# How to perform wudu (ablution)

How to perform wudu step by step with simple diagrams: the four obligatory acts from Quran 5:6, the sunnah acts, what breaks wudu and the dua after wudu. অজু করার নিয়ম ধাপে ধাপে।

> This guide follows the widely practised Hanafi method used in Bangladesh and notes where other schools differ, without saying that any is wrong. Please consult a qualified local scholar and learn recitation from a teacher.

## In the Quran (5:6)

> يَـٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوٓا۟ إِذَا قُمْتُمْ إِلَى ٱلصَّلَوٰةِ فَٱغْسِلُوا۟ وُجُوهَكُمْ وَأَيْدِيَكُمْ إِلَى ٱلْمَرَافِقِ وَٱمْسَحُوا۟ بِرُءُوسِكُمْ وَأَرْجُلَكُمْ إِلَى ٱلْكَعْبَيْنِ ۚ وَإِن كُنتُمْ جُنُبًا فَٱطَّهَّرُوا۟ ۚ وَإِن كُنتُم مَّرْضَىٰٓ أَوْ عَلَىٰ سَفَرٍ أَوْ جَآءَ أَحَدٌ مِّنكُم مِّنَ ٱلْغَآئِطِ أَوْ لَـٰمَسْتُمُ ٱلنِّسَآءَ فَلَمْ تَجِدُوا۟ مَآءً فَتَيَمَّمُوا۟ صَعِيدًا طَيِّبًا فَٱمْسَحُوا۟ بِوُجُوهِكُمْ وَأَيْدِيكُم مِّنْهُ ۚ مَا يُرِيدُ ٱللَّهُ لِيَجْعَلَ عَلَيْكُم مِّنْ حَرَجٍ وَلَـٰكِن يُرِيدُ لِيُطَهِّرَكُمْ وَلِيُتِمَّ نِعْمَتَهُۥ عَلَيْكُمْ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَشْكُرُونَ
> 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. And if you are in a state of janābah, then purify yourselves. But 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 do not find water, then seek clean earth and wipe over your faces and hands with it. Allāh does not intend to make difficulty for you, but He intends to purify you and complete His favor upon you that you may be grateful.
> — Quran 5:6 (Al-Ma'idah 5:6): https://holy-quran-noor.vercel.app/surah/al-maidah/6

## Steps

1. **Intention and Bismillah** (sunnah): Intend in your heart to purify yourself for prayer and say “Bismillah”. Saying the intention aloud is not required. _Schools differ on whether the intention is a condition or a sunnah of wudu; all agree it belongs in the heart._
2. **Wash both hands** (sunnah, 3×): Wash both hands up to the wrists, three times, running the fingers of one hand between the fingers of the other.
3. **Rinse the mouth** (sunnah, 3×): Take water into the mouth with the right hand, swirl it around and spit it out, three times. Use a miswak first if you have one.
4. **Clean the nose** (sunnah, 3×): Sniff a little water into the nostrils with the right hand and blow it out with the left, three times. Do not sniff hard if you are fasting.
5. **Wash the face** (fard, 3×): Wash the whole face three times, from the hairline to the chin and from ear to ear, so that no part stays dry. Run wet fingers through a beard. _Washing the face is the first of the four obligatory acts in Quran 5:6._
6. **Wash the arms to the elbows** (fard, 3×): Wash the right arm from the fingertips up to and including the elbow, three times, then the left arm the same way. Move rings and watches so water reaches the skin.
7. **Wipe the head (masah)** (fard): With wet hands wipe over the head once, from the front to the back and back to the front. In the Hanafi school the minimum that fulfils the obligation is about a quarter of the head; the sunnah is to wipe all of it. _Other schools hold that most or all of the head (or a few hairs, in the Shafi‘i view) must be wiped._
8. **Wipe the ears** (sunnah): With the same wetness wipe the inside of the ears with the index fingers and the back with the thumbs.
9. **Wash the feet to the ankles** (fard, 3×): Wash the right foot up to and including the ankle, three times, then the left foot. Use the little finger of the left hand to clean between the toes. _Wiping over leather socks (khuff) instead of washing the feet is allowed under conditions that a scholar can explain._
10. **Dua after wudu** (sunnah): Face the qibla if you can and say the testimony of faith. See the verified dua page for the Arabic, meaning and source.

## What breaks wudu

- Anything that leaves the front or back passage: urine, stool or passing wind.
- Deep sleep, such as sleeping lying down or leaning so that awareness is lost.
- Loss of consciousness: fainting, intoxication or insanity.
- (scholars differ) Flowing blood or pus, vomiting a mouthful, and laughing aloud in a prayer with ruku and sujood: these break wudu in the Hanafi school. Many scholars of other schools do not count them.
- (scholars differ) Touching the private part directly, or touching a person of the opposite sex (in some views only with desire): these break wudu according to some schools and not according to others, including the Hanafi school.
- (scholars differ) Eating camel meat is considered to break wudu in the Hanbali school; other schools do not hold this.

## Dua after wudu

أَشْهَدُ أَنْ لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ وَحْدَهُ لَا شَرِيكَ لَهُ، وَأَشْهَدُ أَنَّ مُحَمَّدًا عَبْدُهُ وَرَسُولُهُ

Ashhadu an la ilaha illallahu wahdahu la sharika lah, wa ashhadu anna Muhammadan ‘abduhu wa rasuluh.

I bear witness that there is no god but Allah alone, with no partner, and I bear witness that Muhammad is His servant and messenger. (Sahih Muslim 234): https://holy-quran-noor.vercel.app/dua/dua-after-wudu

Hadith: [Sahih al-Bukhari 135](https://holy-quran-noor.vercel.app/hadith/bukhari/135), [Sahih al-Bukhari 159](https://holy-quran-noor.vercel.app/hadith/bukhari/159)

Cite: How to perform wudu. Noor Quran. https://holy-quran-noor.vercel.app/learn/wudu

Canonical: https://holy-quran-noor.vercel.app/learn/wudu