Performing Wuḍūʾ & the virtues of perfecting and maintaining it

Wuḍūʾ [ablution] is the purification of the body made before ṣalāt [prayer]. It is a ritual cleansing that is an important part of purity and cleanliness in Islam before performing worship.

Wuḍūʾby itself is always a recommendable act in Islamic rituals, but it becomes obligatory in certain circumstances. One of such circumstances is the daily ritual prayers.

It is required before the prayers if one of the following has occurred: breaking wind, going to the toilet, deep sleep, significant bleeding or sexual activity. In the case of sexual discharge, [Ghusl] full body ablution is required. As a mercy from Allah ﷻ, a woman experiencing her menstrual circle should not pray during this time.

The practical manner of performing Wuḍūʾ is explained based on the Qur'an and the authentic Sunnah of the holy Prophet. It is important for every Muslim to know the description of the method and rules of the Wuḍūʾ of the prophet ﷺ, as ordained in the Quran [Surat Al-Ma’idah] and as described in the Ṣaḥīḥ aḥādīth like in Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, as narrated by the prophet’s Ahl al-Bayt and his most reliable companions.

È fondamentale per ogni musulmano conoscere il metodo e le regole per eseguire il Wuḍūʾ del Profeta, come descritto nel Corano [Sura Al-Ma’idah] e nei Ṣaḥīḥ aḥādīth come in Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, come narrato dagli Ahl al-Bayt del profeta e dai suoi compagni più affidabili.

O you who have attained to faith! when you are about to pray, wash your face, and your hands and arms up to the elbows, and pass your [wet] hands lightly over your head, and [wash] your feet up to the ankles. And if you are in a state requiring total ablution, purify yourselves. But if you are ill, or are travelling, or have just satisfied a want of nature, or have cohabited with a woman, and can find no water - then take resort to pure dust, passing therewith lightly over your face and your hands. God does not want to impose any hardship on you, but wants to make you pure, and to bestow upon you the full measure of His blessings, so that you might have cause to be grateful. [Quran Al-Ma'idah:6]

Sunnah and obligatory aspects of Wuḍū'

Wuḍūʾ begins with forming the intention in the heart, Anniyyat fil-Qalb, that you are going to perform this act of purification, then al-basmalah , - to say Bismillāh al-Rahmān al-Rahīm. Say it if you’re not in the bathroom area where there is a toiletAl-Khala’,, or before entering. Otherwise, when you’re already inside, you have to form the Basmalah in your heart.

As Siwak [tooth-cleaning with stick] is recommended with every Wuḍūʾ, you can do it at the beginning. It is an ibadah, and the prophet ﷺ told us about the virtues of it in his saying; “If it was not for the hardship of my Ummah, I would have ordained it with every Wuḍūʾ, in another hadith with every ṣalāt”. Hence, we do it for ibadah as well as for scientific benefits.

It is of sunnah before the obliged aspects to wash the hands [al kaffain] three times, going within the fingers. Wash both hands from the tips of the fingers to the wrist. After the hands washing, then the physical obligatory aspects of washing [Wuḍūʾ] follow in the following order:

• strong>washing the face, that includes the mouth and the nose. Based on the authentic Hadith, you wash, three times, the mouth and the nose with one Kaff, [one handful of water]. This is called al-madh madha [المضمضة]; to take water in the mouth and move it around, and al-istinshaak [الاستنشاق] and al-istinthaar [الاستنثار] to take water in the nose and expel it out. Wash the rest of the face that goes from the upper hairline [or from where the regular hairline would be for someone who is bold], to the chin, and from the beginning of one ear to another ear [ears not included]. If you have a light beard and the skin is visible, you should take water to the bottom skin. If you have a thicker beard, you do the best washing you can with the wet hands. Repeat the process three times.
• washing of the arms. Wash your arms, from the tips of your fingers to just above the elbows. From your hands to the elbows, [with attaratiib الترتيب], in obedience to the sunnah as Allah says in the Quran, “wa aydiyakum ila-l maraafiq” - (from the hands all the way to the elbows [including the elbows]). Rubbing while washing is mustahabb. And letting the water flow to drip is sunnah, as the sins are taken off the hands.
• wetting the head. Make mas’hu of the entire head, [w’am-sahuu bi ruusikum]. Wet your hands and shake them from excess water, and run your hands through your hair forwards and backwards, beginning from your forehead to the back of your head [without the neck] and forehead again back to where you began. Then with the wet arm, do the ears, taking the index finger to wipe the inside and the thumbs to wipe the outside. There is no issue, after washing the face, to take separate water to do the ears.
• washing the feet. Clean your feet from the tips of the toes to just above the ankles Begin with the right foot using your right or left hand including going between the toes making sure you wash the heels and the ankles. Repeat the process three times. Then wash the left foot in the same manner, as the light will be shining from those places of the Wuḍūʾ on the day of judgement.

Supplication [Du’a] after performing Wuḍūʾ

After the completion of the physical actions of the wudu, it is of sunnah to say:

Ashhadu alla ilaha illallah , wahdahu la sharika lah , wa ashhadu anna Muhammadan abduhu wa rasuluhu. Allahumma-j’alni minat-tawwabina , waj’alni minal-mutatahhirin. Subhanaka-llahumma wa bi hamdika , ashhadu alla ilaha illa anta, astaghfiruka wa atubu ilayk.

