The least wudu that counts, the full wudu of the Prophet (pbuh), and wudu when there is no water.
In Lesson 4, we walked through everything that comes before Allahu Akbar, and wudu was one step on that walk.
Today we slow down and learn wudu completely: what Allah (SWT) commanded in the Quran, what the Prophet (pbuh) did, and what to do when there is no water.
Islamic Studies · Worship class · about 75 minutes · paper and a pen · wudu practice today, so wear sleeves you can roll up
From now on, every class opens like this. Say each one out loud together, then say what it means in English.
سُبْحَانَ رَبِّيَ الْعَظِيمِ
Subhana Rabbiyal-Adheem
Glory be to my Lord, the Most Great.
لَا حَوْلَ وَلَا قُوَّةَ إِلَّا بِاللَّهِ
La hawla wa la quwwata illa billah
There is no might and no power except with Allah (SWT).
اللَّهُمَّ رَبَّ هَٰذِهِ الدَّعْوَةِ التَّامَّةِ
Allahumma Rabba hadhihi ad-da'wati at-tammah...
O Allah (SWT), Lord of this perfect call...
If one of these is shaky, look back at Lessons 2 and 4 this week. The full dua after the adhan is in Lesson 4.
The last lesson ended with two parts: answer the adhan and say the dua after it once a day, and make one wudu slowly each day, remembering the hadith about the sins leaving with the water.
On your own paper:
Your writing stays with you.
إِنَّ أُمَّتِي يُدْعَوْنَ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ غُرًّا مُحَجَّلِينَ مِنْ آثَارِ الْوُضُوءِ
Abu Hurairah (RA) said: I heard the Prophet (pbuh) say: "Indeed, my ummah will be called on the Day of Resurrection ghurran muhajjalin, from the traces of wudu."
Ghurran muhajjalin describes people whose faces, hands, and feet shine with light: the same parts that wudu washes.
Every wudu you make leaves a trace that will show on that Day. How does that change the way you think about a rushed wudu?
What Allah (SWT) commanded in the ayah of wudu, and how the Prophet (pbuh) sometimes washed each part only once.
Each part three times, with the details that other hadith add to the wudu Uthman (RA) showed us in Lesson 4.
Tayammum, a gift for when there is no water. Then wiping over khuffs, a kind of thick sock.
After that, we practice all three.
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا إِذَا قُمْتُمْ إِلَى الصَّلَاةِ فَاغْسِلُوا وُجُوهَكُمْ وَأَيْدِيَكُمْ إِلَى الْمَرَافِقِ وَامْسَحُوا بِرُءُوسِكُمْ وَأَرْجُلَكُمْ إِلَى الْكَعْبَيْنِ ۚ وَإِن كُنتُمْ جُنُبًا فَاطَّهَّرُوا ۚ وَإِن كُنتُم مَّرْضَىٰ أَوْ عَلَىٰ سَفَرٍ أَوْ جَاءَ أَحَدٌ مِّنكُم مِّنَ الْغَائِطِ أَوْ لَامَسْتُمُ النِّسَاءَ فَلَمْ تَجِدُوا مَاءً فَتَيَمَّمُوا صَعِيدًا طَيِّبًا فَامْسَحُوا بِوُجُوهِكُمْ وَأَيْدِيكُم مِّنْهُ ۚ مَا يُرِيدُ اللَّهُ لِيَجْعَلَ عَلَيْكُم مِّنْ حَرَجٍ وَلَٰكِن يُرِيدُ لِيُطَهِّرَكُمْ وَلِيُتِمَّ نِعْمَتَهُ عَلَيْكُمْ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَشْكُرُونَ
"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 janabah, 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 (SWT) 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."
The ayah gives four actions for wudu. Find all four. Then find the part of the ayah about when there is no water: we come back to it later today.
These are the ayah's own words, in its own order.
"wash your faces"
"and your forearms to the elbows"
"and wipe over your heads"
"and wash your feet to the ankles"
The schools of fiqh differ on whether anything beyond these four is also required. Ask your imam or your family's teacher which school you follow and what it counts.
Why might Allah (SWT) have made the part He named in the Quran this short and this clear?
