Prayer guide
Wudu — Ritual Ablution
The minor purification, required before every salah. Allah's command in Surah al-Ma'idah lays out the exact obligatory acts; the Sunnah of the Prophet ﷺ adds the rinsing of the mouth, the sniffing of water into the nostrils, and the order and Sunan that complete it.
The Qur'anic Command
Allah commands: 'O you who have believed, when you rise to perform prayer, wash your faces and your forearms to the elbows, and wipe over your heads, and wash your feet to the ankles.' (Qur'an 5:6). Four obligatory acts are named: washing the face, washing the arms to the elbows, wiping the head, washing the feet to the ankles. The classical fuqaha add a fifth from the same verse (the order — al-tartib — implied by the sequence) and a sixth from the hadith tradition (al-muwalat — continuous succession without long pause).
The Sunnah Sequence
The Prophet ﷺ taught the complete order in his demonstration: 'Whoever performs wudu like this wudu of mine, and then prays two rak'ahs without speaking to himself during them, his previous sins are forgiven.' (Bukhari 159, Muslim 226). The Sunnah sequence: (1) intention in the heart; (2) Bismillah; (3) wash the hands three times; (4) rinse the mouth three times; (5) draw water into the nostrils and blow it out three times (istinshaq + istinthar); (6) wash the face three times from the hairline to the chin and from ear to ear; (7) wash the right arm to the elbow three times, then the left; (8) wipe the whole head once with both hands forward and back, then wipe inside and outside of the ears with the index fingers and thumbs; (9) wash the right foot to the ankle three times, then the left.
The Pre-Wudu Du'a — Bismillah
بِسْمِ اللَّهِ
Bismillah
In the name of Allah.
The Prophet ﷺ said: 'There is no wudu for the one who does not mention the name of Allah at its beginning.' (Tirmidhi 25, Ibn Majah 399). Some scholars hold this as wajib (obligatory); the majority hold it as Sunnah mu'akkadah (strongly emphasized Sunnah). Either way, a wudu without Bismillah at its start is missing the spirit of the Sunnah.
The Post-Wudu Du'a — The Eight Gates
أَشْهَدُ أَنْ لَا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ وَحْدَهُ لَا شَرِيكَ لَهُ، وَأَشْهَدُ أَنَّ مُحَمَّدًا عَبْدُهُ وَرَسُولُهُ. اللَّهُمَّ اجْعَلْنِي مِنَ التَّوَّابِينَ، وَاجْعَلْنِي مِنَ الْمُتَطَهِّرِينَ
Ashhadu an la ilaha illa-llah, wahdahu la sharika lah, wa ashhadu anna Muhammadan 'abduhu wa rasuluh. Allahumma-j'alni min at-tawwabin, wa-j'alni min al-mutatahhirin
I bear witness that there is no god but Allah alone, without partner, and I bear witness that Muhammad is His servant and messenger. O Allah, make me of those who repent often and make me of those who purify themselves.
The Prophet ﷺ said: 'Whoever performs wudu thoroughly and then says: I bear witness that there is no god but Allah… the eight gates of Paradise are opened for him, and he may enter through whichever of them he wishes.' (Muslim 234, Tirmidhi 55). The shorter form Ashhadu an la ilaha illa-llah... alone is the minimum. The fuller form with the tawwabin / mutatahhirin du'a is from Tirmidhi.
What Breaks Wudu
Wudu is invalidated by: (1) anything passing from the front or back passage — urine, stool, gas; (2) deep sleep (the head dropping while seated does not break it, but sleep that removes consciousness does — Abu Dawud 202); (3) loss of consciousness through faint or intoxication; (4) touching the front passage of one's own body with the inside of the hand without barrier (per the dominant hadith — Abu Dawud 181); (5) the emission of mani (sexual fluid) requires ghusl, not just wudu; (6) eating camel meat (per the most reliable hadith — Muslim 360). Schools differ on a few finer points, but these are the well-established invalidators.
Wiping over Khuffs (Leather Socks)
If wudu was made and leather socks were then put on while in a state of wudu, the believer may wipe over them instead of washing the feet at the next wudu — for one day and one night if resident, three days and nights if travelling. The Prophet ﷺ said: 'The Messenger of Allah ﷺ wiped over his socks; I said, Have you forgotten? He said, Rather, you have forgotten — this is what my Lord commanded me.' (Ahmad). The condition is that the socks must cover the entire foot up to the ankle and must have been put on while in wudu.
Tayammum — Dry Ablution
If water is genuinely unavailable, or if its use would cause harm (severe illness, intense cold without warming, very limited water needed for drinking), Allah permits tayammum: 'And if you are ill or on a journey or one of you comes from the place of relieving himself or you have contacted women and find no water, then seek clean earth and wipe over your faces and hands. Allah does not intend to make difficulty for you.' (Qur'an 5:6). Method: strike the palms once on clean earth or any pure dust-bearing surface, wipe the face once, wipe the hands once (the schools differ on whether to the wrists or the elbows; the dominant Sunnah is to the wrists, per Bukhari 339).