Short answer
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.
Blood, pus or fluid that leaves the body and flows past the mouth of the wound breaks wudu. Blood that appears but stays where it came out does not. Blood in your spit breaks wudu when it equals or outweighs the saliva, shown by a red colour.
Other madhhabs
- Shafi'i
- Bleeding does not break wudu, whatever the amount, unless it comes from the front or back passage.
- Maliki
- Bleeding does not break wudu, unless it comes from the front or back passage.
- Hanbali
- A large amount of blood breaks wudu; a small amount does not.
Explanation
The Hanafi school counts anything impure that flows out of the body as a breaker of wudu (ablution), not only what leaves the two private passages. Its scholars draw this from the Prophet's ﷺ words to a woman with chronic bleeding, that it was "a vein" and not menstruation, with the instruction to make wudu for each prayer. Flowing blood from a vein, they reason, breaks wudu wherever it comes from. The same view is reported from several Companions.
The test is flowing. Some everyday cases:
- Nosebleed: breaks wudu once the blood reaches the soft lower part of the nose.
- A cut or graze: breaks wudu if blood runs off the cut. A bead that you wipe and that does not spread does not.
- Bleeding gums: breaks wudu if your spit turns red; yellowish spit does not.
- Blood test: blood drawn from a vein into a tube breaks wudu, since it would have flowed on its own. A finger prick with a tiny drop does not.
- Popping a pimple: breaks wudu only if pus or blood flows past the spot.
The other schools rely on reports of Companions who kept praying while wounded. Because of this difference, a Hanafi should renew wudu after flowing blood, while a follower of another school need not. Blood on clothes is a separate question: see praying with blood on your clothes.
The evidence
Sahih al-Bukhari 228
Sahih... انما ذلك عرق وليس بحيض ...
"That is only a vein, it is not menstruation."
The Hanafi school reads this, with the order to make wudu for each prayer, as showing that flowing blood from a vein breaks wudu.
Where the ruling is recorded
- al-Hidaya, Kitab al-Taharat, chapter on what breaks wudu. Blood and pus that flow to a place that must be purified break wudu.
- al-Durr al-Mukhtar with Radd al-Muhtar, Kitab al-Taharah, nawaqid al-wudu. Blood mixed with saliva and blood drawn by syringe.
- al-Majmu' (Nawawi), Kitab al-Taharah, chapter on what breaks wudu. The Shafi'i view that blood from other than the two passages does not break wudu.
This answer is pending review by the scholars on our team. 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.