تَوَضَّأَ النَّبِيُّ صلى الله عليه وسلم مَرَّةً مَرَّةً
Ibn Abbas (RA) said: "The Prophet (pbuh) made wudu, washing each part once."
Ibn Abbas (RA) saw the Prophet (pbuh) make the shortest wudu, washing every part one time.
Why might it matter that the Prophet (pbuh) showed the shortest way of making wudu, and not only the longest?
أَنَّ النَّبِيَّ صلى الله عليه وسلم تَوَضَّأَ مَرَّتَيْنِ مَرَّتَيْنِ
Abdullah ibn Zayd (RA) reported that the Prophet (pbuh) made wudu, washing each part twice.
We have now seen once and twice. The next slide shows three times, and what the Prophet (pbuh) said about going past three.
جَاءَ أَعْرَابِيٌّ إِلَى النَّبِيِّ صلى الله عليه وسلم يَسْأَلُهُ عَنِ الْوُضُوءِ فَأَرَاهُ الْوُضُوءَ ثَلاَثًا ثَلاَثًا ثُمَّ قَالَ: هَكَذَا الْوُضُوءُ، فَمَنْ زَادَ عَلَى هَذَا فَقَدْ أَسَاءَ وَتَعَدَّى وَظَلَمَ
"A Bedouin came to the Prophet (pbuh) to ask him about wudu, so he showed him how to make wudu, washing each part three times. Then he said: 'This is wudu. Whoever does more than this has done badly, gone to extremes, and done wrong.'"
In Lesson 4, Uthman (RA) showed this same three-times wudu and said he had seen the Messenger of Allah (SWT) (pbuh) make it.
Washing a fourth time looks like extra effort. Why would the Prophet (pbuh) call it going too far?
قُلْتُ يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ أَخْبِرْنِي عَنِ الْوُضُوءِ. قَالَ: أَسْبِغِ الْوُضُوءَ، وَخَلِّلْ بَيْنَ الأَصَابِعِ، وَبَالِغْ فِي الاِسْتِنْشَاقِ إِلاَّ أَنْ تَكُونَ صَائِمًا
Laqit ibn Sabirah (RA) said: "I said: O Messenger of Allah (SWT) (pbuh), tell me about wudu. He said: 'Make your wudu complete, pass water between the fingers, and sniff water deep into the nose, except when you are fasting.'"
Why do you think fasting changes how deep you sniff the water into your nose?
كَانَ النَّبِيُّ صلى الله عليه وسلم يُعْجِبُهُ التَّيَمُّنُ فِي تَنَعُّلِهِ وَتَرَجُّلِهِ وَطُهُورِهِ وَفِي شَأْنِهِ كُلِّهِ
Aisha (RA) said: "The Prophet (pbuh) liked to start with the right when putting on his shoes, combing his hair, and purifying himself, and in all of his affairs."
Purifying himself includes wudu. In Uthman's (RA) wudu in Lesson 4, the right arm came before the left and the right foot before the left.
ثُمَّ مَسَحَ بِرَأْسِهِ وَأُذُنَيْهِ بَاطِنِهِمَا بِالسَّبَّاحَتَيْنِ وَظَاهِرِهِمَا بِإِبْهَامَيْهِ
Ibn Abbas (RA), describing the wudu of the Messenger of Allah (SWT) (pbuh), said: "...Then he wiped his head and his ears, the inside with his forefingers and the outside with his thumbs..."
Try the motion now, with dry hands: forefingers inside the ears, thumbs behind them.
كَانَ النَّبِيُّ صلى الله عليه وسلم يَغْسِلُ ـ أَوْ كَانَ يَغْتَسِلُ ـ بِالصَّاعِ إِلَى خَمْسَةِ أَمْدَادٍ، وَيَتَوَضَّأُ بِالْمُدِّ
Anas (RA) said: "The Prophet (pbuh) used to bathe with one sa' up to five mudds of water, and used to make wudu with one mudd."
A mudd is a small amount of water, about what two cupped hands can hold. That was enough for his whole wudu.
How much water does your usual wudu use? What would change if you remembered this hadith at the tap?
