Purity, questions and answers.
Wudu, ghusl, tayammum, impurities and what breaks wudu. 30 answers, Hanafi first, with the Quran and hadith behind each one.
- Does sleeping break wudu?It depends on how you sleep. In the Hanafi school, sleep breaks wudu when you lie down, sleep on your side, or lean so heavily that you would fall if the support were taken away. Dozing while sitting firmly on your seat, standing, or in the postures of prayer does not break it. The other schools differ on the details.
- Does bleeding break wudu?In the Hanafi school, yes, if the blood flows beyond the spot where it came out, such as a nosebleed that runs down or a cut that drips. A spot of blood that stays on the wound does not break wudu. The Shafi'i and Maliki schools say bleeding never breaks wudu.
- Does vomiting break wudu?In the Hanafi school, vomiting a mouthful breaks wudu. A mouthful means an amount you could not keep in your mouth without effort. Less than that does not break it, and phlegm never does. The Shafi'i and Maliki schools say vomit does not break wudu at all.
- Does farting break wudu?Yes. Passing wind from the back passage breaks wudu, with or without sound or smell. Rumbling or bubbling in the stomach that does not come out does not break it, and in the Hanafi school wind from the front passage does not break it either. The four schools agree on the main ruling.
- Does peeing break wudu?Yes. Urinating breaks wudu by agreement of all Muslim scholars, even a single drop. Anything that leaves the front or back passage breaks wudu, and the Hanafi school adds flowing blood, a mouthful of vomit, sleep lying down, fainting and loud laughter in prayer.
- Does discharge break wudu?Yes. In the Hanafi school, any discharge that comes out of the vagina breaks wudu, including normal clear or white discharge. The four schools agree on this. If it flows almost constantly, the rules for an excused person (ma'dhur) apply.
- Does precum require ghusl?No. Precum (madhy) does not require ghusl. It breaks wudu, and you must wash it off your body and clothes. Ghusl is only required for mani, the fluid that comes out with climax. The four schools agree, with small differences on how to clean it.
- Does touching your private parts break wudu?No, not in the Hanafi school. Touching your own private parts, or a child's while changing a nappy, does not break wudu. The Shafi'i and Hanbali schools say touching them directly with the hand does break wudu, and the Maliki school says the same for a man touching his own.
- Does touching a woman break wudu?No, not in the Hanafi school. Skin contact between a man and a woman, even a kiss with desire, does not break wudu. The Shafi'i school says any skin contact with a non-mahram adult breaks it, and the Maliki and Hanbali schools say it breaks when there is desire.
- Does laughing break wudu?Only in salah, and only in the Hanafi school. Laughing out loud during a prayer with ruku and sajdah breaks both the prayer and wudu. Laughing outside prayer never breaks wudu. The other three schools say laughter breaks the prayer but not wudu.
- Does smoking break wudu?No. Smoking a cigarette, shisha or vape does not break wudu in any of the four schools. But going to the masjid or praying with the smell on your mouth is disliked, so rinse your mouth and clean your teeth before you pray.
- Does sweating break wudu?No. Sweat is pure and does not break wudu in any of the four schools, however much you sweat. The same goes for burping, tears, spit and a runny nose.
- Does touching a dog break wudu?No. Touching a dog does not break wudu in any school. In the Hanafi school a dog's body is not impure, but its saliva is, so if a dog licks you or your clothes, wash that spot three times. The Shafi'i and Hanbali schools treat the dog as impure and require washing seven times, once with soil.
- Does ghusl count as wudu?Yes. A complete ghusl also gives you wudu, so you can pray straight after it without a separate wudu, as long as nothing broke your wudu during or after it. In the Hanafi school even an ordinary shower counts, if you rinse your mouth, get water into your nose and wash every part of your body.
- Can you make wudu in the shower?Yes. Wudu made in the shower is valid as long as you wash every fard part. It does not matter that you are undressed. If the toilet is in the same room, say bismillah before you go in or silently in your heart, and skip the spoken duas until you leave.
