◈ The Command of Wudu in the Qur'an ◈
Allah ﷻ says:
(يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا إِذَا قُمْتُمْ إِلَى الصَّلَاةِ فَاغْسِلُوا وُجُوهَكُمْ وَأَيْدِيَكُمْ إِلَى الْمَرَافِقِ وَامْسَحُوا بِرُءُوسِكُمْ وَأَرْجُلَكُمْ إِلَى الْكَعْبَيْنِ)
(Al-Mā’idah: 6)Translation:
“O you who believe! When you rise for prayer, wash your faces and your hands up to the elbows, and wipe your heads, and wash your feet up to the ankles.”
◈ Forgiveness of Sins Through Sunnah Wudu ◈
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
“When a believing servant begins wudu and rinses his mouth, the sins of his mouth are expelled. When he snuffs water and expels it from the nose, the sins of the nose are expelled. When he washes his face, the sins of the face are expelled — even from beneath the eyelids. As he washes his face, the sins fall from the beard’s edges. When he washes his hands, the sins of his hands fall away — even from beneath the fingernails. When he wipes his head, the sins fall from the head — even from the ears. When he washes his feet, the sins fall from the feet — even from beneath the toenails. He emerges cleansed from all sins.”
(Muslim, al-Ṭahārah, Bāb: Khurūj al-Khaṭāyā Ma‘a Mā’ al-Wuḍū’, 432)◈ Identification Through Wudu on the Day of Judgement ◈
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
“My Ummah will appear with radiant faces, arms, and feet due to the marks of wudu, and no one else will have this sign.”
(Muslim, al-Ṭahārah, Bāb: Istiḥbāb Iṭālat al-Ghurrati wa al-Taḥjīl fī al-Wuḍū’, 742)◈ Elevation of Ranks Through Wudu ◈
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
“Purification is half of faith.”
(Muslim, al-Ṭahārah, Bāb: Taballugh al-Ḥuliyyah Ḥayth Yablugh al-Wuḍū’, 125)Sayyiduna Abū Hurayrah رضي الله عنه reported:
“The jewelry of a believer in Paradise will reach the places the water of wudu reached.”
(Muslim, al-Ṭahārah, Bāb: Faḍl al-Wuḍū’, 232)The Messenger of Allah ﷺ also said:
“Shall I not inform you of what erases sins and raises ranks?”
The Companions رضي الله عنهم said: “Yes, O Messenger of Allah.”
He ﷺ said:
“Perfecting wudu in difficult conditions (like sickness or cold), walking frequently to the masjid, and waiting for one prayer after another — these remove sins and elevate ranks.”
(Muslim, al-Ṭahārah, Bāb: Faḍl Isbāgh al-Wuḍū’ ‘ala al-Makārih, 152)◈ Paradise Through Tahiyyat al-Wudu
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
“Whoever performs wudu and does it well, then stands and prays two rak‘āt while fully attentive in heart and soul, Paradise becomes obligatory for him.”
(Muslim, al-Ṭahārah, Bāb: al-Dhikr al-Mustaḥabb ‘Aqib al-Wuḍū’, 432)Sayyiduna Abū Hurayrah رضي الله عنه narrates:
The Prophet ﷺ once said to Sayyiduna Bilāl رضي الله عنه at the time of Fajr:
“O Bilāl! Tell me of the most hopeful deed you have done in Islam, for I heard your footsteps in Paradise before me.”
Sayyiduna Bilāl رضي الله عنه replied:
“The deed I most hope for is that whenever I performed wudu — during day or night — I would offer as many voluntary prayers as were destined for me.”
(Bukhārī: 1149; Muslim: 2458)◈ Washing Hands Upon Waking from Sleep
Sayyiduna Abū Hurayrah رضي الله عنه narrates:
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
“When one of you wakes up from sleep, do not place your hand into the water vessel until you wash it three times, for you do not know where your hand spent the night.”
(Bukhārī, al-Wuḍū’, Bāb: al-Istijmār Waṭrā, 162; Muslim, al-Ṭahārah, Bāb: Karāhah Ghamas al-Mutaḍa’ī Yadahu al-Mashkūk fī Najāsatihā fī al-Inā’ Qabla Ghaslihā Thalāthan, 278)◈ Blowing the Nose Three Times After Waking Up
Sayyiduna Abū Hurayrah رضي الله عنه reports:
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
“When one of you awakens from sleep and intends to perform wudu, he should blow his nose three times, for Shayṭān spends the night in his nostrils.”
(Bukhārī, Bada’ al-Khalq, Bāb: Ṣifat Iblīs wa Junūdih, 3295; Muslim, al-Ṭahārah, Bāb: al-Iytār fī al-Istinshāq wa al-Istijmār, 238)
Note: The reality of Shayṭān spending the night in a person’s nostrils is known only to Allah ﷻ. Our duty is to believe, as the Prophet ﷺ informed us.
