say when you finish
أَشْهَدُ أَنْ لَا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ وَحْدَهُ لَا شَرِيكَ لَهُ وَأَشْهَدُ أَنَّ مُحَمَّدًا عَبْدُهُ وَرَسُولُهُ، اللَّهُمَّ اجْعَلْنِي مِنَ التَّوَّابِينَ وَاجْعَلْنِي مِنَ الْمُتَطَهِّرِينَ
Ashhadu an lā ilāha illā Allāhu waḥdahu lā sharīka lah, wa ashhadu anna Muḥammadan ʿabduhu wa rasūluh. Allāhumma-jʿalnī mina-t-tawwābīn, wa-jʿalnī mina-l-mutaṭahhirīn.
I bear witness that there is no god but Allah alone, without partner, and that Muhammad is His servant and messenger. O Allah, make me among those who turn to You in repentance, and make me among those who purify themselves.
There is no one among you who performs wudu, and does it well, then says these words — except that the eight gates of Paradise are opened for him, and he may enter through whichever of them he wishes.
Reported by ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb in Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim. The second sentence of the duʿā' above — asking to be among those who repent and purify themselves — is reported in Sunan at-Tirmidhī.
Sit with the size of that for a moment. A wash that takes ninety seconds, done properly, followed by one sentence — and eight gates are opened, and you choose.
This is worth knowing early, because the prayer can feel like a long list of requirements in the first weeks. It is not a list of requirements. Nearly every small act in Islam has something like this attached to it, and most Muslims only discover them gradually.
You will also notice that the first half of it is the shahadah again, with a little more added. Wudu ends where your Islam began.
◇ Scholars differ
The head. Some schools require wiping the whole head; others hold that a portion — traditionally about a quarter — is enough. Wiping the whole head satisfies every position, so do that.
Order and continuity. Some hold that the parts must be done in the Qur'anic order without long gaps; others treat that as recommended rather than required. Again, doing it in order and without pausing satisfies everyone.
Ask the imam at your masjid which positions your community follows.
How long does wudu last?
Until something breaks it. You do not repeat it before every prayer — if you made wudu for Dhuhr and nothing has broken it since, you may pray ʿAṣr with the same wudu.
What breaks wudu
Agreed on by all the schools:
- Anything exiting the front or back passage — urine, feces, wind
- Deep sleep, where you lose awareness of your surroundings. Nodding off briefly while sitting upright does not count
- Losing consciousness through fainting, intoxication, or anaesthetic
- Anything requiring ghusl also removes wudu
◇ Scholars differ
Touching your own private parts. In some schools this breaks wudu; in others it does not. This is the same difference that decides whether you make wudu during or after ghusl.
Skin contact with an adult of the opposite sex. Some hold it breaks wudu, some only if accompanied by desire, some not at all.
Blood or vomit leaving the body in quantity. A genuine difference between the schools.
Find out which your masjid follows rather than assembling a private position from what you read online.
What does not break it
Eating, laughing outside the prayer, touching a child, bleeding from a small cut in most cases, and doubt without certainty.
That last one matters more than it sounds. If you are unsure whether your wudu broke, the default is that it is still intact. Certainty is not removed by doubt.
A word of caution. Some new Muslims develop waswasah — obsessive doubt about purity. Repeating wudu four or five times, never able to feel clean, unable to trust that it counted. If that begins happening to you, it is a recognised spiritual problem with a known answer: stop, act on your first judgement, and refuse to repeat. Tell your imam. Do not mistake the doubt for piety.
Common questions
Can I make wudu in a public bathroom at work?
Yes. Washing your feet in a sink is awkward rather than wrong — many people wipe over clean socks instead, which several schools permit under conditions, or use a bottle of water in a cubicle. Ask your imam about wiping over socks, since the conditions differ by school.
Does nail polish or makeup affect it?
Water must reach the skin and the nail. Anything forming a waterproof layer — nail polish in particular — prevents that and must be removed. Ordinary makeup, moisturiser, or henna staining does not, because they do not seal the surface.
What if I have a cast, bandage, or wound?
Wash what you can and wipe over the covering. If neither is possible without harm, tayammum — the dry substitute — covers it.
Do I need to dry myself afterwards?
No. Drying is permitted and leaving the water on your skin is permitted. Neither is required.
What comes next
You can now purify yourself for prayer. The next thing is the prayer itself — the five times, and how to perform them.