The First Ritual Established in Islam The Wudu (Ablution): Scientific Medical & Spiritual Benefits of Ritual Ablution in Islam
The benefit of the ritual washing before prayer and reading the Holy Quran called the Wudu & Ghusl is that one is cleaned and refreshed. It prepares one for the prayer and gives relief from tiredness.
This story deals with those things which render necessary cleanliness (Wudu & Ghusl) in Islam. linguistically, Wudu (ablution) means cleanliness and in the sharia laws, it means to purify certain human body parts with water to make them clean and to remove the judgment of impurity from them to permit acts of worship which are forbidden by lack of purity.
Purity and cleanliness have great significance in Islam, emphasized in both the Holy Quran and Hadith. Being clean is actually one of the biggest parts of our religion. In Islam, spiritual purity is linked to physical cleanliness and purity. Physical purity means cleanliness of the body, clothing, and environment. Each culture and doctrine do have a regard for cleanliness. However, Islam goes one step further by not only prescribing cleanliness upon its believers, but declaring it to be a component of faith. Islam is and always has been a faith of beauty, purity, and cleanliness. Muslims should keep their bodies and clothing clean from any impurities, especially the body wastes of humans and animals. Islam insists on the use of clean water to cleanse the body of impurities, and only when water is not available can a person use other things. Even the clothing should be perfectly clean from any impurities. For that reason, Muslim bathrooms have a source of running water or pitchers of water next to the toilet. Muslims must have perfect physical purity to pray the Salah (ritual Prayer).
Our Prophet (PBUH), brushed his teeth with a Miswak right before he died. So yes, cleanliness is very important in Islam.
There are many verses in the Holy Quran and also hadith which reflect the importance of cleanliness.
Allah says, “Truly, Allah loves those who turn to Him constantly, and He loves those who keep themselves pure and clean” (2:222).
The Prophet ﷺ said, “Cleanliness is half the faith.”
In another hadith, The Holy Prophet(SAW)said: “Try to be clean as much as you are able to. Verily, Allah has based the foundation of Islam on cleanliness; hence, never can a person enter Paradise but the clean ones”
Importance of Wudu:
Wudu and ghusl “ ritual ablution,” are an important Islamic procedure for cleansing parts of the body in Islam before performing worship ( Salah), The Muslim’s body must be totally purified. In Islamic laws, ritual ablution is considered a ritual act of worship that is done with the intention of seeking the pleasure of Allah.
It is achieved by first removing physical impurities (for example, urine) from the body, and then removing ritual impurity by means of wudu (usually) or ghusl. It follows a process to wash hands, mouth, nostrils, arms, face, ears, and feet. It also contrasts with tayammum (‘dry ablution’), which uses sand or dust in place of water, principally due to water scarcity or other harmful effects on the person. Purification of the body and clothes is called taharah.
Wudu and ghusl by themselves are always recommendable and essential acts in Islamic rituals, but it becomes obligatory in certain circumstances and one circumstance is the daily ritual prayers and therefore there is important for every Muslim to know the method of ritual ablution and its rules to make sure it’s done correctly. Make sure not to waste water and know that your Wudu washes away minor sins.
The Holy Quran says:
“O you who believe! When you stand up for ritual prayer (salah), wash your face and your hands up to the elbows, and wipe a part of your head and your feet up to ankles.” (5:6)
The obligatory (waajib) parts of Wudu’ are its pillars or essential parts, which may also be described as fard. They are the actions without which Wudu cannot be valid. Regarding saying Bismillah before doing Wudu, Imam Ahmad was of the view that it is obligatory. However, most scholars are of the view that it is one of the Sunnahs of Wudu and is not obligatory.
The manner of performing wudu, as explained below, is based on the Holy Quran and the authentic sunnah of the Holy Prophet Muhammad PBUH. The essential parts (“pillars”) of Wudu’ are six:
1. Washing the face, of which the mouth and nose are part.
2. Washing the arms up to the elbows.
3. Wiping the head.
4. Washing the feet up to the ankles.
5. Washing these parts of the body in the proper order.
6. Doing these actions consecutively (that is, washing one after the other, with no lengthy lapse of time in between).
Ghusl (Bathing):
A state of major impurity results from actions like sexual intercourse or sexual discharge for both men and women. A person in such a state must perform ghusl (bathing) before praying to Salah or reading the Holy Quran. Women also have to perform ghusl after their menstrual periods and postpartum bleeding.
