Wuḍū’ & Ghusl

Anything leaving the two passages — urine, stool, wind

Deep sleep, when the seat has left the ground

Loss of consciousness, drunkenness, madness

Touching the private parts with the bare hand

Eating the meat of a camel

Bleeding from a wound, a nosebleed, cupping

Vomiting, however much

Light dozing while seated

Touching one’s spouse without desire

Washing the dead, or carrying a child

Emission of semen, awake or asleep

Obligatory

Intercourse, though nothing is emitted

Obligatory

End of menses or post-natal bleeding

Obligatory

Entering Islam

Obligatory

Jumuʿah, ‘Īd, iḥrām, washing the dead

Sunnah

Intend it, say bismillāh, wash the hands, then wash away what is on the body.

Perform a complete wuḍūʾ, leaving the feet to the end.

Pour water over the head three times, working it to the roots of the hair, then over the right side, then the left.

A woman need not undo her braid, so long as the water reaches the scalp.

Enter with the left foot, leave with the right.

Do not face the qiblah, nor turn the back to it.

Clean with water, or an odd number of stones.

Never with the right hand, nor with bone or dung.

On leaving, say ghufrānak — Your forgiveness.

Put them on in a state of wuḍūʾ, and afterwards wipe the tops once with wet hands instead of washing the feet — a day and a night for the resident, three days and nights for the traveller. The term begins at the first wipe.

To the wrists, working the water between the fingers. He ﷺ would begin with the right. Sunnah, and the opening of the whole act — and one who wakes from sleep washes them before putting a hand in the vessel.

From a single handful — water to the mouth, then drawn up into the nose and blown out with the left hand. Be thorough in it, unless you are fasting.

From the hairline to beneath the chin, from ear to ear. A thick beard is wiped and its hair let through the fingers. The water must reach every part — a single dry spot leaves the wuḍūʾ incomplete. Obligatory.

The elbow is included, not stopped at. Remove a ring or turn it so the water passes beneath. Obligatory.

With wet hands from the front of the head to the back and returned to the front; then the index fingers inside the ears and the thumbs behind them. One wiping only.

The ankles included, the water worked between the toes, the heels not left dry. Woe to the heels from the Fire, he ﷺ said, seeing men whose heels were untouched by water.

None guards his wuḍūʾ but a believer. Several prayers may be prayed with one wuḍūʾ, as he ﷺ did on the day of the conquest; yet whoever performs wuḍūʾ upon wuḍūʾ has ten good deeds written for him.

Water is not to be wasted, though you stand at a running river.

When there is no water, or its use would bring harm: strike clean earth once with both palms, wipe the face, then the hands to the wrists. It stands for wuḍūʾ and for ghusl alike, and lasts until water is found or the wuḍūʾ is broken.