Why is wudu important?

Wudu is the Arabic term for ablution done by Muslims before the five daily prayers. There are many benefits and rewards of doing wudu, some of which I will be covering below.

There are 4 main rewards for doing wudu as a Muslim:

1. Wudu washes away our sins

Allah’s Messenger (may peace be upon him) said: When a Muslim washes his face (whilst doing wudu), every sin he contemplated with his eyes,will be washed away from his face along with water, or with the last drop of water. When he washes his hands, every sin they have done will be erased from his hands with the water, or with the last drop of water; and when he washes his feet, every sin towards which his feet have walked will be washed away with the water or with the last drop of water with the result that he comes out pure from all sins. (Muslim)

2. Wudu cleans our body

Purity is half of Imaan and doing wudu 5 times a day goes a long way in helping us stay clean. Washing the feet is especially important for when visiting the Masjid as smelly feet may put other people off from going to pray. Washing our feet 3 to 5 times a day will ensure that they don’t smell. Keeping the Masjid clean and smelling nice will Insha’Allah incentivise people to continue going as some people absolutely hate bad smells. We don’t want to be part of the reason why certain people don’t come to pray in the Masjid.

3. Wudu will make our body parts shine on the day of judgement.

A bonus of shining body parts on judgement day will be that our beloved Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W) will be able to recognise his ummah (nation) through this. 

4. Wudu is the key to Salah and Salah is the key to Jannah. 

Aside from the Islamic benefits of doing wudu, there are many other benefits of doing wudu. Read on below to find out more.

Health benefits of wudu

Our intention for doing wudu should be for the sake of Allah. Our intention should also be to purify ourselves for Salah. However the fact that wudu also benefits our health is an added bonus. For example, the simple act of gargling our mouth with water 5 times a day will almost certainly lead to better oral health. Before doing our ablution, we should also instill the habit of miswak. This is because miswak is pleasing to Allah and a Sunnah of the beloved Prophet Muhammad (pbuh).

Furthermore, washing one’s nose helps against microbial diseases. In a study, the noses of two groups were compared with one group washing the nose regularly. The noses of those who washed them were cleaner than those that didn’t.

SubhanAllah, recent studies are just now showing the many benefits of wudu acts that Muslims have been doing for over 1400 years. I am almost certain that if people were to conduct further studies, they would find even more health benefits.

Read more about the health benefits of wudu here.

Fard of wudu

Whilst it is alway better to wash all the required body parts in wudu, if there is a water shortage or if you are running late for Jama’ah (congregational prayer) then just washing these 4 body parts will fulfill the obligation. 

If any of these 4 acts are missed, then the ablution will not be valid.

The four fardh acts of wudu are to:

1. Wash the face from hairline to chin and from one earlobe to the other
2. Wash both arms including the elbow
3. Wipe at least a quarter of the head when doing masah
4. Wash both feet including the ankles

Although these 4 acts are needed to complete your ablution, it is preferable not to make a habit of just doing the faraidh.

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