How to perform wudu

Wudu is the washing before prayer. Its obligatory parts are in the Quran (5:6), and the Prophet’s ﷺ way of doing it was described by his Companions.

Why wudu is needed

• Quran 5:6 O you who believe, when you rise for prayer, wash your faces and your arms up to the elbows, wipe your heads, and your feet up to the ankles.
• Sahih al-Bukhari 135, Sahih Muslim 225 Allah does not accept the prayer of one who has broken his wudu until he performs wudu again.
• Sahih al-Bukhari 1 Actions are judged by intentions.

Steps (Sunni schools)

1. Make the intention in your heart and say Bismillah.
2. Wash both hands up to the wrists, three times.
3. Rinse the mouth, three times.
4. Rinse the nose: draw water in and blow it out, three times.
5. Wash the face from the hairline to the chin and from ear to ear, three times.
6. Wash the right arm up to and including the elbow, three times, then the left.
7. Wipe the head with wet hands, then the ears.
8. Wash the right foot up to and including the ankle, three times, then the left, between the toes too.

Uthman ibn Affan showed the Prophet’s ﷺ wudu this way: Sahih al-Bukhari 159, Sahih Muslim 226. Washing the feet: “Woe to the heels from the Fire” (Sahih al-Bukhari 60, Sahih Muslim 241).

Jafari wudu

1. Intention, then wash the face from the hairline to the chin, from top to bottom.
2. Wash the right arm from the elbow down to the fingertips, then the left.
3. With the water left on the right hand, wipe the front of the head.
4. With the water left on the hands, wipe the top of the right foot from the toes to the ankle, then the left.

Quran 5:6 is read as wiping the feet. Imam al-Baqir showed the Prophet’s ﷺ wudu, wiping the head and feet with the water left on his hands: al-Kafi, vol. 3, Book of Purity, chapters on the description of wudu and on wiping the head and feet.

Where the schools differ

Intention

A condition for a valid wudu in the Shafi‘i, Maliki, Hanbali and Jafari schools; a sunnah in the Hanafi school.

Wiping the head

Hanafi: at least a quarter of the head (the Prophet ﷺ wiped his forelock, Sahih Muslim 274). Shafi‘i: any part. Maliki and Hanbali: the whole head (Sahih al-Bukhari 185, Sahih Muslim 235). Jafari: part of the front of the head.

Feet

The Sunni schools wash the feet; the Jafari school wipes them.

Order and continuity

Shafi‘i, Hanbali and Jafari: the order of Quran 5:6 is required. Maliki, Hanbali and Jafari: the parts must follow each other without a long break. Hanafi: both are sunnah.

What breaks wudu

All schools: using the toilet, passing wind, deep sleep and losing consciousness (Quran 5:6; Sahih al-Bukhari 135). The schools differ on bleeding, vomiting and touching the opposite sex, so follow your school.

Last updated: Tuesday, 6 October 2026