I bear witness that none has the right to be worshipped except Allah alone and I bear witness that Muhammad is His slave and Messenger. O Allah make me one of those who repent and make me one of those who are pure

Virtures of Perfecting and keeping Wuḍūʾ

Anas Ibn Malik, one of the greatest companions of the prophet reported that the prophet ﷺ saw a man who had as big as a nail a space that was not washed when he was performing ablution. The prophet ﷺ told that companion to go back and perform the Wuḍūʾ again because his prayer will not be valid unless he performs perfect and complete ablution.

• By maintaining Wuḍūʾ you earn the love of Allah. <<In verità, Allah ama coloro che si rivolgono a Lui in pentimento e ama coloro che mantengono la loro purezza>> ”: [Quran al-Baqar: 222] إِنَّ اللَّهَ يُحِبُّ التَّوَّابِينَ وَيُحِبُّ الْمُتَطَهِّرِينَ

 إِنَّ اللَّهَ يُحِبُّ التَّوَّابِينَ وَيُحِبُّ الْمُتَطَهِّرِينَ

• Perfecting Wuḍūʾis one of the ways [key] to enter paradise, as is said in em>hadith of imam Muslim. “The key to Paradise is prayer, and the key to prayer is ablution.”. Sunan al-Tirmidhī.

مِفْتَاحُ الْجَنَّةِ الصَّلَاةُ وَمِفْتَاحُ الصَّلَاةِ الْوُضُوءُ

• Performing Wuḍūʾ is one of the ways of extinguishing anger, as mentioned in some of the [weaker] narrations and confirmed by many of the Muslim doctors all around the world.

Narrated Atiyyah as-Sa'di: AbuWa’il al-Qass said: We entered upon Urwah bin Muhammad ibn as-Sa'di. A man spoke to him and made him angry. So, he stood and performed ablution; he then returned and performed ablution, and said: My father told me on the authority of my grandfather Attiyah who reported the Messenger of Allah ﷺ as saying: “Verily anger comes from the devil, the devil was created of fire, and fire is extinguished with water; so, when one of you becomes angry, he should perform ablution”. (Sunan Abu Dāwūd 4784)

إِنَّ الْغَضَبَ مِنْ الشَّيْطَانِ وَإِنَّ الشَّيْطَانَ خُلِقَ مِنْ النَّارِ وَإِنَّمَا تُطْفَأُ النَّارُ بِالْمَاءِ فَإِذَا غَضِبَ أَحَدُكُمْ فَلْيَتَوَضَّأْ

• Wuḍūʾ is the reason to have our sins wiped away, As the prophet ﷺ said:[alaa adullukum ala ma yamhu lhahu bihi il-khatwaayat,  isbaag al-Wuḍūʾ ala-l makaarih…] “Shall I not tell you something by which Allah erases sins and elevates ranks [in Paradise]? The Companions said: Certainly, O Messenger of Allah! He said: Performing the ablution properly even in difficulty, [taking many steps to the Masaajid] increasing attendance of prayer in the mosque, and waiting for the next prayer after observing one prayer; and that is the Ribat” (Jami` at-Tirmidhi, 51)9.

وعن أَبي هريرةَ أَنَّ رسولَ اللَّهِ ﷺ قالَ: أَلا أَدُلُّكُمْ عَلى مَا يمْحُو اللَّهُ بِهِ الخَطَايَا، وَيَرْفَعُ بِهِ الدَّرَجَاتِ؟ قَالُوا: بَلى يَا رسولَ اللَّهِ. قَالَ: إِسْباغُ الْوُضُوءِ عَلى المَكَارِهِ، وَكَثْرَةُ الخطى إِلى المَسَاجِدِ، وَانْتِظَارُ الصَّلاةِ بعْد الصَّلاةِ، فَذلِكُمُ الرِّباطُ، فَذلكُمُ الرِّباطُ.

• Sleeping in a state of Wuḍūʾ, to be raised in a state of purity, as mentioned in the hadith of Muʿādh ibn Jabal [رضي الله عنه]. Sayyiduna Abdullah Ibn Abbas [رضى الله عنهما] advised: “Ensure that you spend the nights in Wuḍūʾ, for the souls will be raised in the condition [of purity] that they were taken in ”. (Musanaaf ‘Abdur Razzaq)

عَنْ عَبْد اللَّهِ بْن مَسْعُودٍ قَالَ قِيلَ يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ كَيْفَ تَعْرِفُ مَنْ لَمْ تَرَ مِنْ أُمَّتِكَ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ غُرٌّ مُحَجَّلُونَ بُلْقٌ مِنْ آثَارِ الْوُضُوءِ

• Sleeping in a state of Wuḍūʾ, to be raised in a state of purity, as mentioned in the hadith of Muʿādh ibn Jabal [رضي الله عنه]. Sayyiduna Abdullah Ibn Abbas [رضى الله عنهما] advised: “Ensure that you spend the nights in Wuḍūʾ, for the souls will be raised in the condition [of purity] that they were taken in” (Musanaaf ‘Abdur Razzaq)

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