The sunnahs and preferred acts (mustahabbat) of wudu

Everything in the method of wudu beyond the four obligations: the sunnahs, the mustahabb acts, and the words recommended at each step.

Besides the four must-do parts, there are extra good things (sunnah and mustahabb) that make your wudu better and earn you more reward. We already showed the full order in How to Make Wudu: here is why some of those extra steps matter.

Sunnahs: the Prophet's ﷺ way

Make the intention in your heart.
Say Bismillah at the start.
Wash your hands up to the wrist.
Rinse your mouth.
Use a miswak, if you have one.
Put water in your nose.
Comb your beard with your fingers, if you have one.
Spread your fingers apart so water gets between them.
Wipe your whole head once.
Wipe both ears once.
Spread your toes apart so water gets between them.
Wash each part three times.
Wash each part before the last one dries.
Do all the parts in the right order.

It is also good (mustahabb) to sit somewhere raised, face the qibla, use your right hand for rinsing your mouth and taking water into your nose, use your left hand to clean your nose and to wash your feet, wash your right side before your left, and not ask anyone to help you with wudu unless you really need it.

After you finish wudu, it is good to say the Shahada and ask Allah's blessing on the Prophet ﷺ; this brings extra reward.

Beyond the four obligations, everything else in the method of wudu is either sunnah (the Prophet's ﷺ established practice, whose habitual neglect is blameworthy though the wudu remains valid) or mustahabb: recommended, earning reward but carrying no blame if left out. All of it is already set out in order in How to Make Wudu; this page lists the two categories on their own, together with the words recommended at each step.

The sunnahs of wudu
#	Sunnah
1	Making the intention (niyyah).
2	Saying the name of Allah (Bismillah).
3	Washing both hands up to the wrists.
4	Rinsing the mouth.
5	Using a miswak.
6	Putting water into the nose.
7	Combing through the beard with the fingers.
8	Separating the fingers of both hands.
9	Wiping the whole head once.
10	Wiping both ears once.
11	Separating the toes of both feet.
12	Washing each limb three times.
13	Washing the limbs in succession, one before the previous one dries.
14	Performing wudu in the correct order.

Leaving these out does not invalidate the wudu, but leaving them out habitually is blameworthy.

The mustahabb (preferred) acts of wudu
#	Preferred act
1	Sitting in an elevated place.
2	Facing the qiblah.
3	Using a clay pot for the water.
4	Using the right hand to rinse the mouth and to take water into the nose.
5	Using the left hand to clean the nose.
6	Washing the face with both hands.
7	Washing the hands from the fingers toward the wrists, not from the elbows.
8	Inserting the little finger into the ear holes when wiping the ears.
9	Wiping the neck.
10	Washing the feet with the left hand.
11	Rubbing the limbs while washing them.
12	Washing the right limb before the left.
13	Washing the limbs more than the prescribed amount.
14	Moving a loose ring while making wudu.
15	Not asking anyone for help with wudu unless it is necessary.
16	Drinking the water left over from wudu, while standing.

Item 13 is given exactly as the source text states it, even though it appears to sit alongside the makruh rule against washing a part more than three times: see the note flagged on this batch for the owner to clarify.

It is also mustahabb to recite specific words while washing or wiping each part, as mentioned in Hadith, and to send blessings (salawat) on the Prophet ﷺ after washing each limb. Reciting the shahada and sending blessings on the Prophet ﷺ after wudu is itself a means of reward.

When rinsing the mouth

اَللّٰهُمَّ أَعِنِّيْ عَلىٰ تِلَاوَةِ الْقُرْآنِ وَذِكْرِكَ وَشُكْرِكَ وَحُسْنِ عِبَادَتِكَ

Allāhumma aʿinnī ʿalā tilāwati'l-Qurʾāni wa dhikrika wa shukrika wa ḥusni ʿibādatik

O Allah, help me to recite the Qur'an, to remember You, to thank You, and to worship You well.

When taking water into the nose

اَللّٰهُمَّ أَرِحْنِيْ رَائِحَةَ الْجَنَّةِ وَلَا تُرِحْنِيْ رَائِحَةَ النَّارِ

Allāhumma ariḥnī rāʾiḥata'l-jannati wa lā turiḥnī rāʾiḥata'n-nār

O Allah, let me smell the fragrance of Paradise, and do not let me smell the odour of the Fire.

When washing the face

اَللّٰهُمَّ بَيِّضْ وَجْهِيْ يَوْمَ تَبْيَضُّ وُجُوهٌ وَتَسْوَدُّ وُجُوهٌ

Allāhumma bayyiḍ wajhī yawma tabyaḍḍu wujūhun wa taswaddu wujūh

O Allah, make my face bright on the day when some faces will be made bright and other faces will be darkened.

When washing the right hand

اَللّٰهُمَّ أَعْطِنِيْ كِتَابِيْ بِيَمِينِيْ وَحَاسِبْنِيْ حِسَابًا يَسِيرًا

Allāhumma aʿṭinī kitābī bi-yamīnī wa ḥāsibnī ḥisāban yasīrā

O Allah, give me my record in my right hand, and make my reckoning an easy one.

