Short answer
In the Hanafi school, wudu breaks when anything leaves the front or back passage, when blood or pus flows out, when you vomit a mouthful, when you sleep lying down or leaning, when you lose consciousness, and when you laugh out loud in prayer. Touching your private parts or a woman does not break it. The other schools differ on several of these.
The breakers (nawaqid) of wudu are: anything that comes out of the two passages; impure matter such as blood or pus that flows from any other part of the body; a mouthful of vomit; sleep in which the seat is not firm; loss of reason through fainting, madness or intoxication; audible laughter in a prayer with ruku and sajdah; and direct contact of the private parts between spouses with arousal, even without discharge.
Other madhhabs
- Shafi'i
- Blood, vomit and laughter do not break wudu. Touching your private part with the inner palm, and skin contact with an adult of the opposite sex you could marry, do break it.
- Maliki
- Only the normal things that leave the two passages break wudu, not blood or vomit. Touching your private part with the palm, and touching someone with desire, also break it.
- Hanbali
- A large amount of blood or vomit breaks wudu. So do eating camel meat, touching the private part with the hand, and touching the opposite sex with desire.
Explanation
Allah names the basic breaker in the wudu ayah: coming "from the place of relieving himself". The Prophet ﷺ said that Allah does not accept the prayer of someone who has broken their wudu (ablution) until they make it again. The schools then differ on what else counts.
The Hanafi list, with the detailed answers:
- Anything from the front or back passage: urine, stool, wind, madhy, wadi and discharge. See urine and wind.
- Flowing blood, pus or fluid from anywhere on the body: see bleeding.
- A mouthful of vomit: see vomiting.
- Sleep lying down, on your side or leaning heavily: see sleeping.
- Losing consciousness: fainting, general anaesthetic, madness or being drunk. See fainting.
- Laughing out loud inside a prayer with ruku and sajdah: see laughing.
- Direct contact of the private parts between husband and wife with arousal.
Things people often think break wudu but do not, in the Hanafi school: touching your private parts, touching a woman, eating camel meat, crying, sneezing, burping, swearing, seeing someone's awrah, cutting nails, touching najis and listening to music. Sinful acts reduce reward but do not undo wudu.
If you are not sure whether something happened, your wudu stands until you are sure: see doubts about wudu. When wudu breaks, simply make it again: see how to make wudu.
The evidence
Quran, Surah Al-Maaida 5:6
يَٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوٓا۟ إِذَا قُمْتُمْ إِلَى ٱلصَّلَوٰةِ فَٱغْسِلُوا۟ وُجُوهَكُمْ وَأَيْدِيَكُمْ إِلَى ٱلْمَرَافِقِ وَٱمْسَحُوا۟ بِرُءُوسِكُمْ وَأَرْجُلَكُمْ إِلَى ٱلْكَعْبَيْنِ ۚ وَإِن كُنتُمْ جُنُبًۭا فَٱطَّهَّرُوا۟ ۚ وَإِن كُنتُم مَّرْضَىٰٓ أَوْ عَلَىٰ سَفَرٍ أَوْ جَآءَ أَحَدٌۭ مِّنكُم مِّنَ ٱلْغَآئِطِ أَوْ لَٰمَسْتُمُ ٱلنِّسَآءَ فَلَمْ تَجِدُوا۟ مَآءًۭ فَتَيَمَّمُوا۟ صَعِيدًۭا طَيِّبًۭا فَٱمْسَحُوا۟ بِوُجُوهِكُمْ وَأَيْدِيكُم مِّنْهُ ۚ مَا يُرِيدُ ٱللَّهُ لِيَجْعَلَ عَلَيْكُم مِّنْ حَرَجٍۢ وَلَٰكِن يُرِيدُ لِيُطَهِّرَكُمْ وَلِيُتِمَّ نِعْمَتَهُۥ عَلَيْكُمْ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَشْكُرُونَ ﴿٦﴾
O you who have believed, when you rise to [perform] prayer, wash your faces and your forearms to the elbows and wipe over your heads and wash your feet to the ankles. And if you are in a state of janabah, then purify yourselves. But if you are ill or on a journey or one of you comes from the place of relieving himself or you have contacted women and do not find water, then seek clean earth and wipe over your faces and hands with it. Allah does not intend to make difficulty for you, but He intends to purify you and complete His favor upon you that you may be grateful.
Names relieving oneself as a cause that requires wudu or tayammum.
Sahih al-Bukhari 135
Sahih... لا تقبل صلاة من احدث حتى يتوضا ...
"The prayer of one who has broken his wudu is not accepted until he makes wudu."
Shows that a breaker of wudu must be followed by a new wudu before prayer.
Where the ruling is recorded
- al-Hidaya, Kitab al-Taharat, chapter on what breaks wudu. Lists the Hanafi breakers of wudu and the reasoning for each.
- Nur al-Idah with Maraqi al-Falah, Kitab al-Taharah, chapter on what breaks wudu. Short list of breakers and of things that do not break wudu.
- al-Mughni (Ibn Qudama), Kitab al-Taharah, chapter on what breaks wudu. Compares the positions of the four schools.
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.