مَا مِنْكُمْ مِنْ أَحَدٍ يَتَوَضَّأُ فَيُبْلِغُ - أَوْ فَيُسْبِغُ - الْوُضُوءَ ثُمَّ يَقُولُ: أَشْهَدُ أَنْ لاَ إِلَهَ إِلاَّ اللَّهُ وَأَنَّ مُحَمَّدًا عَبْدُ اللَّهِ وَرَسُولُهُ، إِلاَّ فُتِحَتْ لَهُ أَبْوَابُ الْجَنَّةِ الثَّمَانِيَةُ يَدْخُلُ مِنْ أَيِّهَا شَاءَ
The Prophet (pbuh) said: "There is none of you who makes wudu and completes it well, then says, 'I testify that there is no god but Allah (SWT), and that Muhammad (pbuh) is the servant of Allah (SWT) and His Messenger,' except that the eight gates of Paradise are opened for him, and he may enter through whichever of them he wishes."
Ash-hadu an la ilaha illallah, wa anna Muhammadan 'abdullahi wa rasuluh.
أَنَّ النَّبِيَّ صلى الله عليه وسلم قَالَ لِبِلاَلٍ عِنْدَ صَلاَةِ الْفَجْرِ: يَا بِلاَلُ، حَدِّثْنِي بِأَرْجَى عَمَلٍ عَمِلْتَهُ فِي الإِسْلاَمِ، فَإِنِّي سَمِعْتُ دَفَّ نَعْلَيْكَ بَيْنَ يَدَىَّ فِي الْجَنَّةِ. قَالَ: مَا عَمِلْتُ عَمَلاً أَرْجَى عِنْدِي أَنِّي لَمْ أَتَطَهَّرْ طُهُورًا فِي سَاعَةِ لَيْلٍ أَوْ نَهَارٍ إِلاَّ صَلَّيْتُ بِذَلِكَ الطُّهُورِ مَا كُتِبَ لِي أَنْ أُصَلِّيَ
At the time of the Fajr prayer, the Prophet (pbuh) said to Bilal (RA): "O Bilal (RA), tell me about the deed you have done in Islam that you have the most hope in, for I heard the sound of your footsteps in front of me in Paradise." Bilal (RA) said: "I have not done any deed I have more hope in than this: I never purified myself at any hour of the night or day without praying with that purification whatever was written for me to pray."
In Lesson 4, Uthman's (RA) hadith also ended with two rak'ahs prayed right after this wudu.
Every step here comes from a hadith you have seen: Uthman's (RA) wudu in Lesson 4, and today's hadith. Copy it onto your paper for practice.
Wash the hands three times.Uthman (RA)
Rinse the mouth.Uthman (RA)
Sniff water deep into the nose, unless fasting.Uthman (RA) · Laqit (RA)
Wash the face three times.Uthman (RA)
Right arm to the elbow three times, then the left.Uthman (RA) · Aisha (RA)
Pass water between the fingers.Laqit (RA)
Wipe the head.Uthman (RA)
Wipe the ears: forefingers inside, thumbs outside.Ibn Abbas (RA)
Right foot to the ankles three times, then the left.Uthman (RA) · Aisha (RA)
Use only a little water.Anas (RA)
Say the testimony after wudu.Umar (RA)
Pray two rak'ahs with that wudu.Uthman (RA) · Bilal (RA)
وَجُعِلَتْ لِيَ الأَرْضُ مَسْجِدًا وَطَهُورًا، فَأَيُّمَا رَجُلٍ مِنْ أُمَّتِي أَدْرَكَتْهُ الصَّلاَةُ فَلْيُصَلِّ
The Prophet (pbuh) said: "...The earth has been made for me a place of prayer and a means of purification, so whenever the time of prayer reaches any man of my ummah, let him pray..."
This is one of five things the Prophet (pbuh) said he was given that no one before him was given. Tayammum is wudu with clean earth, and Surah Al-Ma'idah 5:6, which we read earlier, names when it is used.
Why would Allah (SWT) give a way to purify that works even when there is no water at all?
On a journey with no water, Ammar ibn Yasir (RA) rolled himself on the ground before praying. Then he told the Prophet (pbuh).
