Short answer
Leave the prayer quietly, make wudu and pray again. In the Hanafi school, if the wudu broke on its own (like wind or a nosebleed), you may instead return and finish the prayer from where you stopped, under strict conditions, but starting again is better. The Shafi'i and Hanbali schools require starting again.
If wudu breaks involuntarily during salah, one may make wudu at once and continue (bina') provided one does not speak, eat or do anything beyond what wudu needs. Starting again is better. If it broke by your own act, such as passing wind on purpose, the prayer is invalid and must be restarted.
Other madhhabs
- Shafi'i
- The prayer becomes invalid the moment wudu breaks; make wudu and start again.
- Hanbali
- The prayer is invalid; make wudu and start again.
- Maliki
- Start again, except for a nosebleed, where you may leave to wash it and continue under conditions.
Explanation
The Prophet ﷺ told anyone whose wudu breaks during prayer to hold his nose and leave. Scholars explain that holding the nose lets people assume a nosebleed, sparing you embarrassment. Do not leave for a mere doubt: leave only if you are sure, as the hadith about hearing a sound or noticing a smell teaches.
Step by step (Hanafi):
- Leave quietly without speaking. You may hold your nose as the hadith says.
- Make wudu at the nearest place.
- Either start the prayer again, which is better, or return and complete it from where you stopped (bina').
Bina' is valid only if you did not speak, eat or drink, did nothing beyond what wudu needs, and did not wait without need. Because these conditions are easy to break, most people should simply start again.
Praying behind an imam:
- If you start again, rejoin the congregation as a latecomer and make up the rak'ahs you missed after the imam finishes.
- Building on your prayer behind an imam has its own order: you first complete what you missed while away, then follow the imam if he is still praying. Ask a scholar before relying on it.
- In Jumuah, if you start again after the imam has finished, pray four rak'ahs of Zuhr, because Jumuah is not prayed alone.
- If you are the imam, step back and put someone from the first row forward to lead (istikhlaf), then leave.
Loud laughter is different: in the Hanafi school it breaks both the prayer and the wudu (see laughing and wudu). If your wudu keeps breaking because of a medical condition, see the ma'dhur rules.
The evidence
Sunan Abi Dawud 1114
Grading to be checked... إذا أحدث أحدكم في صلاته فليأخذ بأنفه ثم لينصرف ...
"If one of you loses his wudu in his prayer, let him hold his nose and leave."
How to leave the prayer when wudu breaks.
Sahih al-Bukhari 137
Sahih... لا ينصرف حتى يسمع صوتا أو يجد ريحا ...
"He should not leave until he hears a sound or notices a smell."
Only certainty, not doubt, means the wudu has broken.
Where the ruling is recorded
- al-Hidaya, Kitab al-Salah, chapter on hadath during prayer. Bina' after an involuntary hadath; starting again is better; istikhlaf for the imam.
- Radd al-Muhtar (Ibn Abidin), Kitab al-Salah, chapter on hadath during prayer. The conditions of bina'.
- al-Majmu' (Nawawi), Kitab al-Salah, chapter on what breaks the prayer. The Shafi'i view that the prayer must be restarted.
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.