- Can you wipe over socks in wudu?In the Hanafi school, only over leather khuffs or over socks thick and strong enough to act like them. Ordinary cotton, nylon or wool socks do not qualify, so you have to take them off and wash your feet. The Hanbali school allows wiping over ordinary socks that cover the foot.
- How long can you wipe over khuffs?One day and night (24 hours) if you are at home, and three days and nights (72 hours) if you are travelling. In the Hanafi school the time starts from the first time your wudu breaks after you put the khuffs on, not from when you put them on. The Maliki school sets no time limit.
- Can you make wudu with nail polish on?No. Regular nail polish forms a waterproof layer, so water cannot reach the nail and your wudu and ghusl are not valid until you take it off. You may wear it after wudu and pray, but once your wudu breaks you must remove it. Henna is fine because it only colours. The four schools agree.
- How do you make wudu with a cast or bandage?Wash everything you can, and wipe once with a wet hand over the cast or bandage in place of washing what is under it. In the Hanafi school you wipe over most of it, there is no time limit, and you did not need wudu when it was put on. The Shafi'i school also requires tayammum.
- When is ghusl required?Ghusl is fard after sexual intercourse (even without ejaculation), after semen comes out with desire (awake or in a wet dream), at the end of a period, and at the end of postnatal bleeding. A non-Muslim who becomes Muslim while in one of these states must do ghusl too. The Shafi'i school also requires it for semen without desire.
- Do you need ghusl after a wet dream?Yes, if you wake up and find fluid. A wet dream with discharge requires ghusl for men and women. If you remember a dream but find nothing, no ghusl is needed. If you find wetness but do not remember a dream, the Hanafi school requires ghusl unless you are sure it is only madhy (precum).
- How much water should you use for wudu and ghusl?There is no fixed amount: what matters is that water flows over every part. The sunnah is to be sparing. The Prophet ﷺ made wudu with about one mudd (two cupped handfuls) and ghusl with about one sa' (four mudds). Wasting water is makruh even at a flowing river. The four schools agree.
- How do you make tayammum?Make the intention, strike both palms on clean earth or a surface of earth's kind, wipe your whole face, strike again, and wipe your right arm then your left to the elbows. In the Hanafi school this is allowed when there is no water within about a mile, or using water would harm you. It replaces both wudu and ghusl.
- Can you pray with urine or blood on your clothes?In the Hanafi school, the prayer is valid if the impurity is no larger than a dirham, roughly the hollow of your palm, but praying with that amount knowingly is makruh tahrimi, so wash it if you can. More than a dirham makes the prayer invalid. The Shafi'i school excuses only tiny amounts.
- Is alcohol in perfume najis?In the mainstream Hanafi view, no. The alcohol in perfume is synthetic or made from sources other than grapes and dates, and such alcohol is not impure, so you may wear the perfume and pray in it. Alcohol from grapes or dates would be impure. Scholars of the other schools differ on this.
- Is toilet paper enough for istinja?Yes, in the Hanafi school, as long as the impurity has not spread more than a dirham beyond the opening. Using water is better, and using paper and then water is best. If it has spread more than that, washing with water is fard.
- Can you say bismillah in the bathroom?Saying it aloud inside a toilet is makruh. Say bismillah and the bathroom dua just before you go in. If you are already inside, for example for wudu in a bathroom with a toilet, say it silently in your heart. The four schools agree that dhikr in the toilet is disliked.
- What should I do if I keep doubting whether my wudu broke?Ignore the doubt. A wudu you are sure you made is not broken by a doubt, only by certainty, such as hearing or smelling wind or seeing a drop. If doubts keep coming, scholars say you should not act on them at all. The four schools agree on this principle.
- How do you pray with urine leakage or incontinence?If leaking is so constant that you cannot keep wudu long enough to pray the fard of a prayer, you are ma'dhur (excused). Make wudu after each prayer time begins and pray all you want in that time; the leaking does not break it until the time ends. If it is a one-off accident, wash, change and renew wudu.
- Why does camel meat break wudu?It does not in the Hanafi school, nor in the Maliki and Shafi'i schools. Only the Hanbali school holds that eating camel meat breaks wudu, based on a sound hadith in Sahih Muslim. The majority read that hadith as early or as washing the hands and mouth.