Wudu

The al-Kas fountain in the Al-Aqsa Mosque

Wuḍūʾ (Arabic: الوضوء‎‎ al-wuḍūʼ IPA: [wʊˈdˤuːʔ]) is the Islamic procedure for washing parts of the body, a type of ritual purification. Wudu involves washing the hands, mouth, nostrils, arms, head, and feet with water, and is an important part of ritual purity in Islam. What activities require wuḍūʾ, what rituals constitute it, and what breaks or invalidates it are governed by fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence)[1] and specifically its rules concerning hygiene.

Wuḍūʾ in other languages is Persian: آب‌دست or دست‌نماز‎‎ ābdast or dast-namāz Urdu: وضوء‎ / ALA-LC: wuz̤ūʾ IPA: [wʊzuː]; Turkish: abdest; Albanian: abdest; Bengali: অযু ôzu; Indonesian: wudhu; Chechen: Ламаз эцар/Lamaz ecar; Bosnian: abdest; Kurdish: destniwêj (دەست نوێژ)‎; Somali: weeso.

Wuḍūʾ is typically done in preparation for formal prayers (salat), and also before handling and reading the Qur'an.[1] Impurifying activities that invalidate wudu include urination, defecation, breaking wind, deep sleep, and light bleeding.[2]

Wuḍūʾ is often translated as "partial ablution", as opposed to ghusl ("full ablution"), washing the whole body, or tayammum ("dry ablution"), replacing water with sand or dust due to its scarcity, its harmful effect on the person, or some other reason.[3] Purification of the body and clothes is called taharah.

Basis in Quran and hadith

The Qur'an says "For God loves those who turn to Him constantly and He loves those who keep themselves pure and clean."[4] In regard to Muslims being required to be clean when handling and reading the Qur'an, the Qur'an says "Which none shall touch but those who are clean."[5] The Islamic prophet Muhammad said that "Cleanliness is half of faith".[6]

Water requirements

Permitted water types

Prohibited water types

Acts of wudū

Individual Wudu units at the University of Sheffield, UK
A wudu tap in Al-Ittihad Mosque, Pekanbaru. This kind of tap is common in Indonesian and Singaporean mosques.
Basin for ablutions of the Jama Masjid, Ahmedabad, India

There are four fard (obligatory) acts. If one of these acts is omitted, it must be returned to and then the succeeding acts completed.

There are other acts that are performed during wuḍūʾ (coming from the sunnah of Islamic prophet Muhammad and Sunni Islamic scholars) and the detailed acts of the wuḍūʾ can be classed into 3 types:

Farā'id according to Sunni Muslims

According to Sunni Muslims, the Qur'anic mandate for wuḍūʾ comes in the sixth ayat of sura 5. The ayat has been translated by Muhammad Muhsin Khan, Rashad Khalifa, Abdullah Yusuf Ali, Pickthal and Maulana Muhammad Ali as follows. Note that these scholars' translation refer to washing the feet.

O ye who believe! when ye prepare for prayer, wash your faces, and your hands (and arms) to the elbows; Rub your heads (with water); and (wash) your feet to the ankles. If ye are in a state of ceremonial impurity, bathe your whole body. But if ye are ill, or on a journey, or one of you cometh from offices of nature, or ye have been in contact with women, and ye find no water, then take for yourselves clean sand or earth, and rub therewith your faces and hands, Allah doth not wish to place you in a difficulty, but to make you clean, and to complete His favour to you, that ye may be grateful.
— Al-Ma'ida, Sura 5, Ayah 6[7]
  1. Narrated by Abd-Allah ibn Amr: "...we were just passing wet hands over our feet (not washing them thoroughly) so he addressed us in a loud voice saying twice or thrice, 'Save your heels from the fire.'."[9]
  2. Narrated by 'Ubaid Ibn Juraij: "...and he used to perform ablution while wearing the shoes (i.e. wash his feet and then put on the shoes)."[10]
  3. Narrated by Yahya Al-Mazini: " 'Can you show me how Allah's Apostle used to perform ablution?' ...and washed his feet (up to the ankles)."[11]
  4. Narrated by 'Amr: "...and then he washed his feet up to the ankles."[12]
  5. Narrated by Humran: "...and washed his feet up to the ankles..."[13]
  6. Narrated by 'Amr bin Yahya: "...and washed his feet up to the ankles..."[14]
  7. Narrated by 'Abdullah bin Zaid: "...and washed his feet (up to the ankles)."[15]

Farā'id according to Shia Muslims

Ablution in the Jameh Mosque of Isfahan, Iran

According to Shia Muslims the Qur'anic mandate for wuḍūʾ comes in the sixth ayat of sura 5. The ayat has been translated by Muhammad Habib Shakir as follows. Note this scholars translation refers to wiping the feet.

O ye who believe! when ye prepare for prayer, wash your faces, and your hands (and arms) to the elbows; Rub your heads (with water); and your feet to the ankles. If ye are in a state of ceremonial impurity, bathe your whole body. But if ye are ill, or on a journey, or one of you cometh from offices of nature, or ye have been in contact with women, and ye find no water, then take for yourselves clean sand or earth, and rub therewith your faces and hands, Allah doth not wish to place you in a difficulty, but to make you clean, and to complete His favour to you, that ye may be grateful.
— Al-Ma'ida, Sura 5, Ayah 6[7]

Sunnah

Sunnah (optional - practised by Muhammad and according to Sunni Hadiths) acts.

