Performing wudu is essential before praying and reading Quran from the Mushaf, therefore we will learn how to perform it in easy steps.
How To Perform Wudu for Females? Females should perform Wudu in the same way males do Wudu, Quran has not differentiated between the way males and females should do Wudu, and females should still do Wudu by washing their heads, hands, face, and feet.
The holy Quran says the following about performing Wudu for females and males:
“O believers! When you rise up for prayer, wash your faces and your hands up to the elbows, wipe your heads and wash your feet to the ankles.
And if you are in a state of ˹full˺ impurity, then take a full bath. But if you are ill, on a journey, or have relieved yourselves, or have been intimate with your wives and cannot find water, then purify yourselves with clean earth by wiping your faces and hands.”
If you want to learn how to perform wudu step by step and if there’s a difference between wudu for women and men or not, then keep reading.
How to perform Wudu for females?
It’s important to perform wudu before prayers, and we will guide you step by step to ensure your complete understanding. But before we start let’s first answer this question, Is Wudu for females different than wudu for males? What do you think the answer is? The answer is no, there I no difference between performing wudu for men or women.
Now let’s learn how to perform Wudu, just make sure to follow those steps in order:
- First make your intention and say ‘Bismillah’ which means ‘in the name of Allah’.
- Wash your hands starting with the right hand up to the wrist three times, then wash your left hand up to the wrist three times. There’s a hadith that says: “and when he washes his hands, every evil he did with his hands leaves with the water – or with the last drop of water – until he becomes free of sin.”
- Then, Wash your mouse three times. Cup some water in your right hand and wash your mouth.
- Wash your nose three times: be careful at this step you don’t wash your nose, no you should cup some water in your right hand and inhale it and blow it, repeat this three times.
- Wash your face starting from the hairline to the chin, and from ear to ear three times, and make sure that the water reaches your entire face.
- Afterward, Wash your right starting from your fingertips up to the elbows three times then repeat the process with your left hand. And of course, if you have nail polish on you should remove it before performing wudu.
- Wipe your head starting from the front of your head until the nape of your neck. This step is called “Masah”, wash your hand and then shake any excess water then wipe your head just once.
- Wipe your ears from the back with your thumbs and use your index finger to wash them from the inside, this step is only done once.
- Wash your right foot three times starting from the toes and washing between them up to the back of your ankles three times, then repeat the process with your left foot.
- To finish the wudu recite the following dua: “Ash-hadu ’an laa ’ilaaha ’illallaahu wahdahu laa shareeka lah, wa ’ash-hadu ’anna Muhammadan ’abduhu wa Rasooluh.”
In English, it means: “I bear witness that none has the right to be worshipped but Allah alone, who has no partner; and I bear witness that Muhammad is His slave and His Messenger.”
How to perform wudu for females after period?
After period you should perform what is called Ghusl, then you can perform wudu as you normally do, the steps of performing wudu will not change.
Aishah narrated that the Prophet “peace and blessing be upon him” told Fatimah bint Abi Hubaysh: “When menstruation starts (you should) stop praying, and when it leaves, take a (purificatory) bath, then start praying again.”
Now let’s see how to perform Ghusl for females:
How do you do a Junub bath?
Ghusl is performed in three stages. First, make the niyyah (intention), wash your private parts from any blood, then perform the following steps:
1- Wash your head down to your nick.
2- Then wash the right side of your body first, starting from the shoulder down to the foot.
3- Now do the same process with the left side of your body.
Ensure that the water reaches each part and wash it thoroughly, and when washing your hair comb it with your fingers carefully to ensure that the water reaches the roots of the hair. And that’s it.
You can also learn more about doing Wudu for reciting Quran here. If you have problems reading Quran, you can learn how to recite Quran for Adults here.
How to perform wudu for females at work?
It’s hard for females to perform wudu at work because of the hijab. But here is what you can do:
A woman could take off the hijab and do Wudu if she can or she could put her hands under the hijab and wipe her hair and ears if she can. But also, it is permissible to wipe over the hijab if it is difficult to take it off and wear it again.
When Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen was asked: “It is permissible for a woman to wipe over her khimaar?”
His answer was: “The well-known view in the madhhab of Imam Ahmad is that she may wipe over her khimaar if it goes under her chin because it was narrated that some of the womenfolk of the Sahaabah (may Allaah be pleased with them) did that.
Whatever the case, if there is some difficulty, either because the weather is cold or because it is difficult to take it off and put it on again, then there is nothing wrong with wiping in such cases, otherwise it is better not to do that.”
Another fatwa says: “It is also valid for a woman to wipe over a khimaar that goes under the chin because Umm Salamah used to wipe over her khimaar, as was mentioned by Ibn al-Mundhir.”
Shaykh Ibn Uthaymeen said: “It is also Sunnah to wipe whatever part of the head is uncovered, such as the forelock, the sides of the head, and the ears.”
Okay, that’s one problem solved, but what about the feet? Should I take off the socks to perform wudu? No, you don’t have to take off your socks you can wipe your feet over them. However, there are some conditions that must be met so that you can wipe over it, or else you will have to take it off, and the conditions are:
- The socks must be thick and not transparent so that no water can pass through them when you wipe over them.
- Socks must cover the feet up until the ankle bone.
- Socks must be worn after performing wudu, you should be in a state of purity when you wear them, or else you will have to take them off to perform Wudu.
For females it much harder to perform wudu at work, but I hope those few tips makes it easier for you.
What do you say before wudu?
Before you start performing wudu you should first make your intention and say ‘Bismillah’ which means ‘in the name of Allah’.
What to say after making Wudhu?
After finishing the wudu recite the following dua: “Ash-hadu ’an laa ’ilaaha ’illallaahu wahdahu laa shareeka lah, wa ’ash-hadu ’anna Muhammadan ’abduhu wa Rasooluh.”
In english it means: “I bear witness that none has the right to be worshipped but Allah alone, who has no partner; and I bear witness that Muhammad is His slave and His Messenger.”
You could also say:
اَللَّهُـمَّ اجْعَلْنِـي مِنَ التَّـوَّابِينَ وَاجْعَـلْنِي مِنَ الْمُتَطَهِّـرِينَ.
O Allah, make me of those who return to You often in repentance and make me of those who remain clean and pure.
What did the prophet say about Wudu?
Here’s some of the hadith concerning wudu for females and males:
Abu Hurayrah, Narrated that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessing be upon him) said: “The prayer of a person who does not perform ablution is not valid, and the ablution of a person who does not mention the name of Allah (in the beginning) is not valid.”
It was narrated from Abu Sa’eed that: The Messenger of Allah said: “There is no ablution for one who does not mention the Name of Allah (before doing it).”
Abu Hurairah narrated that the Prophet (peace and blessing be upon him) said: “When a Muslim, or believer, performs Wudu’, washing his face, every evil that he looked at with his eyes leaves with the water – or with the last drop of water, or an expression similar to that – and when he washes his hands, every evil he did with his hands leaves with the water – or with the last drop of water – until he becomes free of sin.”
A man said to the prophet “Messenger of Allah, tell me about ablution.” The prophet (peace and blessing be upon him) said: “Perform ablution in full and make the fingers go through the beard and snuff with water well except when you are fasting.”
Is Wudu mentioned in the holy Quran?
Yes, wudu was mentioned in the holy Quran and there is no difference between females and males in the way wudu is performed. And here are some verses from the holy Quran about Wudu:
“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 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.” (Surah Maidah Ayah 6)
“O you who have believed, do not approach prayer while you are intoxicated until you know what you are saying or in a state of Janabah, except those passing through [a place of prayer], until you have washed [your whole body]. And 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 find no water, then seek clean earth and wipe over your faces and your hands [with it]. Indeed, Allah is ever Pardoning and Forgiving.” (Surah An-Nisa Ayah 43)
What are the Virtues of performing wudu?
To be pure and be able to pray and hold the Mushaf, it is essential to perform Wudu first, it doesn’t just purify the body but also the soul from all the sins.