When washing the left hand

اَللّٰهُمَّ لَا تُعْطِنِيْ كِتَابِيْ بِشِمَالِيْ وَلَا مِنْ وَرَاءِ ظَهْرِيْ

Allāhumma lā tuʿṭinī kitābī bi-shimālī wa lā min warāʾi ẓahrī

O Allah, do not give me my record in my left hand, nor from behind my back.

When wiping the head

اَللّٰهُمَّ أَظِلَّنِيْ تَحْتَ ظِلِّ عَرْشِكَ يَوْمَ لَا ظِلَّ إِلَّا ظِلُّ عَرْشِكَ

Allāhumma aẓillanī taḥta ẓilli ʿarshika yawma lā ẓilla illā ẓillu ʿarshik

O Allah, shelter me under the shade of Your Throne, on the day when there is no shade but the shade of Your Throne.

When wiping the ears

اَللّٰهُمَّ اجْعَلْنِيْ مِنَ الَّذِينَ يَسْتَمِعُونَ الْقَوْلَ فَيَتَّبِعُونَ أَحْسَنَهٗ

Allāhumma'jʿalnī mina'lladhīna yastamiʿūna'l-qawla fa-yattabiʿūna aḥsanah

O Allah, make me among those who listen to speech and follow the best of it.

When wiping the neck

اَللّٰهُمَّ اعْتِقْ رَقَبَتِيْ مِنَ النَّارِ

Allāhumma aʿtiq raqabatī mina'n-nār

O Allah, free my neck from the Fire.

When washing the right foot

اَللّٰهُمَّ ثَبِّتْ قَدَمِيْ عَلَى الصِّرَاطِ يَوْمَ تَزِلُّ الْأَقْدَامُ

Allāhumma thabbit qadamī ʿala'ṣ-ṣirāṭi yawma tazillu'l-aqdām

O Allah, keep my feet firm on the Path, on the day when feet will slip.

When washing the left foot

اَللّٰهُمَّ اجْعَلْ ذَنْبِيْ مَغْفُوْرًا وَسَعْيِيْ مَشْكُوْرًا وَتِجَارَتِيْ لَنْ تَبُوْرَ

Allāhumma'jʿal dhanbī maghfūran wa saʿyī mashkūran wa tijāratī lan tabūr

O Allah, make my sin forgiven, my effort appreciated, and my trade one that will never fail.

After finishing wudu, it is mustahabb to recite the shahada, the supplication of repentance and purity, and Surah al-Qadr. If it is not a disliked time for prayer, praying two rakats of nafl, known as Tahiyyat al-Wudu, is also recommended.

Beyond the four fara'id, everything else in the method of wudu is either sunnah (the Prophet's ﷺ established practice, whose habitual neglect is blameworthy though the wudu remains valid) or mustahabb, recommended for reward with no blame for leaving it out. The complete sequence is set out in order in How to Make Wudu; this page treats the two categories, and the transmitted words at each step, on their own.

The sunnahs of wudu
#	Sunnah
1	Making the intention (niyyah).
2	Saying the name of Allah (tasmiyah).
3	Washing both hands up to the wrists.
4	Rinsing the mouth (madmadah).
5	Using a miswak.
6	Drawing water into the nose (istinshaq).
7	Combing through the beard with the fingers (takhlil).
8	Separating the fingers of both hands (takhlil).
9	Wiping the whole head once.
10	Wiping both ears once.
11	Separating the toes of both feet (takhlil).
12	Washing each limb three times.
13	Muwalat: washing the limbs in succession, before the previous one dries.
14	Tartib: performing wudu in the correct order.

Omitting a sunnah does not invalidate the wudu, but habitual neglect of it is blameworthy.

The mustahabb (preferred) acts of wudu
#	Preferred act
1	Sitting in an elevated place.
2	Facing the qiblah.
3	Using a clay pot for the water.
4	Using the right hand to rinse the mouth and to take water into the nose.
5	Using the left hand to clean the nose.
6	Washing the face with both hands.
7	Washing the hands from the fingers toward the wrists, not from the elbows.
8	Inserting the little finger into the ear holes when wiping the ears.
9	Wiping the neck.
10	Washing the feet with the left hand.
11	Dalk: rubbing the limbs while washing them.
12	Washing the right limb before the left (tayamun).
13	Washing the limbs more than the prescribed amount.
14	Moving a loose ring while making wudu.
15	Not asking anyone for help with wudu unless it is necessary.
16	Drinking the water left over from wudu, while standing.

Item 13 is reproduced exactly as the source text gives it. It appears to sit in tension with the makruh ruling, given separately, against washing a part more than three times; this has been flagged for the owner rather than resolved here.

It is also mustahabb to recite specific supplications while washing or wiping each part, as mentioned in Hadith, and to send salawat upon the Prophet ﷺ after washing each limb. Reciting the shahada and sending salawat after wudu is itself a means of reward.