What breaks wudu, and the rulings of minor impurity
The things that end wudu, the things that do not despite appearances, and what is and is not allowed without it.
Wudu stays with you until something breaks it. Some things people think break it actually do not!
These things break your wudu
- Anything coming out of your private parts.
- Blood or pus coming out of your body.
- Throwing up a mouthful.
- Coughing or spitting up a lot of blood from your mouth or nose.
- Falling asleep lying down, or leaning on something so that you fall asleep.
- Fainting.
- Losing your mind through severe illness.
- Being drunk or drugged.
- Laughing loudly during prayer, while bowing or in sajdah: this is called qahqahah.
- A husband and wife being intimate together.
These things do NOT break your wudu
- Being undressed, or seeing or touching someone else's private parts, as long as nothing comes out.
- A mother's milk leaking by itself, or a baby feeding from it.
- Burping, even a smelly one.
- Something clean coming out of your ears or nose.
- Laughing so quietly in prayer that no one else can hear you.
- A bit of flesh or a small bug falling off a wound.
- Getting a haircut or cutting your nails after wudu.
You must not pray, or do a sajdah, without wudu.
You must not touch the Qur'an itself without wudu. It is fine to hold it if it has a cover, and it is fine to read it out loud from memory or by looking at it, without touching it.
Doing Tawaf around the Kaaba without wudu is strongly disliked; try hard not to do it.
Wudu lasts until something happens that breaks it. This page lists what breaks it, what does not, even though people sometimes think it does, and what a person without it may and may not do.
| # | What breaks wudu |
|---|---|
| 1 | Anything coming out of the private parts, whether this happens often or not. |
| 2 | Blood or pus flowing out from the body. |
| 3 | Vomiting a mouthful: of food, drink, or clotted blood. |
| 4 | Coughing up or spitting out blood or phlegm from the mouth or nose in a quantity where the blood is as much as, or more than, the phlegm. |
| 5 | Lying down on one side, or resting on one hip against a support, in a way that brings on sleep or unconsciousness. |
| 6 | Fainting, whether from illness or shock. |
| 7 | Loss of reason (insanity). |
| 8 | Intoxication. |
| 9 | Laughing loudly during prayer, in bowing or prostration, known as qahqahah. |
| 10 | Sexual intercourse. |
| # | What does not break wudu |
|---|---|
| 1 | A man or woman being naked, or one seeing or touching the other's private parts, as long as nothing is discharged. |
| 2 | A woman's breast leaking milk by itself, being squeezed, or a baby nursing from it. |
| 3 | Burping, even if it has a smell. |
| 4 | Something pure coming out of the ears or nose. |
| 5 | Laughing so quietly during prayer that no one nearby can hear it. |
| 6 | A piece of flesh or a small creature falling from a wound. |
| 7 | Getting a haircut, trimming the nails, or scratching off dead skin from a wound, after wudu. |
The state that comes over the body when wudu is broken is called hadath asghar (minor impurity).
Praying without wudu (whether fard, nafl, Jumu'ah, Eid, or the funeral prayer) is haram, as is performing a prostration of recitation or of gratitude.
Touching the Qur'an directly, without a cover, while lacking wudu, is haram. It is permissible to hold it if it is in a cover or wrapped in cloth not attached to it, and to recite or teach it from memory or by looking at it, or to give it to children.
Performing Tawaf of the Kaaba without wudu is makruh tahrimi (strongly disliked).
Wudu remains in force until an invalidator occurs. This page sets out the invalidators, the acts that resemble an invalidator but are not one, and the rulings that attach to the state of minor impurity (hadath asghar).
| # | What breaks wudu |
|---|---|
| 1 | Anything emerging from the private parts, whether a regular occurrence or not. |
| 2 | Blood or pus flowing out from the body. |
| 3 | Vomiting a mouthful: of food, drink, or clotted blood. |
| 4 | Coughing or spitting blood or phlegm from the mouth or nose in a quantity where the blood is dominant or equal to the phlegm. |
| 5 | Lying on one side, or resting on one hip against a support, in a manner that brings on sleep or unconsciousness. |
| 6 | Fainting, whether from illness or shock. |
| 7 | Junun (loss of reason). |
| 8 | Intoxication. |
| 9 | Laughing aloud during prayer, in ruku' or sujud: qahqahah. |
| 10 | Sexual intercourse: the genitals of two adults meeting with no barrier between them. |
| # | What does not break wudu |
|---|---|
| 1 | A man or woman being naked, or one seeing or touching the other's private parts, provided no discharge occurs. |
| 2 | A woman's breast leaking milk of itself, being squeezed, or a child nursing from it. |
| 3 | Belching, even where it carries a smell. |
| 4 | Something tahir (pure) emerging from the ears or nose. |
| 5 | Laughing during prayer so quietly that it is not audible to anyone nearby. |
| 6 | A piece of flesh or an insect falling from a wound. |
| 7 | A haircut, trimming the nails, or scratching dead skin from a wound, after wudu. |
The state that arises in the body when wudu is broken is called hadath asghar (minor impurity).
Performing any prayer while in hadath asghar (nafl, fard, Jumu'ah, Eid, or janazah) is haram, as is a prostration of recitation (sajdah tilawah) or of gratitude (sajdah shukr).
Touching the Qur'an without a cover while in hadath asghar is haram. It remains permissible to touch it if it is in a cover or wrapped in cloth not attached to it, to recite or teach it whether from memory or by looking, and to give it to children or let them touch it.
Performing Tawaf of the Kaaba while in hadath asghar is makruh tahrimi.
Terms on this page
Related
- When wudu is fard, wajib, sunnah or mustahabb The occasions on which wudu is obligatory, necessary before an act, recommended, or simply preferable.
- Severe and light impurity, what is excused, and what is not impure at all What counts as severe or light impurity, how much of each is excused on the body or clothes, and things that are not impure at all.
- Menstruation, postnatal bleeding, and the rulings of major impurity What hayd and nifas are, how long they last, what is forbidden during major impurity, and when prayer and intercourse resume.
- The types of water, and which can be used for purification Absolute, flowing, still, large-quantity, small-quantity, restricted and used water, and the rulings that attach to each.