Wudu (Ritual Ablution)
The ritual cleansing with water, required before prayer.
Wudu (Arabic: وضوء) is the ritual ablution with water that is obligatory before one can perform salah (prayer). Wudu is a prerequisite for the prayer's validity and symbolizes both physical and spiritual purification.
Wudu is performed in a specific order: one washes the hands three times, rinses the mouth three times, cleanses the nose three times, washes the face three times, washes the arms to the elbows three times, wipes over the head with wet hands, and washes the feet to the ankles three times.
Wudu is invalidated by certain actions, including using the toilet, sleep, unconsciousness, and bleeding (according to some schools of law). When wudu is broken, one must perform a new wudu before the next prayer.
The Quran says: "O you who believe! When you prepare for prayer, wash your faces and your hands and arms to the elbows, wipe over your heads, and wash your feet to the ankles" (Surah Al-Ma'idah 5:6).
Related terms
Du'a (Personal Supplication)
Personal address and supplication to Allah for help and guidance.
Ijma' (Consensus)
Agreement among Islamic scholars on a legal question, considered the third source of Islamic law.
Shahadah (Declaration of Faith)
The first pillar of Islam: the testimony that there is no god except Allah and that Muhammad is His Messenger.
Du'a Kumayl (Kumayl's Supplication)
One of the most famous Shia supplications, taught by Imam Ali to Kumayl ibn Ziyad.
Rak'ah (Prayer Cycle)
A single cycle of movements and recitations in the Islamic prayer.
Isha (Night Prayer)
The fifth and final daily prayer, performed when darkness has fallen.