How to Make Wudu

Wudu (الوضوء) is the ritual washing required before salah. It removes minor hadath (the state of minor ritual impurity caused by things like using the toilet or passing wind) so that you may stand in prayer.

This page walks through the full Sunnah method, what the Prophet ﷺ did. The minimum fard (obligatory) parts are listed at the end.

Before you begin

• Use clean, pure water, tap water is fine.
• Find a comfortable place, a sink, a bathroom, or anywhere with running water and drainage.
• Roll up sleeves past the elbows so they don’t get wet, and remove anything that might block water from reaching the skin (a loose ring, a watch on the washed area, etc.).

The intention (niyyah)

Form the intention in your heart: I am about to make wudu for prayer. That is all, do not speak it aloud. The Prophet ﷺ never verbalized his intention before wudu or salah.

Step 1, Bismillah

Say (quietly, or in your heart):

Step 2, Wash the hands three times

Wash both hands up to the wrists, three times. Make sure water flows between the fingers.

Step 3, Rinse the mouth and nose three times

Take a single handful of water. Use part to rinse your mouth (madmadah) and part to draw water gently up into the nostrils (istinshaq). Then blow the water out of the nose using the left hand (istinthar).

Do this three times. If you are not fasting, draw water deep into the nose; if fasting, draw it more gently to avoid swallowing it.

Step 4, Wash the face three times

Wash the entire face, from the hairline to the underside of the chin, and from one earlobe to the other, three times.

Step 5, Wash the arms to the elbows

Wash the right arm first, from fingertips to (and including) the elbow, three times. Then do the same with the left arm.

Be sure water reaches every part, rub your palm over the arm as you wash. Make sure to wash the elbow itself, not just up to it.

Step 6, Wipe the head and ears (once)

Wet both hands. The obligation is that the entire head is wiped once. The exact order is flexible, what matters is that the whole head gets covered.

The most well-known method (from the hadith of Abdullah ibn Zayd) is:

1. Starting from the front hairline, sweep both hands back to the nape of the neck.
2. Then sweep them forward again, back to the front hairline.

But this specific back-and-forth is not required. As long as the whole head is wiped, you may also:

• Wipe front to back only (without sweeping back forward), useful if you have a hairstyle that the back-and-forth motion would disturb
• Wipe from the middle of the head outward to the sides

This counts as one wipe of the head, done once (not three times).

Then, immediately, wipe the ears: insert your index fingers gently into the openings of your ears, and use your thumbs to wipe the outside of each ear. The same wetness from your hands is used, no need to dip again.

Step 7, Wash the feet to the ankles

Wash the right foot first, from the toes to (and including) the ankle, three times. Run your fingers between the toes (takhlil al-asabi’) to ensure water reaches everywhere.

Then do the same with the left foot.

Step 8, The closing du’a (sunnah)

After completing wudu, the Prophet ﷺ taught us to say:

The Prophet ﷺ said that whoever performs wudu well and then says this, the eight gates of Paradise are opened for him to enter through whichever he wishes (Muslim).

Before you stand for prayer, roll your sleeves back down

If you rolled your sleeves up to make wudu, roll them back down before standing for salah. Praying with sleeves rolled up is discouraged in the Sunnah.

The minimum fard (obligatory) parts

If you ever cannot perform the full Sunnah method, the absolute minimum required for wudu to be valid is:

1. Niyyah, the intention, in the heart
2. Washing the face once
3. Washing both arms (to and including the elbows) once
4. Wiping the entire head (including the ears) once
5. Washing both feet (to and including the ankles) once
6. Doing the above in order (tartib)
7. Doing the above without long interruption (muwalat), the previous body part shouldn’t dry before you wash the next

Everything else above, Bismillah, washing hands first, rinsing mouth and nose, washing each part three times, the closing du’a, is Sunnah: highly recommended and richly rewarded, but not strictly required for the wudu itself to be valid.

That said: do the full Sunnah method whenever you can. It is what the Prophet ﷺ did, and that is the standard we strive for.