Mustahabbāt (recommended acts)

A handful of mustahabb (recommended) acts that are considered to make the wuḍūʾ better. If one of these acts is omitted, the wuḍūʾ is still considered valid.

People washing before prayer at the Badshahi Mosque in Lahore, Pakistan
Muslims performing ablution prior to Salat or other prayers.

Contentions

Muslims who are unable to perform the prevailing form of ablution, due to skin disease, a disability, or lack of clean water, etc. are recommended to perform tayammum, sometimes called "dry ablution", using sand or dust instead of water.[3] Such an alternative form of ritual purity may also be accepted in cases where one fears the acquisition of hypothermia in cold weather.[16]

Performance

According to Sunni Muslims

Sunni Muslims perform the following:[17]

According to Shia Muslims

Shia Muslims perform the following:[18]

Water System for Wudu, Tayba, Yemen

Imam Ali and the other imams have stated that there are mustahab, or recommended actions to wuḍūʾ along with the above-mentioned method.[20] These acts are recommended:

Invalidation

Wudu tap at Macau Mosque, Macau, China

Theoretically, one can perform one wuḍūʾ for salaat and this wuḍūʾ would be considered valid for the rest of the day. However, traditionally Muslims believe that certain acts invalidate the wuḍūʾ (often referred to as "breaking wuḍūʾ" and "losing wuḍūʾ") and these can be stated generically thus, although the Quran does not explain most of these:

According to Sunni Muslims

According to Shia Muslims

Smoking

Under interpretations of Islam, smoking does not break wuḍūʾ.

Tayammum

Stone of Tayammum

Tayammum is a "dry ablution" using clean soil or dust, to be performed when water is not readily available to perform ablution or when one is defiled (on janabah) and could not perform ghusl, and is authorised under specific circumstances.[22]

wuḍūʾ description in Hadith

wuḍūʾ in Hadith Abu Hurayra, in reference to the Day of Resurrection, reported that Muhammad, when asked if he would be able to recognise Muslims, said, "Yes, you would have a mark which other people will not have. You would come to me with a white blaze on your foreheads and white marks on your feet because of the traces of ablution."[23]

Abu Hurayra said, "I have heard prophet (may peace be upon him) say. In a believer adornment would reach the places where ablution reaches."[24]

Uthman ibn Affan stated that Muhammad, said, "He who performed ablution well, his sins would come out from his body, even coming out from under his nails."[25]

'Umar ibn al-Khattab reported that Muhammad said, "No one among you does wuḍūʾ and does wuḍūʾ thoroughly – or adequately – and then testifies, 'There is no god but Allah Alone with no partner and I testify that Muhammad is Allah's Messenger', without the eight doors of the Garden being opened to him so that he can enter by whichever of them he wishes."[26]

See also

Notes

    References

    1. 1 2 Glasse, Cyril (2001). The New Encyclopeida of Islam. Altmira Press. p. 477.
    2. ↑ Dikmen, Mehmet (3 May 2011). "What are the things that invalidate and break wudu?". Questions on Islam. Retrieved 3 May 2016.
    3. 1 2 Zeno, Jamil (1996). The Pillars of Islam & Iman. p. 78.
    4. ↑ Quran 2:222
    5. ↑ Quran 56:79
    6. ↑ Sahih Muslim, 2:432
    7. 1 2 Quran 5:6
    8. ↑ Sahih al-Bukhari, 1:4:182
    9. ↑ Sahih al-Bukhari, 1:4:164
    10. ↑ Sahih al-Bukhari, 1:4:167
    11. ↑ Sahih al-Bukhari, 1:4:185
    12. ↑ Sahih al-Bukhari, 1:4:186
    13. 1 2 Sahih al-Bukhari, 1:4:161
    14. ↑ Sahih al-Bukhari, 1:4:190
    15. ↑ Sahih al-Bukhari, 1:4:196
    16. ↑ Urumbuzhi, Muhyadheen (2010). Soul of the Quran-Volume 1. p. 487.
    17. ↑ Sahih al-Bukhari, 1:4:165
    18. ↑ "Wudhu / Ablution". Qul.org.au. Retrieved 2013-02-07.
    19. ↑ Ahmad ibn Muhammad al-Sayyari (2009). Kohlberg, Etan; Amir-Moezzi, Mohammad Ali, eds. "Revelation and Falsification: The Kitab al-qira'at of Ahmad b. Muhammad al-Sayyari: Critical Edition with an Introduction and Notes by Etan Kohlberg and Mohammad Ali Amir-Moezzi" (PDF). Texts and studies on the Qurʼān. BRILL. 4: 115. ISSN 1567-2808.
    20. ↑ "Recommendable Acts Of Wuḍūʾ". Revertmuslims.com. Retrieved 2013-02-07.
    21. ↑ "Wudhu". islamic-laws.com. Retrieved 2014-08-16.
    22. ↑ "Tayammum". Majalla.org. Retrieved 2013-02-07.
    23. ↑ Sahih Muslim, 2:480
    24. ↑ Sahih Muslim, 2:484
    25. ↑ Sahih Muslim, 2:476
    26. ↑ "Riyad as-Salihin (The Meadows of the Righteous) by Imam Nawawi". Sunnipath.com. Retrieved 2013-02-07.
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