Short answer
No. Wudu has no time limit: it lasts until something breaks it, so you can pray several prayers with one wudu. Renewing wudu for each prayer is a rewarded extra, not a duty. The four schools agree. The exception is a person with a constant condition such as urine leakage, who makes wudu for each prayer time.
One wudu is valid for any number of prayers, fard or nafl, until a breaker occurs. Renewing wudu when you still have it is mustahabb if you have prayed with it or done some act of worship in between. A ma'dhur (excused person) makes wudu for each prayer time, and it ends when that time ends.
Other madhhabs
- Shafi'i
- Agrees for healthy people. A person with a constant condition makes a new wudu for each fard prayer, not each prayer time.
Explanation
Anas said the Prophet ﷺ used to make wudu for every prayer, and that for the Companions one wudu was enough as long as they did not break it. On the day Makkah was opened, the Prophet ﷺ prayed several prayers with one wudu, and when Umar asked about it, he said he did it on purpose, to show it was allowed. The four schools agree that wudu (ablution) does not expire.
So:
- Made wudu for Zuhr and nothing broke it? Pray Asr, Maghrib and Isha with it if it lasts.
- Made wudu at night and slept sitting upright? Your wudu may still stand: see sleep and wudu.
- Not sure whether it broke? It has not, until you are sure: see doubts about wudu.
- Hours passed with no breaker? Time alone does not break wudu.
Renewing wudu has its own reward. Hanafi scholars say it is recommended when you have prayed with your current wudu or moved to another sitting,. Repeating wudu straight after wudu, with nothing in between, is excess and is disliked. See staying in wudu.
The one group whose wudu is tied to the clock are people with a constant excuse, such as continuous urine drops, wind, a bleeding wound or a stoma. In the Hanafi school their wudu lasts for one prayer time and must be renewed when the next time begins: see praying with urine leakage and wudu with a stoma.
The evidence
Sahih Muslim 277
Sahih... صلى الصلوات يوم الفتح بوضوء واحد ...
"On the day of the Conquest he prayed the prayers with one wudu."
Shows that one wudu serves several prayers.
Sahih al-Bukhari 214
Sahih... يجزي احدنا الوضوء ما لم يحدث ...
"One wudu was enough for any of us as long as he did not break it."
Anas describes the Companions' practice: wudu lasts until broken.
Where the ruling is recorded
- Nur al-Idah with Maraqi al-Falah, Kitab al-Taharah, mustahabbat of wudu. Renewing wudu after praying with it is recommended.
- al-Durr al-Mukhtar with Radd al-Muhtar, Kitab al-Taharah, chapter on the ma'dhur. The excused person's wudu lasts for the prayer time.
Checked by our team. For a more accurate answer to your own situation, consult a scholar. Quran translation by Sahih International. Hadith Arabic from the standard editions of the six books and the Muwatta, with gradings as recorded there; the English is our own rendering. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.