The procedure for ghusl (bathing) is as follows:
1. Make the intention for ghusl.
2. Wash the private parts, using the left hand. Then wash the left hand three times.
3. Perform Wudu’ (ablution) as described above, except for the feet.
4. Pour water over your head to thoroughly wet your hair three times.
5. Wash the whole head and body three times, starting with the right side. Use your hands to make sure that water reaches every part of your body.
6. Wash your feet up to and beyond the ankles three times, making sure the water gets between the toes.
It is highly recommended to bathe the whole body each Friday before the congregational Prayer.
Because the Salah (ritual Prayer) requires that one be in a state of purity, a woman is excused from Salah during her menstrual periods and after childbirth until the postpartum bleeding stops or 40 days have passed, whichever comes first. She can and should make other kinds of prayer, such as du‘a’ (supplication), five times a day while she cannot perform Salah. When her bleeding stops, she must perform ghusl (bathing) before performing Salah.
The things that break Wudu:
Islamic prayer is conducted 5 times a day and whilst Wudu does not need to be repeated before each prayer it is recommended to have a fresh one. Ritual impurity is what breaks wudu’ in itself by discharging solid or liquid or wind from private parts, including sexual intercourse, bleeding, vomiting, falling asleep, or taking any intoxicating substance.
According to the scholars and based on the Holy Quran and Sunnah, there are some acts that break the Wudu.
- Any discharge from the front or back passage (urine, stools, wind, etc.), except for wind emitted from a woman’s front passage — that does not break wudu.
- Emission of urine or stools from anywhere other than the urethra or anus.
- Losing one’s mind, which may mean losing it altogether by losing one’s mental faculties, which is insanity, or by losing it temporarily for a certain length of time for some reason, such as sleep, unconsciousness, intoxication, etc.
- Touching one’s private parts, because of the hadeeth of Basrah bint Safwaan, who heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) say: “Whoever touches his penis, let him do wudu.” (narrated by Abu Dawood, al-Tahaarah, 154. al-Albaani said in Saheeh Sunan Abi Dawood, no. 166, it is Saheeh).
- Eating camel meat, because of the hadeeth of Jaabir ibn Samurah, who said that a man asked the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), “Should we do wudu after eating camel meat?” He said, “Yes.” (Narrated by Muslim, al-Hayd, 539).
- Changing clothes does not break one’s wudu if the person is in a state of taharah (purity) and does not do any of the things that break wudu’.
- Sleeping without losing consciousness or without leaning against something else if it’s very light and not deep.
Men and women are the same in this regard. It should be noted that touching a woman’s body does not break one’s wudu, whether that is done with feelings of desire or otherwise unless anything is emitted as a result of that touching. Allah knows best.
DUA FOR WUDU (BEFORE WUDU AND AFTER WUDU):
Dua is a prayer you can read on different occasions of life. Dua is not compulsory (but recommended) as this is the sunnah of Prophet Muhammad PBUH.
DUA to be recited before beginning Wudu (ablution):
The Dua before beginning wudu is just reciting bismillah.
Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) said: “None of you makes wudu and completes the wudu, then says: I bear witness that none has the right to be worshipped except Allah Alone, He has no partners; and I bear witness that Muhammad is his Messenger, except that all eight Gates of Paradise are opened for him, so he may enter by whichever he pleases.” Muslim.
DUAs to be recited during Wudu (Ablution):
DUA to be recited after Wudu :
The Dua after wudu is the shahada.
Scientific, Medical and spiritual Benefits of Ablution (Wudu):
Each time a Muslim prays 5 times each day and for which he prepares himself by making wudu forms a habit of cleaning, the ever-giving and most merciful has placed health benefits in wuzu which protects him from causes of illnesses and purifies him of microbes and wearing clean clothes. These might seem like an ethic or a procedure before prayer but Allah.
