What Are the Essentials of Wudu (Ablution)?
ما هي أركان الوضوء؟
Washing the face (including rinsing the mouth and the nose)
Washing the hands up to the elbows
Rubbing the head with wet hands
Washing the feet up to the ankles
Washing in the previous sequence
Continuity: washing the limbs one after another, so that the washing of one is not delayed after another
Allah the Almighty says:
(O you who have believed, when you rise to [perform] prayer, wash your faces and your forearms to the elbows and wipe over your heads and wash your feet to the ankles.) [Al-Ma’idah 5:6]
غسل الوجه منها المضمضة والاستنشاق
غسل اليدين إلى المرافق
مسح الرأس
غسل الرجلين إلى الكعبين
الترتيب
الموالاة: متابعة الغسل بحيث لا يؤخر غسل الأعضاء عن بعضها
قال تعالى:
(يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا إِذَا قُمْتُمْ إِلَى الصَّلَاةِ فَاغْسِلُوا وُجُوهَكُمْ وَأَيْدِيَكُمْ إِلَى الْمَرَافِقِ وَامْسَحُوا بِرُءُوسِكُمْ وَأَرْجُلَكُمْ إِلَى الْكَعْبَيْنِ) [المائدة 5: 6]
1. The Face, the Mouth and the Nose | فاغسلوا وجوهكم
Uthman called for water, washed his hands three times, then rinsed his mouth and his nose, then washed his face three times and his arms to the elbows three times, then wiped his head, then washed each foot three times, and said: I saw the Prophet perform wudu like this wudu of mine (Sahih al-Bukhari 164). Ibn Kathir notes that the Prophet, by many reports, rinsed his mouth and nose whenever he performed wudu, and that the imams differed on them: obligatory in wudu and the bath, the school of Ahmad ibn Hanbal, or recommended in both, the school of ash-Shafi’i and Malik. The scholar counts them within washing the face.
عن حمران مولى عثمان بن عفان: "أنه رأى عثمان دعا بوضوء، فأفرغ على يديه من إنائه، فغسلهما ثلاث مرات، ثم أدخل يمينه في الوضوء، ثم تمضمض، واستنشق، واستنثر، ثم غسل وجهه ثلاثا ويديه إلى المرفقين ثلاثا، ثم مسح برأسه، ثم غسل كل رجل ثلاثا، ثم قال: رأيت النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم يتوضأ نحو وضوئي هذا" (صحيح البخاري 164)، قال ابن كثير: وقد ثبت عن النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم من غير وجه في الصحاح وغيرها: أنه كان إذا توضأ تمضمض واستنشق، فاختلف الأئمة في ذلك: هل هما واجبان في الوضوء والغسل، كما هو مذهب أحمد بن حنبل رحمه الله؟ أو مستحبان فيهما، كما هو مذهب الشافعي ومالك؟
2. Up to and Including the Elbows | وأيديكم إلى المرافق
And your hands up to the elbows (5:6): Ibn Kathir explains “up to the elbows” as “with the elbows”, just as “to” means “with” in the verse on orphans, nor cheat them by mixing their wealth with your own (4:2). So the elbows are washed with the arms.
وَأَيْدِيَكُمْ إِلَى الْمَرَافِقِ (سورة المائدة: 6)
قال تعالى: (وأيديكم إلى المرافق) (المائدة 5: 6)، قال ابن كثير: وقوله: (وأيديكم إلى المرافق) أي: مع المرافق، كما قال تعالى: (ولا تأكلوا أموالهم إلى أموالكم إنه كان حوبا كبيرا) (النساء 4: 2).
3. The Feet and the Heels | ويل للأعقاب من النار
And wash your feet to the ankles (5:6). Ibn Kathir reports that Ibn Abbas read “and your feet” with the washed limbs and said: it returns to washing. Abu Hurayrah, passing people making wudu, said: Perform wudu fully, for Abu al-Qasim, the Prophet, said: Woe to the heels from the Fire (Sahih al-Bukhari 165).
وَأَرْجُلَكُمْ إِلَى الْكَعْبَيْنِ (سورة المائدة: 6)
قال تعالى: (وأرجلكم إلى الكعبين) (المائدة 5: 6)، قال ابن كثير: عن ابن عباس أنه قرأها: (وأرجلكم) يقول: رجعت إلى الغسل، وقال أبو هريرة رضي الله عنه: "أسبغوا الوضوء فإن أبا القاسم صلى الله عليه وسلم قال: ويل للأعقاب من النار" (صحيح البخاري 165).
4. Order and Continuity | الترتيب والموالاة
Ibn Kathir explains that the majority hold the order of the limbs to be required, taking it from the verse, while Abu Hanifa did not make it a condition. And Umar reports that a man performed wudu and left a spot the size of a nail on his foot; the Prophet saw it and said: Go back and perform your wudu well; so he went back, then prayed (Sahih Muslim 243). When water cannot be used, see the difference between wudu and tayammum.
قال ابن كثير: ومن هاهنا ذهب من ذهب إلى وجوب الترتيب كما هو مذهب الجمهور، خلافا لأبي حنيفة حيث لم يشترط الترتيب، وأخبر عمر بن الخطاب رضي الله عنه: "أن رجلا توضأ فترك موضع ظفر على قدمه فأبصره النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم فقال: ارجع فأحسن وضوءك، فرجع ثم صلى" (صحيح مسلم 243).
Scholarly Insight: Each limb of wudu is cleansed of its own sins: the Prophet said that when the Muslim washes his face, every sin he looked at with his eyes leaves his face with the water, when he washes his hands, every sin his hands committed leaves them, and when he washes his feet, every sin his feet walked to leaves them, until he comes out pure of sins (Sahih Muslim 244). Read more in the tafsir of Surah Al-Ma’idah.
Frequently Asked Questions | الأسئلة الشائعة
What are the essentials of wudu?
Six: washing the face, including rinsing the mouth and the nose; washing the hands up to the elbows; wiping the head; washing the feet up to the ankles; keeping this order; and continuity.
Are rinsing the mouth and nose part of wudu?
The scholar counts them within washing the face. Ibn Kathir notes that the Prophet always did them, and that the imams differed on whether they are obligatory.
Are the elbows washed with the arms?
Yes. Ibn Kathir explains “up to the elbows” in 5:6 as “with the elbows”.
What did the Prophet say about heels left dry?
Woe to the heels from the Fire (Sahih al-Bukhari 165).
Prepared by Eng. Ghada Homad, founder of IslamFAQ, researched and written in consultation with qualified scholars, reviewed by Professor Khaled Jassem Al-Houli, Associate Professor of Comparative Jurisprudence and Islamic Politics, Faculty of Sharia and Islamic Studies, University of Kuwait. Read more about the authors and this project →