Short answer: Before prayer, Muslims make wudu: they wash the hands, mouth, nose, face and arms, wipe the head, and wash the feet up to the ankles. Allah names the feet in the Quran (5:6), so washing them is required. Without it the wudu is not complete, and without wudu the prayer is not valid. That is why many mosques, universities, hospitals and airports have low sinks or foot washing stations.
Wudu is not needed before every single prayer. It lasts until something breaks it, such as using the toilet or falling asleep, so one wudu can last for several prayers.
What the Quran says
The steps of wudu are given in one verse. The last thing it names is the feet:
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﴾
Yaaa aiyuhal lazeena aamanoo izaa qumtum ilas Salaati faghsiloo wujoohakum wa Aidiyakum ilal maraafiqi wamsahoo biru'oosikum wa arjulakum ilal ka'bayn; wa in kuntum junuban fattahharoo; wain kuntum mardaaa aw'alaa safarin aw jaaa'a ahadum minkum minal ghaaa'iti aw laamastumunnisaaa'a falam tajidoo maaa'an fatayammamoo sa'eedan taiyiban famsahoo biwujoohikum wa aideekum minh; ma yureedul laahu liyaj'ala 'alaikum min harajinw wa laakidy yureedu liyutahhirakum wa liyutimma m'matahoo 'alaikum la'allakum tashkuroon
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.
Quran 5:6 · Sahih International · Read Surah Al-Maidah
What the Prophet ﷺ taught
On a journey, some companions were in a hurry and only wiped wet hands over their feet. Their heels were still dry. The Prophet ﷺ called out to them, two or three times:
وَيْلٌ لِلأَعْقَابِ مِنَ النَّارِ
Woe to the heels from the Fire.
Sahih al-Bukhari 60 and 163; Sahih Muslim 241 · narrated by Abdullah ibn Amr · sahih
So the whole foot must be washed, heels and the skin between the toes included. He also taught that wudu washes away small sins:
فَإِذَا غَسَلَ رِجْلَيْهِ خَرَجَتْ كُلُّ خَطِيئَةٍ مَشَتْهَا رِجْلاَهُ مَعَ الْمَاءِ - أَوْ مَعَ آخِرِ قَطْرِ الْمَاءِ - حَتَّى يَخْرُجَ نَقِيًّا مِنَ الذُّنُوبِ
...when he washes his feet, every sin his feet walked towards leaves with the water, or with the last drop of water, until he comes out pure of sins.
Sahih Muslim 244 · narrated by Abu Hurayrah · sahih
On the Day of Resurrection, he said, his followers will be known by the light shining from the parts they washed in wudu (Sahih al-Bukhari 136; Sahih Muslim 246).
The wisdom scholars mention
- Getting ready to stand before Allah. Wudu turns the mind from the day's business to prayer.
- A fresh start. The feet carry us everywhere, and the hadith ties washing them to the sins they walked towards.
- Cleanliness. Muslims pray on the floor, often barefoot, so clean feet keep the prayer place clean.
Wisdom, not the reason. These are benefits scholars have reflected on. Muslims follow this because Allah and His Messenger ﷺ commanded it, and would follow it even if none of these benefits were known.
The ruling, Hanafi first
Washing both feet once, including the ankles, is one of the four fard acts of wudu (with the face, the arms to the elbows and wiping a quarter of the head). Washing three times and running wet fingers between the toes are sunnah. Instead of washing, you may wipe over leather socks (khuffs), or socks thick enough to count as khuffs, if you put them on after a full wudu: for a day and a night at home, three days when travelling. Ordinary thin cotton or nylon socks cannot be wiped over.
Other madhhabs
- Shafi'i, Maliki
- Washing the feet is fard, and wiping over leather khuffs is allowed, as in the Hanafi school. The Maliki school sets no time limit in its well-known view.
- Hanbali
- The same, and wiping over cloth socks (jawrab) is allowed if they are thick enough not to show the skin, following reports from the Companions.
Learn wudu step by step
Wudu one step at a time, with what is fard and sunnah, the dua after it, what breaks wudu, and wiping over socks.
Open the wudu guideMore "why do Muslims" questions
- Why do Muslims not eat pork?
- Why do Muslims wear the hijab?
- Why do Muslims pray five times a day?
- Why do Muslims go to Makkah?
- Why do Muslims have beards?
- Why do Muslims eat halal?
- Why do Muslims say peace be upon him?
- Why do Muslims shave a baby's head?
- Why do Muslims face Makkah when praying?
- Why do Muslims not drink alcohol?
- Why do Muslims get circumcised?
- Why do Muslims fast in Ramadan?
FAQ
Do Muslims wash their feet before every prayer?
Only when their wudu has been broken. One wudu lasts until something breaks it, such as using the toilet, passing wind or deep sleep.
Why do some places have foot washing stations?
So Muslims can wash their feet for wudu safely, without lifting a foot into a sink. Mosques, universities, hospitals and airports often add them.
Can I wipe over my socks instead of washing my feet?
Over leather khuffs, yes, in all four schools, if you put them on with wudu. Over ordinary thin socks, not in the Hanafi school. The Hanbali school allows wiping over thick cloth socks.
Do I have to wash between my toes?
Water must reach every part of the foot. Running wet fingers between the toes is sunnah, and it becomes necessary if water would not otherwise get there.
What if I cannot use water?
If you are ill or no water can be found, the Quran allows tayammum, wiping with clean earth (5:6).
The rulings on this page are pending review by the scholars on our team.
Sources
- Quran 5:6, translation by Sahih International.
- Sahih al-Bukhari 60 and 163, and Sahih Muslim 241, from Abdullah ibn Amr.
- Sahih Muslim 244, from Abu Hurayrah.
- Sahih al-Bukhari 136 and Sahih Muslim 246, from Abu Hurayrah.
- Al-Marghinani, al-Hidayah, Kitab al-Taharah (the fard of wudu; wiping over khuffs), for the Hanafi position.
- The other schools' positions are summarised from their standard manuals, as on our wudu guide.
Quran: Arabic from the Tanzil Uthmani text, English translation by Sahih International. Hadith gradings are those of the hadith scholars named. AmalKit cites the scholars; it does not issue fatwas.