How do I make wudū’?
Intend it, then wash: face, arms to the elbows, wipe the head, and wash the feet to the ankles. That is the obligatory core, and it is stated in the Qur’an itself. In practice most people also rinse the mouth and nose and repeat each washing three times, following the Prophet’s ﷺ own manner — recommended, not required.
The four schools concur on this.
Wudū’ is the wash that prayer requires. The obligatory parts are set out in one verse:
“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. Allah 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.” (Qur’an 5:6)
So four things are required: wash the face, wash the arms to the elbows, wipe the head, wash the feet to the ankles — in that order, with the intention that you are purifying yourself for prayer.
The full manner usually taught adds the Prophet’s ﷺ practice around that core: say bismillāh, wash the hands, rinse the mouth, draw water into the nose and blow it out, then the face, then the right arm and the left, wipe the head and ears, then the right foot and the left — each washing done three times. None of those additions is a condition of validity; a wudū’ with only the four Qur’anic parts is a valid wudū’.
What breaks it: anything that exits from the front or back passage, deep sleep, and loss of consciousness. Touching a dog does not break it. Bleeding from a cut does not, according to most. Eating does not, though eating camel meat is a known exception in one school.
If you are already in wudū’, you may pray as many prayers as you like on it — it does not expire with time, only with something that breaks it.
Where water is unavailable or would harm you, the same verse continues into tayammum: clean earth, wiping the face and hands. That allowance is in the text itself, which is worth noticing — the difficulty was anticipated rather than conceded later. As the Prophet ﷺ put it, cleanliness is half of faith (Sahih Muslim 223).
- Qur’anQur’an 5:6
- HadithSahih Muslim 223