Wudu is the essential form of purification. It is a means of taharah that cleans an individual out of his sins. The simple act of cleansing oneself is a cause for his radiance as narrated:
“Once I went up the roof of the mosque, along with Abu Huraira. He performs ablution and said, “I heard the Prophet (peace and blessing be upon him) saying, “On the Day of Resurrection, my followers will be called “Al-Ghurr-ul- Muhajjalun” from the trace of ablution and whoever can increase the area of his radiance should do so (i.e. by performing ablution regularly).
From the hadith, we can see one of the major benefits of performing Wudu whether for females or males. Let’s understand what it says. The word “Ghurr” is the plural of “Agharr” and it means really white, and it refers to the white mark that will be on the forehead of the faithful ones on the day of judgment.
The word “Muhajjalun” comes from the word Tahjil, and it also means whiteness. And it refers to the white light that will shine from the hands and legs of the believers on the day of judgment because of every wudu they have performed in their lives.
This means that when females and males perform wudu, this purifies their souls and they will be distinguishable from others on the day of judgment. As there will be light illuminating from their forehead, hands, and legs.
Allah says in the holy Quran:
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا إِذَا قُمْتُمْ إِلَى الصَّلَاةِ فَاغْسِلُوا وُجُوهَكُمْ وَأَيْدِيَكُمْ إِلَى الْمَرَافِقِ وَامْسَحُوا بِرُءُوسِكُمْ وَأَرْجُلَكُمْ إِلَى الْكَعْبَيْنِ
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.
What to do if you Don’t know if you broke the wudu or not?
If you can’t remember if you broke the wudu or not, then you can perform wudu once again. Also you can perform wudu before every salah (prayer) if you like, actually it is recommended to perform it before every salah.
However, some people keep questioning themselves whether their wudu is valid or not. The same case happened in the past, a man thought that his wudu was broken while he was praying, so the prophet (peace and blessing be upon him) said to him: “Do not stop praying until you hear a sound or smell an odor.”
Therefore, if you don’t know if your Wudu is broken or not then the rule says that your wudu is still valid!
Conclusion.
Allah says in the holy Quran about performing Wudu for females and males: “O believers! When you rise up for prayer, wash your faces and your hands up to the elbows, wipe your heads, and wash your feet to the ankles. And if you are in a state of ˹full˺ impurity, then take a full bath. But if you are ill, on a journey, or have relieved yourselves, or have been intimate with your wives and cannot find water, then purify yourselves with clean earth by wiping your faces and hands.”
We made it clear that there is no difference between females and males when performing Wudu, and here are the steps to follow:
1- First make your intention and say ‘Bismillah’ which means ‘in the name of Allah’.
2- Wash your hands starting by the right hand up to the wrist three times, then wash your left hand up to the wrist three times. There’s a hadith that says: “and when he washes his hands, every evil he did with his hands leaves with the water – or with the last drop of water – until he becomes free of sin.”
3- Wash your mouse three times. Cup some water in your right hand and wash your mouth.
4- Wash your nose three times: be careful at this step you don’t wash your nose, no you should cup some water in your right hand and inhale it and blow it, repeat this three times.
5- Wash your face starting from the hairline to the chin, and from ear to ear three times, and make sure that the water reaches your entire face.
6- Wash your right starting from your fingertips up to the elbows three times then repeat the process with your left hand. And of course, if you have nail polish on you should remove it before performing wudu.
7- Wipe your head starting from the front of your head until the nape of your neck. This step is called “Masah”, wash your hand and then shake any excess water then wipe your head just once.
8- Wipe your ears from the back with your thumbs and use your index finger to wash them from the inside, this step is only done once.
9- Wash your right foot three times starting from the toes and washing between them up to the back of your ankles three times, then repeat the process with your left foot.
10- To finish the wudu recite the following dua: “Ash-hadu ’an laa ’ilaaha ’illallaahu wahdahu laa shareeka lah, wa ’ash-hadu ’anna Muhammadan ’abduhu wa Rasooluh.”
In English, it means: “I bear witness that none has the right to be worshipped but Allah alone, who has no partner; and I bear witness that Muhammad is His slave and His Messenger.”
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