وَأَمَّا أَنَا فَتَمَعَّكْتُ فَصَلَّيْتُ، فَذَكَرْتُ لِلنَّبِيِّ صلى الله عليه وسلم فَقَالَ النَّبِيُّ صلى الله عليه وسلم: إِنَّمَا كَانَ يَكْفِيكَ هَكَذَا. فَضَرَبَ النَّبِيُّ صلى الله عليه وسلم بِكَفَّيْهِ الأَرْضَ، وَنَفَخَ فِيهِمَا، ثُمَّ مَسَحَ بِهِمَا وَجْهَهُ وَكَفَّيْهِ
Ammar (RA) said: "...As for me, I rolled myself on the ground and prayed. I told the Prophet (pbuh) about it, and he said, 'It would have been enough for you to do this.' Then the Prophet (pbuh) struck the ground with his palms, blew into them, and wiped his face and his palms with them."
Strike the ground with your palms.
Blow into them.
Wipe your face, then your hands.
These are the steps in this hadith. What counts as clean earth, and other details of tayammum, differ between the schools of fiqh, so ask your imam.
Khuffs are socks made of leather or other thick material, worn over the feet.
كُنْتُ مَعَ النَّبِيِّ صلى الله عليه وسلم فِي سَفَرٍ، فَأَهْوَيْتُ لأَنْزِعَ خُفَّيْهِ فَقَالَ: دَعْهُمَا، فَإِنِّي أَدْخَلْتُهُمَا طَاهِرَتَيْنِ. فَمَسَحَ عَلَيْهِمَا
Al-Mughirah ibn Shu'bah (RA) said: "I was with the Prophet (pbuh) on a journey, and I reached down to take off his khuffs. He said, 'Leave them, for I put them on when my feet were pure.' Then he wiped over them."
What do the words "I put them on when my feet were pure" tell you about when the khuffs were put on?
أَتَيْتُ عَائِشَةَ أَسْأَلُهَا عَنِ الْمَسْحِ عَلَى الْخُفَّيْنِ، فَقَالَتْ: عَلَيْكَ بِابْنِ أَبِي طَالِبٍ فَسَلْهُ، فَإِنَّهُ كَانَ يُسَافِرُ مَعَ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم. فَسَأَلْنَاهُ فَقَالَ: جَعَلَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم ثَلاَثَةَ أَيَّامٍ وَلَيَالِيَهُنَّ لِلْمُسَافِرِ، وَيَوْمًا وَلَيْلَةً لِلْمُقِيمِ
Shurayh ibn Hani said: "I came to Aisha (RA) to ask her about wiping over the khuffs. She said, 'Ask Ali ibn Abi Talib (RA), for he used to travel with the Messenger of Allah (SWT) (pbuh).' So we asked him, and he said: 'The Messenger of Allah (SWT) (pbuh) set three days and their nights for the traveler, and one day and one night for the resident.'"
Whether ordinary cotton or wool socks count as khuffs is something the scholars differ on. Ask your imam before you rely on it.
Notice what Aisha (RA) did: she sent the question to the person who knew it best. Asking the right person is part of the deen.
In the room, no water needed. Go through the motions from Ammar's (RA) hadith on a clean surface: strike with your palms, blow, then wipe your face and your hands. Your partner watches, then you switch.
At the wudu area. Wash each of the four parts named in 5:6 once. Your partner checks all four. This round is practice: for your real prayers, follow what your imam teaches for your school.
Use your checklist: three times each, right before left, a little water, then the testimony. Your partner quietly checks every step, then you switch.
Follow the masjid's arrangements for boys and girls. If no water is available, do Rounds 2 and 3 as a careful dry walkthrough in the room. Nothing is graded.
There are no graded answers here. Talking about wudu in your own words is the point.
Your writing stays with you.
Make the full wudu at least once a day, step by step from your checklist, and say the testimony after it.
Once this week, pray two rak'ahs right after a wudu, the way Bilal (RA) did. If you are not praying all five yet, you can still make the full wudu and say the testimony each day.
The recall at the start of the next class adds the testimony after wudu to the words we have learned so far.
Takbir to Fatihah: The Conversation Begins. Allahu Akbar, the opening dua, and the first half of Al-Fatihah, with what Allah (SWT) says back.