Islamic Manual

How to make wudu, step by step

The full sunnah method of wudu in order, from the intention to the supplication at the end, with the words to say.

Wudu is the washing you do before you pray. You wash your face, your arms and your feet, and you wipe your head with wet hands.

The eight stages of wudu, in orderHands to the wrists, rinsing the mouth, rinsing the nose, washing the face from hairline to chin, washing the arms past the elbows, wiping the head, wiping the ears and the nape, washing the feet past the ankles.1Hands to the wrists2Rinse the mouth3Rinse the nose4hairlinechinThe whole face5elbowArms to the elbows6Wipe the head7Ears and the nape8ankleFeet to the ankles
The order to follow.

Make wudu like this

  1. Sit facing the Kaaba if you can. Say in your heart that you are making wudu.Say: Bismillāhi wa'l-ḥamdu lillāh.
  2. Wash both hands up to the wrists three times. Start with the right hand.
  3. Rinse your mouth three times, using water from your right hand.
  4. Rinse your nose three times. Put the water in with your right hand and blow it out with your left.
  5. Wash your whole face three times, from the top of your forehead to under your chin, and from one ear to the other.
  6. Wash both arms three times, up to and including the elbows. Start with the right arm.
  7. Wet your hands and wipe your whole head, your ears and the back of your neck, one time.
  8. Wash both feet three times, up to and including the ankles. Start with the right foot.
Say this at the start of wudu

بِسْمِ اللّٰهِ وَالْحَمْدُ لِلّٰهِ عَلٰى دِيْنِ الْإِسْلَامِ

Bismillāhi wa'l-ḥamdu lillāhi ʿalā dīni'l-Islām

In the name of Allah, and all praise is for Allah for the religion of Islam.

Say this when you finish

اَللّٰهُمَّ اجْعَلْنِيْ مِنَ التَّوَّابِيْنَ وَاجْعَلْنِيْ مِنَ الْمُتَطَهِّرِيْنَ

Allāhumma'jʿalnī mina't-tawwābīna wa'jʿalnī mina'l-mutaṭahhirīn

O Allah, make me one of those who turn back to You, and make me one of those who keep themselves pure.

Wudu is purification from minor impurity (ḥadath aṣghar) by washing the face, the arms and the feet, and wiping the head. The method below is the complete sunnah method: it contains the four obligatory acts together with the sunnah and preferred acts, performed in order.

The eight stages of wudu, in orderHands to the wrists, rinsing the mouth, rinsing the nose, washing the face from hairline to chin, washing the arms past the elbows, wiping the head, wiping the ears and the nape, washing the feet past the ankles.1Hands to the wrists2Rinse the mouth3Rinse the nose4hairlinechinThe whole face5elbowArms to the elbows6Wipe the head7Ears and the nape8ankleFeet to the ankles

The sunnah method

  1. Sit facing the qiblah with the water in a vessel on a raised surface. Form the intention to make wudu and recite Bismillāhi wa'l-ḥamdu lillāhi ʿalā dīni'l-Islām.
  2. Wash both hands up to the wrists three times, beginning with the right.
  3. Take water in the right hand and rinse the mouth three times, letting the water reach the throat, unless you are fasting. Use a miswak, or rub the teeth with the index finger if none is available.
  4. Rinse the nose three times, drawing the water up with the right hand and expelling it with the left.
  5. Wash the whole face three times, from the top of the forehead to below the chin and from one earlobe to the other, leaving nowhere dry. Comb through a beard with the fingers.
  6. Wash the arms three times from the fingertips up to and including the elbows, beginning with the right, interlacing the fingers so the water reaches between them.
  7. With both hands wet, wipe the whole head, the ears and the back of the neck in a single motion.
  8. Wash both feet three times up to and including the ankles, beginning with the right, using the left hand and passing it between the toes.
  9. On finishing, look towards the sky and recite the testimony of faith.
  10. Then recite the supplication of repentance and purity, and Subḥānaka'llāhumma wa bi-ḥamdik.
  11. It is recommended to recite Sūrat al-Qadr afterwards.
Farḍmust do

Every part that must be washed has to be reached by water. If any of it stays dry, even an area the size of a hair, the wudu is not valid.

At the beginning of wudu

بِسْمِ اللّٰهِ وَالْحَمْدُ لِلّٰهِ عَلٰى دِيْنِ الْإِسْلَامِ

Bismillāhi wa'l-ḥamdu lillāhi ʿalā dīni'l-Islām

In the name of Allah, and all praise is due to Allah for the religion of Islam.

The testimony of faith, recited on finishing

اَشْهَدُ اَنْ لَّا إِلٰهَ إِلَّا اللّٰهُ وَحْدَهٗ لَا شَرِيْكَ لَهٗ وَأَشْهَدُ أَنَّ مُحَمَّدًا عَبْدُهٗ وَرَسُوْلُهٗ

Ashhadu an lā ilāha illa'llāhu waḥdahū lā sharīka lah, wa ashhadu anna Muḥammadan ʿabduhū wa rasūluh

I bear witness that there is no deity but Allah alone, with no partner, and I bear witness that Muhammad is His servant and His messenger.

The supplication of repentance and purity

اَللّٰهُمَّ اجْعَلْنِيْ مِنَ التَّوَّابِيْنَ وَاجْعَلْنِيْ مِنَ الْمُتَطَهِّرِيْنَ

Allāhumma'jʿalnī mina't-tawwābīna wa'jʿalnī mina'l-mutaṭahhirīn

O Allah, make me among those who constantly repent, and make me among those who keep themselves pure.

