What is Ablution (Wudu)? What Should Be the Proper Method and Etiquette of Ablution?
Ablution (wudu), which is one of the prerequisites of prayer, is the act of washing or wiping certain parts of the body in accordance with its prescribed method in order to perform acts of worship such as prayer, circumambulation of the Kaʿba, or the prostration of recitation. The importance and virtue of ablution are great. In this article, you will find detailed information about the meaning of ablution, how to perform it, the supplications to be recited, and about tayammum (dry ablution).
What Does Our Article Contain?
- What is the importance and virtue of ablution?
- How is ablution performed in accordance with its method and etiquette?
- Supplication to be recited while washing the hands
- Supplication to be recited while rinsing the mouth
- Supplication to be recited while putting water into the nose
- Supplication to be recited while washing the face
- Supplication to be recited while washing the right arm
- Supplication to be recited while washing the left arm
- Supplication to be recited while wiping the head
- Supplication to be recited while wiping the ears
- Supplication to be recited while wiping the neck
- Supplication to be recited while washing the feet
- Supplication to be recited after completing ablution
- How is ablution performed? (Video)
- Is it obligatory to recite ablution supplications while performing ablution? (Video)
- How did the Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) perform ablution? (Video)
- What is the importance of supplication according to verses and hadiths? (Video)
- How is ablution performed?
- How is the major ablution (ghusl) performed?
- What are the etiquettes of ablution?
- What is tayammum and how is it performed?
- The verse of ablution
- The order of performing ablution
- How are the five daily prayers performed?
- Supplications mentioned in hadiths
- Supplications mentioned in the Qur'an
What is the Importance and Virtue of Ablution?
Ablution, which is a spiritual purification and a preparation both spiritually and physically for acts of worship, especially prayer, is also a means of physical cleansing. In the Qur'an al-Karim it is stated:
"O you who believe! When you rise to [perform] prayer, wash your faces and your hands up to the elbows and wipe your heads and [wash] your feet up to the ankles..." (al-Māʾidah, 5/6). The Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) also indicated the importance of ablution by saying: "When a Muslim performs ablution and washes his face, every sin which he committed with his eyes will be washed away from his face with the water, or with the last drop of water; when he washes his hands, every sin which his hands committed will be effaced from his hands with the water, or with the last drop of water; and when he washes his feet, every sin to which his feet walked will be washed away with the water, or with the last drop of water, so that he comes out pure from all sins" (Muslim, Ṭahārah, 32).
How is Ablution Performed in Accordance with Its Method and Etiquette?
- The procedure for ablution begins as follows: We make the intention for ablution and recite the “Basmala”.
- It starts by washing the hands up to the wrists three times, also cleaning between the fingers.
- The teeth are brushed and the mouth is rinsed three times. The nose is also cleansed by putting water into it three times.
- The face and the arms, including the elbows, are washed three times.
- The right hand is moistened and the head is wiped; if possible, the whole head is wiped with both palms.
- The hands are moistened, the inside and outside of the ears are cleaned with the fingers, and then the nape is wiped.
- Finally, the feet, including the ankles, are washed three times.
- It is sunnah to avoid wasting water while performing ablution, to make supplication during and after ablution, and to recite the testimony of faith (kalimat al-shahada).
Arabic and Turkish Recitation of Supplications to Be Recited During Ablution
There are supplications recommended by Islamic scholars to be recited during ablution. Here are some supplications that can be recited during ablution:
Supplication to Be Recited While Washing the Hands
Recitation: “Al-ḥamdu lillāhi alladhī jaʿala al-māʾa ṭahūran wa jaʿala al-islāma nūran.”
Meaning: “All praise is due to Allah, Who made water purifying and made Islam a light.”
Supplication to Be Recited While Rinsing the Mouth
Recitation: “Allāhumma! Asqinī min ḥawḍi nabiyyika kaʾsan lā aẓmaʾu baʿdahu abadan.”
Meaning: “O my Lord, give me to drink a cup from the Basin of Your Prophet, after which I will never thirst again.”
Supplication to Be Recited While Putting Water into the Nose
Recitation: “Allāhumma! Lā taḥrimnī rāʾiḥata naʿī-mika wa jinānika.”
Meaning: “O Allah! Do not deprive me of the pleasant fragrances of Your blessings and Your gardens.”
Supplication to Be Recited While Washing the Face
Recitation: “Allāhumma! Bayyiḍ wajhī binūrika yawma tabyaḍḍu wujūhun wa taswaddu wujūh.”
Meaning: “O my Lord! On the Day when some faces will be bright and some faces will be dark, make my face bright with Your light, illuminate it.”
Supplication to Be Recited While Washing the Right Arm
Recitation: “Allāhumma! Aʿṭinī kitābī bi-yamīnī wa ḥāsibnī ḥisāban yasīran.”
Meaning: “O my Lord! Give my book (of deeds) into my right hand and make my reckoning easy.”
Supplication to Be Recited While Washing the Left Arm
Recitation: “Allāhumma! Lā tuʿṭinī kitābī bi-shimālī wa lā min warāʾi ẓahrī wa lā tuḥāsibnī ḥisāban shadīdan.”
Meaning: “O my Lord! Do not give my book (of deeds) into my left hand, nor from behind my back, and do not make my reckoning difficult.”
Supplication to Be Recited While Wiping the Head
Recitation: “Allāhumma! Ghashshinī bi-raḥmatika wa anzil ʿalayya min barakātika.”
Meaning: “O Allah! Envelop me in Your mercy and send down upon me from Your blessings.”
Supplication to Be Recited While Wiping the Ears
Recitation: “Allāhummajʿalnī mina alladhīna yastamiʿūna al-qawla fa-yattabiʿūna aḥsanahu.”
Meaning: “O my Lord! Make me among those who listen to the word and follow the best of it.”
Supplication to Be Recited While Wiping the Neck
Recitation: “Allāhumma aʿtiq raqabati mina al-nār.”
Meaning: “O my Lord! Free my neck from the bondage of the Fire.”
Supplication to Be Recited While Washing the Feet
Recitation: “Allāhumma! Thabbit qadamayya ʿalā al-ṣirāṭi yawma tazūlu fīhi al-aqdām.”
Meaning: “O my Lord! On the Day when many feet will slip, make my feet firm upon the ṣirāṭ (bridge over Hell).”
Supplication to Be Recited After Completing Ablution
Recitation: “Ashhadu an lā ilāha illallāhu waḥdahu lā sharīka lah. Wa ashhadu anna Muḥammadan ʿabduhu wa rasūluhu.
Allāhummajʿalnī mina al-tawwābīna wajʿalnī mina al-mutaṭahhirīn.
Subḥānakallāhumma wa bi-ḥamdika ashhadu an lā ilāha illā anta astaghfiruka wa atūbu ilayka.”
Meaning: “I bear witness that there is no deity but Allah. He is One and has no partner, and I bear witness that Muḥammad is His servant and messenger.
O Allah! Make me among those who repent much and those who purify themselves much. O Allah! I declare You free from all imperfections and praise You.
O Allah! I bear witness that there is no deity but You. I seek Your forgiveness and turn to You in repentance.”