Wudu has several material and spiritual benefits.
Spiritual Benefits of Ablution (Wudu):
Wudu is a spiritual weapon of a believer. Wuzu and ghusl not only clean our body but also help in purifying our soul which is important for a Muslim when he stands before Allah. It gives light to the face and joy to the heart. He protects himself from bad feelings and desires. He gets rid of the effect of the delusions and negative feelings that attack his mind as long as he has wudu.
It is a means of forgiveness for minor sins. The Messenger of Allah expresses it as follows: “If a person makes wudu as it is ordered and performs prayers as they are ordered, his minor sins are forgiven.”
“If a person does Wudu correctly and then looks towards the sky and reads Kalima-e-Shahadat, all eight (8) doors of Heaven are opened for him and he may enter through whichever one of them he pleases.” (Sahih Muslim, V1, P122)
Making wudu properly and reciting Kalima 8 times will reward a person by opening 8 doors of heaven and imagine being said to choose whatsoever we wish to enter the paradise with.
It is certain as it is expressed by some hadiths that the wudu organs of believers will be bright, beautiful, and luminous. It is a property that was not given to other ummahs.
Scientific & Medical Benefits of Ablution (Wudu):
Islam teaches us to maintain health in any case, both physical and mental health, one example is by Wudu. the harmonies and sunnah of Wudu provide very important benefits for the health of the human body. Our body is in contact with germs on a daily basis, so when we make wudu, it provides protection from diseases.
Based on the various researches, it was found that there are various kinds of benefits of Wudu in a good & correct way for the health of the body. Ritual ablution (Wudu and ghusl) is being used as a medical practice in hospitals. The pattern of washing the body parts (ablution) became an amazing thing for scientists all around the globe. Many countries’ hospitals use Wuzu as a treatment to cure patients of many ailments and believe that the number of depression cases in Muslims is low because of 5 times Wuzu.
Some amazing scientific benefits of wudu are followings;
- Prevention of cancer.
- Stimulates blood flow.
- Resembles the Science Of Chinese Reflexology.
- Provides relaxation.
- Regulates blood pressure.
- Prevents blindness.
- Spreads energy throughout the body.
- Prevents fever and mental problems.
- Removes all the bacteria hidden between fingers and inside nails.
- Keeps skin looking younger and stops skin aging.
Try to remain in the state of Wudu every time. It will bring you closer to the Almighty Allah and also keeps you healthy.
Book Recommendation:
Reading books gives you an incomparable pleasure by keeping us occupied in a good perspective. Reading Islamic books is very important as they give you a closeness to Islam.
Prophet’s Ablution: A Description of How the Prophet Made Wudu:
Prophet’s Ablution: A Description of How the Prophet Made Wudu written by Fahd ibn ‘Abdir Rahman ash-Shuwaib. Mashallah!!! Such a beautiful book you must buy this book. It is wow like wow and truly breaks it down for the believer. I love the simple way in which Fahd ibn ‘Abdir Rahman ash-Shuwaib explains everything in his book and I would recommend it to anyone trying to take steps into earning the love of Allah. To the author, may Allah reward you abundantly for this beautiful labor of love.
Final Thoughts:
The purpose of writing this article is to help you understand this in a better way and also motivate me to write this article is the ignorance of many Muslims of what was proved of the way the Prophet Muhammad PBUH performed Wudu. The Prophet Muhammad PBUH has explained to his people how to perform Wudu in correct manner. During the research, I came across so many conflicting opinions on Wudu in correct manner. Different schools of thought vary widely on this topic. I have tried to present both sides of opinion and thus trying to empower you to make the decision. Also, I ask Allah to make my work dedicated only to him and forgiveness from Allah, if I have got anything wrong. It is He who is the hearing, the knowing.
I hope this has helped you guys better understand what things break wudu.
Just a reminder to non-Muslims. ““Islam doesn’t cause division amongst humanity. In fact, It unites people together.”
