In previous articles, we have gained knowledge of the importance and necessity of offering prayer. prayer or salah in Islam, is one of the fifth pillars of Islam and is considered a means of seeking a closer connection to Allah and forgiveness for sins. It is an essential aspect of a Muslim’s faith and is a personal obligation for all Muslims who are physically and mentally able. The next question is what are the requirements for offering prayer in Islam and how to offer prayer or salah? The answer is WUDU. It is the most important requirement for Muslims to perform Wudu before salah.
Islam is the only truly peaceful & comprehensive religion in the world that provides all the manners of spending an excellent life. It does not only tell what to do but tells, how to do it. In Islam, there are many different ways of worshiping Allah which we will discuss in our further articles on this website. So be a regular visitor of our website to gain the correct and authentic Islamic knowledge that is essential to become a good Muslim.
The most important & obligatory worship in Islam is to offer prayer/Salah/Namaz. Islam orders all Muslims to offer prayer five times a day and teaches them how to pray Salah in a perfect way so that it could be acceptable in the court of Allah the Almighty.
Before going to learn how to pray Salah, let us refresh this truth in our hearts that,
There is no God except ALLAH, Muhammadﷺ is His Messenger.
What is the most important requirement to offer salah/prayer?
The most glorious and the last Prophet Muhammadﷺ said,
“O people! Allah is pure and accepts only that is pure.”
(Sahih Muslim: from Hadith 1015)
The very first and most important requirement before starting to offer prayer in Islam is to become pure. It includes the cleanliness & purity of body, clothes, and place of worship. Islam has taught us how to pray Salah, and just like that, we have a complete guide for how to become clean & pure. To gain the state of purity to offer prayer, the Muslims are ordered to take a ritual bath (Arabic: غسل ġhusl) when obligatory and to make wudhu/wudu or Ablution (Arabic: الوضوء al-wuḍūʼ). Islamic wudu comprises ways of washing & cleaning some parts of the body. Making ablution has various physical medical & spiritual benefits on the human body that Science has proved logically. Also, it has many certain great rewards as well.
What are Virtues of Wudu in Islam?
Allah the Almighty grants rewards for every good deed that Muslims do with good intentions to get His pleasure.
Wudu is also a good deed that gives many different rewards and virtues. There are so many virtues of making wudu (ablution) explained in Ahadith. Few are the following:
▪ Washing off Sins
Our Noble Prophet Muhammadﷺ said,
“When a person performs Wuḍhū and washes his hands, the sins of his hands are also washed away. When he washes his face, the sins of his face also go away. When he wipes his head, the sins of his head also go away, and when he washes his feet, the sins of his feet also go away.
(Masnad Imam Ahmed bin Hanbal: Hadith 415)
▪ Sleeping in wudu
Allah’s Last Messenger Prophet Muhammad ﷺ said, “A person who sleeps in ablution is like a person who worships while fasting.”
(Kanz-ul-Ummaal: Hadith 25994)
▪ Death in wudu
Once our beloved Prophet ﷺ said to Hazrat Anas رضی اللہ عنه,
” Son! If you can remain in ablution every time, then do so, because when the angel of death captures the soul of a servant in the state of ablution, Allah will write and grant him with martyrdom (shahadah).”
(Sho’ab-ul-Emaan: Vol.3, Hadith 2783)
How many Types of wudu are there?
Regarding the degree of necessity and virtue, there are four types of Ablution (wudu):
- Fard Wudhu
- Wajib Wudhu
- Sunnat Wudhu and
- Mustahab wudhu
Fardh Wudu:
There are three compulsory ritual acts or fard for wudu to perform:
- a) Offering Prayer.
- b) Prostration of Quran’s recitation.
- c) Touching Quran.
Wajib Wudu:
The act for which making ablution is Wajib is:
- a) Tawaf of Kaaba. (seven rounds around Kaaba)
Sunnah Wudu:
For the following acts, making ablution is Sunnah:
- a) Before taking bath of janabat*
- b) For the person with janabat to eat or drink something or to sleep before taking bath
- c) Visiting Prophet’s blessed grave.
- d) Stay at Arafaat during Hajj
- e) Endevour between Safa and Marwah mountains during Hajj or Umrah.
(*Janabat means the impurity due to sexual activity, nocturnal emission, or ejaculation of semen with lust)
Mustahab Wudu:
Ablution is *Mustahab for following acts:
- a) Sleeping
- b) Waking up
- c) Before intercourse
- d) During anger
- c) Reciting Quran oral.
- d) Touching Islmic books
NOTE:Mustahab means the recommended thing that is rewarded if done but not a sin or penal if lacking. In the next article we will learn more about performing wudhu.
FAQs
What wudu means or what is wudu in Islam?
Before performing Salah, ablution or cleaning and washing some parts of the body parts to seek Allah’s reward and blessings.
When should I make wudu?
The prophet said: when you go to sleep, make wudhu before going to bed, as you do for prayer. It is extremely advised for someone who is severely ritually impure to perform wudu before sleeping, just as it is recommended for him to perform wudu before eating and drinking.
What is dua for wudu in English?
Before performing wudu we should say Bismillah or In the name of Allah the most beneficent and the most merciful.You can say it wudu dua also.
