How to Muslim
Wudu is the wash you do before you pray. Face, arms, head, feet, in that order. Once you have done it you stay in that state until something breaks it, so a single wudu can cover more than one prayer.
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.
The intention sits in your heart, and there is no set phrase to say out loud for it. Then say “Bismillah” (in the name of Allah) and begin.
Wash both hands up to the wrists, working the water between your fingers.
Take water into your mouth and swill it around. Then sniff a little water up your nose and blow it back out. Both can come from the same handful. This counts as part of washing your face, so do not skip it.
Hairline to chin, ear to ear. If you have a thick beard, run wet fingers through it.
Right arm first, from your fingertips up past the elbow. The elbow itself has to get wet. Then do the same on the left.
With fresh water on your hands, wipe from the front of your head back to the nape of your neck, then bring your hands forward again to where you started. Wipe inside your ears with your index fingers and behind them with your thumbs.
Right foot first, up to and including the ankle bone, getting water between the toes and right over the heel. Then the left.
أَشْهَدُ أَنْ لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ وَحْدَهُ لَا شَرِيكَ لَهُ وَأَشْهَدُ أَنَّ مُحَمَّدًا عَبْدُهُ وَرَسُولُهُ
Ashhadu an la ilaha illa Allah, 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 slave and His Messenger.” You are now ready to pray. Want more to say after prayer? See our full dua collection.
Sahih Muslim 234Anything that leaves the front or back passage breaks wudu: urine, stool, wind. You simply do wudu again before your next prayer.
Sleep deep enough that you lose track of what is going on around you breaks wudu. Nodding off for a moment while sitting up does not.
Fainting, being put under, or losing your senses through intoxication all break wudu.
Touching them directly, skin on skin with nothing in between, breaks wudu. Touching over clothing does not.
Go with whatever you are certain of. If you know you had wudu and you are only unsure whether it broke, you still have it. The Prophet (peace be upon him) told a man who felt something during prayer not to leave unless he heard a sound or noticed a smell. If these doubts feel constant rather than occasional, our mental health resources may help.
Sahih al-Bukhari 137Eating, drinking, talking, laughing, changing your clothes, or bleeding a little from a small cut. None of these mean you have to start again.
Washing each part once is all that is required. Three times is the sunnah and what most people do. If you lose count, take the lower number and carry on. Sincerity matters more than a perfect tally.
Nail polish, false nails and thick makeup stop the water reaching your skin, so they have to come off first. Everyday creams and lotions are fine, they soak in rather than sit on top.
Wash the parts in the order above. Keep going without a long pause, so that one part has not dried out before you wash the next.
The Prophet (peace be upon him) made wudu with about a mudd of water, roughly three quarters of a litre. A gentle trickle from the tap is plenty.
Sahih al-Bukhari 201If you put your socks on after a full wudu, next time you can wipe wet hands over the top of them instead of washing your feet. Wipe the top only, not the sole. This lasts 24 hours from your first wipe after your wudu broke, or three days if you are travelling. It does not replace ghusl.
Once your wudu is done you are ready for the daily prayer. Our step-by-step prayer guide takes it from here.
New to all of this? Start from the beginning.
Where to take this further.
A curated hub of Sunni videos, books, and dawah resources.
islamic-library.org · FreeResearch-driven answers to the doubts and questions Muslims actually have.
yaqeeninstitute.org · Free