Purification matters

Wudu:
How is wudu performed?
A person must perform wudu or ghusl before Salah in order to become ritually pure
for Salah. Wudu is performed in the following way:

(i) You must have the intention of performing wudu. The intention should not be
spoken out loud for its place is in the heart. This applies to all acts of worship.
(ii) You should say Bismillaah.
(iii) Then you should wash your hands three times
(iv) Then you should rinse your mouth three times, swirling the water around inside
your mouth, and rinse your nose three times, blowing the water out and using the
left hand to blow the water from your nose.
(v) You should wash you face three times, from the hairline to the jawbone and chin,
and from ear to ear. A man should wash the hair of his beard because it is part of the
face and run his wet fingers through it.
(vi) Then you should wash your arms up to the elbows three times. The arm extends
from the fingertips, including the nails, to the lower part of the upper arm. It is
essential to remove anything stuck to the hands before washing them, such as
dough, mud, paint, etc, that could prevent the water from reaching the skin.
(vii) Then after that you should wipe your head and ears once with fresh water, not
the water left over from washing the arms. The way in which the head is to be wiped
is that you put your wet hands at the front of your head and take them to the back
of your head, then bring them back to the place where you started. Then put your
index fingers in your ears and wipe the back of the ears with your thumbs.
(viii) Then you should wash your feet three times up to the ankles, namely the bones
at the bottom of the leg.

 There is no difference between men and women in the way wudu should be
done.
 It is mustahabb (recommended/preferable) to say, when one has completed
wudu:
ُ ُ‫كُلَهُُ َو َٔاَ ْش َهدُُ َٔاَنُُّم َحم ًّداُ َعبْدهُُ َو َرسوله‬ ُّ ُ‫ل‬
ُ َ ُُ‫َللاُ َوحْ دَه‬
َُ ‫لُ َشري‬ ُ ّ ‫لُ ِٕالَ َُهُ ِٕا‬
ُ َ ُُْ‫َٔاَ ْش َهدُُ َٔاَن‬
“Ashhadu an laa ilaaha ill-Allah wahdahu laa shareeka lah, wa ashhadu anna
Muhammadan ‘abduhu wa rasooluhu" (I bear witness that there is no god except
Allah alone with no partner or associate, and I bear witness that Muhammad is the
Messenger of Allah), because the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)
said: “There is no one among you who does wudu and does it properly and does it
well, then he says, ‘Ashhadu an laa ilaaha ill-Allah wahdahu laa shareeka lah, wa
ashhadu anna Muhammadan ‘abduhu wa rasooluhu,’ but the gates of Paradise will
be opened to him and he may enter through whichever of them he wishes.” Then
after that, this dua is recommended to be read:
ُ "ُ‫ين‬ َُ ‫نُالم َت َطهِّر‬ َُ ‫ُواجْ َع ْلنيُم‬،ُ‫ين‬ َُ ‫نُال َت ّواب‬َُ ‫"ُاللّه ُّمُاجْ َع ْلنيُم‬
“Allahumma ij’alni min at-tawwaabeena wa’j’alni min al-mutatahhireen" (O Allah,
make me one of those who repent and make me one of those who purify
themselves).

i
 If somebody forgets any part of wudu and remembers during wudu or at the
end of wudu then he must wash that part and rewash the parts that come after that
part in the sequence of wudu and complete the wudu again.
 One must also remove anything that could prevent water from reaching the
skin and nails, such as nail polish.
 If somebody remembers after he has prayed that he forgot to wash any part
during wudu then he must perform wudu again and repeat the Salah.

Things that invalidate wudu:

Wudu must be performed after any of the following acts/things because they break
wudu:
a – Any discharge from the front or back passage (urine, stool, wind, etc.).
b – Emission of urine or stools from anywhere other than the urethra or anus.
c – Losing one’s mind, which may mean losing it altogether by losing one’s mental
faculties, which is insanity, or by losing it temporarily for a certain length of time for
some reason such as sleep, unconsciousness, intoxication, etc.
d – Touching one’s penis directly (without clothing in between) with desire. Similar is
the case for a woman if she touches her private parts with desire her wudu breaks.
e – Eating camel meat, because of the hadith where a Sahabi asked the Prophet
(s.a.w), “Should we do wudu after eating camel meat?” He said, “Yes.”

If any of these things happen then the wudu is broken and a person enters into a
state of minor impurity. In order to perform Salah he must remove minor impurity
for which he must perform wudu.

Ghusl:
Ghusl must be performed after any of the following acts:
1- Emission of maniy (semen) from its exit in the male or female, which happens
either when one is awake or when one is asleep.
2- Sexual intercourse, even if no ejaculation takes place.
3- Menstruation
4- Nifaas (post-partum bleeding).

If any of the above things happen then a person enters a state of major impurity
which can only be removed by ghusl and after doing ghusl there is no need to
perform wudu after it.

How to perform ghusl?

