Short answer
No. Sneezing, burping, yawning, hiccups, coughing and blowing your nose do not break wudu, and the four schools agree. Wind breaks wudu only when it leaves from the back passage. A burp that brings up a mouthful of vomit is the one exception in the Hanafi school.
Sneezing, burping, yawning, coughing and hiccups do not break wudu. Mucus from the nose and phlegm from the chest are pure and do not break wudu. Wudu is broken by burping only if a mouthful of vomit comes up with it.
The four schools agree on this.
Explanation
Wudu (ablution) is broken by a short list of causes. The Prophet ﷺ said there is no wudu except because of a sound or a smell, speaking of wind from the back passage. Air leaving the mouth or nose is not that, so a burp or a sneeze leaves your wudu as it was. The four schools agree on this.
- Sneezing: does not break wudu. Say alhamdulillah, even in your heart if you are in prayer.
- Burping: does not break wudu. If a little food or acid comes up, less than a mouthful, wudu stays; rinse your mouth before praying. A mouthful of vomit breaks it in the Hanafi school: see vomiting.
- Yawning: does not break wudu. The sunnah is to hold it back or cover your mouth.
- Coughing and clearing your throat: do not break wudu.
- Blowing your nose: mucus is pure and does not break wudu. If blood flows with it to the soft lower part of the nose, that breaks wudu in the Hanafi school: see bleeding.
- Hiccups: do not break wudu.
Sometimes a sneeze or cough makes a drop of urine leak, or pushes out wind. Then it is the urine or wind that breaks wudu, not the sneeze. If you only fear that a drop came out but are not sure, ignore the doubt: certainty is not removed by doubt. See doubts about wudu, and if leaking is constant, praying with urine leakage.
For everything that does break wudu, see what breaks wudu.
The evidence
Jami' at-Tirmidhi 74
Grading to be checked... لا وضوء الا من صوت او ريح ...
"There is no wudu except because of a sound or a smell."
Ties the breaking of wudu by wind to wind from the back passage, not air from the mouth or nose.
Where the ruling is recorded
- Nur al-Idah with Maraqi al-Falah, Kitab al-Taharah, chapter on what does not break wudu. Phlegm, and vomit less than a mouthful, do not break wudu.
- al-Fatawa al-Hindiyya, Kitab al-Taharah, chapter on what breaks wudu. Details on vomit, phlegm and blood from the nose.
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.