Also recited on finishing

سُبْحَانَكَ اَللّٰهُمَّ وَبِحَمْدِكَ أَشْهَدُ أَنْ لَّا إِلٰهَ إِلَّا أَنْتَ أَسْتَغْفِرُكَ وَأَتُوْبُ إِلَيْكَ

Subḥānaka'llāhumma wa bi-ḥamdik, ashhadu an lā ilāha illā anta, astaghfiruka wa atūbu ilayk

Glory is to You, O Allah, and all praise is Yours. I bear witness that there is no deity but You; I seek Your forgiveness and I turn to You in repentance.

Wuḍūʾ is ṭahārah from ḥadath aṣghar, effected by washing the face, the forearms including the elbows, and the feet including the ankles, together with masḥ of a quarter of the head. The sequence set out below is the complete sunnah method: it comprises the four farāʾiḍ, the sunan and the mustaḥabbāt performed in their received order, so that the acts of each category can then be distinguished from one another.

The eight stages of wudu, in orderHands to the wrists, rinsing the mouth, rinsing the nose, washing the face from hairline to chin, washing the arms past the elbows, wiping the head, wiping the ears and the nape, washing the feet past the ankles.1Hands to the wrists2Rinse the mouth3Rinse the nose4hairlinechinThe whole face5elbowArms to the elbows6Wipe the head7Ears and the nape8ankleFeet to the ankles

The received order

  1. Sit facing the qiblah, the water in a vessel placed on a raised surface. Form the niyyah and recite Bismillāhi wa'l-ḥamdu lillāhi ʿalā dīni'l-Islām.The niyyah is sunnah in wuḍūʾ in the Hanafi school, not a farḍ of it; the washing is valid without it, though the reward attaches to it.
  2. Wash both hands to the wrists three times, beginning with the right.
  3. Madmaḍah three times, water taken in the right hand, carried to the throat (istinshāq of the throat is omitted by one who is fasting, lest water pass). Use the miswāk; the index finger substitutes for it when none is at hand.
  4. Istinshāq three times, drawn up with the right hand and expelled with the left.
  5. Wash the whole face three times (from the natural hairline to beneath the chin, and from one earlobe to the other), leaving no part untouched; takhlīl of a thick beard with the fingers.
  6. Wash the forearms three times to and including the elbows, right first, with takhlīl between the fingers.
  7. Masḥ of the whole head, the ears and the nape in one motion, with the wetness remaining on the hands or with fresh water.
  8. Wash the feet three times to and including the ankles, right first, with the left hand, passing the little finger between the toes.
  9. Raise the gaze and recite the shahādah.
  10. Recite Allāhumma'jʿalnī mina't-tawwābīn… and Subḥānaka'llāhumma wa bi-ḥamdik…
  11. Recitation of Sūrat al-Qadr (Innā anzalnāhu) after wuḍūʾ is mustaḥabb; the transmitted invocations at each limb belong to the mustaḥabbāt of wuḍūʾ.
Farḍmust do

Isābat al-māʾ to every part of the maghsūlāt is farḍ. Should any portion remain dry, even to the extent of a hair's breadth, the wuḍūʾ is not valid.

The three categories the method combines
Category If left outExample from the method above
Farḍ The wudu is not validWashing the whole face once
Sunnah The wudu is valid but incomplete and blameworthyMadmaḍah and istinshāq
Mustaḥabb No blame; reward and completeness are lostFacing the qiblah; the closing supplications

Each category is set out in full in the sections on the obligations, sunnahs and preferred acts of wudu.

At the beginning of wuḍūʾ

بِسْمِ اللّٰهِ وَالْحَمْدُ لِلّٰهِ عَلٰى دِيْنِ الْإِسْلَامِ

Bismillāhi wa'l-ḥamdu lillāhi ʿalā dīni'l-Islām

In the name of Allah, and all praise is due to Allah for the religion of Islam.

The shahādah, recited on completion

اَشْهَدُ اَنْ لَّا إِلٰهَ إِلَّا اللّٰهُ وَحْدَهٗ لَا شَرِيْكَ لَهٗ وَأَشْهَدُ أَنَّ مُحَمَّدًا عَبْدُهٗ وَرَسُوْلُهٗ

Ashhadu an lā ilāha illa'llāhu waḥdahū lā sharīka lah, wa ashhadu anna Muḥammadan ʿabduhū wa rasūluh

I bear witness that there is no deity but Allah alone, with no partner, and I bear witness that Muhammad is His servant and His messenger.

The supplication of repentance and purity

اَللّٰهُمَّ اجْعَلْنِيْ مِنَ التَّوَّابِيْنَ وَاجْعَلْنِيْ مِنَ الْمُتَطَهِّرِيْنَ

Allāhumma'jʿalnī mina't-tawwābīna wa'jʿalnī mina'l-mutaṭahhirīn

O Allah, make me among those who constantly repent, and make me among those who keep themselves pure.

Also recited on completion

سُبْحَانَكَ اَللّٰهُمَّ وَبِحَمْدِكَ أَشْهَدُ أَنْ لَّا إِلٰهَ إِلَّا أَنْتَ أَسْتَغْفِرُكَ وَأَتُوْبُ إِلَيْكَ

Subḥānaka'llāhumma wa bi-ḥamdik, ashhadu an lā ilāha illā anta, astaghfiruka wa atūbu ilayk

Glory is to You, O Allah, and all praise is Yours. I bear witness that there is no deity but You; I seek Your forgiveness and I turn to You in repentance.

Terms on this page

wudu masah miswak qibla

Related