1. Form the intention in the heart to purify oneself from major impurity for example
janaabah (impurity following sexual discharge), menses or nifaas (postpartum
bleeding).
2. Then say Bismillah and wash the hands three times, then wash any dirt from the
private part. For a woman who is taking ghusl at the end of her periods, it is
preferable to wash her private parts with something scented.
3. Then do wudu as for prayer, a complete wudu.

ii
4. Then pour water over the head three times, and rub the hair so that the water
reaches the roots of the hair.
5. Then wash the body, making sure that the water reaches all parts, starting with
the right side of the body and then the left, and rubbing it with the hands so that the
water reaches the entire body.

In order for ghusl to be valid, there are conditions that must be met, and if they are
not met, then ghusl is invalid. They are:
1. Intention (niyyah) to perform ghusl in order to clean oneself from major impurity
because there can be many reasons for which a person performs ghusl so it is
essential to distinguish that which is done for Allah from that which is done for
ordinary purposes.
2. The water used for ghusl must be clean/pure (taahir). If someone starts to do
ghusl, then realizes that the water is impure (najis), then he must repeat his ghusl
using water that is pure (taahir).
3. The water should reach the entire body, so there should be nothing on the body
that can prevent the water from reaching the skin or hair.
If there is some substance on the hair or skin that forms a barrier that prevents the
water from reaching the hair or skin, then in this case ghusl is not valid and these
things must be removed in order for ghusl to be valid.

How should a person who has a wound do wudu and ghusl?

If there is a wound in any part of the body, then this wound is either uncovered or it
is covered with a dressing or bandage. If it is covered with a dressing or bandage,
then he should wash the healthy parts of the body, then he should wet his hand with
water and wipe over the dressing. If he does this then he does not need to do
tayammum.
But if the wound is uncovered, then it must be washed with water if possible, but if
washing it will harm it, and he can wipe it then he should wipe it. If that is not
possible, then the wound should be left without washing or wiping, then when the
person has finished doing wudu, he should do tayammum.

Tayammum:
Allah has permitted tayammum, which takes the place of wudu or ghusl, in two
conditions:
1) When water is unavailable, or
2) When one is unable to use water because of sickness, etc.

What to use for tayammum?

Tayammum is valid if done using anything that comes from the face of the earth,
such as dust, mud, rocks, sand and clay, but all of these should be clean and free
from any impurity. It is permissible to do tayammum on walls or vessels made of
clay, so long as they are not painted. If they are painted, tayammum is not valid
unless there is dust on them.

How to perform tayammum?

iii
The way in which tayammum is done is to say Bismillaah with the intention of doing
tayammum, then strike the ground (or whatever is being used for tayammum) once
with the palms of the hands, then wipe the back of the right hand with the palm of
the left, and the back of the left hand with the palm of the right, then wipe the face
with both hands. Then the same duas that are recited after wudu should be recited
after tayammum. Tayammum can be done by wiping the face first and then the
hands.
The way in which to do tayammum following major impurity is no different from the
way of doing tayammum in the case of minor impurity.

 Tayammum, like wudu, removes impurity so it is permissible to offer more than

one obligatory prayer with it, and you do not have to repeat it for every
prayer. So if you do tayammum for Zuhr, for example, and you do not break your
tayammum’, it is permissible for you to pray ‘Asr with it, and so on.
 Whatever breaks wudu breaks tayammum.
 As soon as water is available the person who had major impurity should perform
ghusl. His previous Salahs in the state of tayammum will be valid. Similarly the
person who performed tayammum from minor impurity must perform wudu for
his next salah if water becomes available. Tayammum expires with availability of
water or with recovery from the disease which prevented use of water.

Rulings of Tayammum applying to a sick person:

1 – If his sickness is mild and there is no fear that using water may lead to death,
severe sickness, delay of recovery or increase of pain, and that water will not harm
him, then it is not permissible for him to do tayammum, because it is permitted in
order to ward off harm, but he is not likely to be harmed. And because he can find
water, he is obliged to use it.
2– If he has wounds, sores, broken limbs or a sickness in which use of water will
harm him, and he is in a state of minor or major impurity, it is permissible for him to
do tayammum. If he is able to wash the sound parts of his body then he must do
that, and then do tayammum for the rest.
3 – If he has a sickness which makes him unable to move and there is no one to bring
him water, then it is permissible for him to do tayammum.
4 – If the sick person is in a place where there is no water and no dust, and there is
no one who can bring him whichever of them if available, then he may pray as he is,
and he should not delay the prayer.

Note: If water is available but the effort to acquire it and use it means that the time
of Salah will end, then it is not permissible for a person to do tayammum, whether
he/she is at home or travelling. For example if the menses of a woman end 10
minutes before the end of Zuhr time then in order to pray Salah before the end of its
time, she cannot do tayammum and pray because that will save time. She must do
ghusl and pray even if the time of Salah goes out because tayammum is permissible
when there is no water or when the person cannot use water but in this case water
is available and the person is fine but just to avoid time wastage she wants to do
tayammum.

iv