"When a slave makes ablution and rinses his mouth, his wrong deeds fall from it. As he rinses his nose, his wrong deeds fall from it. When he washes his face, his wrong deeds fall from it, until they fall from beneath his eyelashes. When he washes his hands, his wrong deeds fall from them until they fall from beneath his finger-nails. When he wipes his head, his wrong deeds fall from it until they fall from his ears. When he washes his feet, his wrong deeds fall from them until they fall from beneath his toenails. Then his walking to the mosque and his prayer give him extra reward." -Prophet Muhammad SAW (via Abdullah ibn as-Sunnabiji, related by Malik, an-Nasai, Ibn Majah and Hakim)
Source: Fiqh Us-Sunnah
The Obligatory Parts of the Ablution
1) Intention to make Wuduu
Without it, you're just washing yourself.
2) Washing the Face
Face means everything from the top of the forehead to the bottom of the jaw, and from one ear to the other.
3) Washing the arms up to the elbow.
I've always understood this to mean everything from the wrist, up to and including the elbow. Fiqh does't say where the start is, but it says the elbows must be included.
4) Wiping the head
Means one of 3 things:
4a) Wiping all of the head (starting at the front, moving to the back)
Abdullah ibn Zaid reported that the Prophet (SAW) wiped his entire head with his hands. He started at the front of his head, then moved to the back, and then returned his hands to the front.
4b) Wiping over the turban only. Amru ibn Umayyah said "I saw the Messenger of Allah, upon whom be peace, wipe over his turban and shoes."
4c) Wiping over the front portion of the scalp and the turban. Al Mughirah ibn Shu'bah said that the Messenger of Allah, upon whom be peace, made ablution and wiped over the front portion of his scalp, his turban and his socks. (Related by Muslim)
Now, the author also says:
"There is however, no strong hadith that he wiped over part of his head, even through al-Ma'idah: 6 apparently implies it. It is also not sufficient just to wipe over locks of hair that proceed from the head or along the sides of the head."
I don't believe you need to soak your head in a bucket in order to meet these requirements, just wet your hands thoroughly, clasp your head like you've got a headache, and move your hands from back to front.
5) Washing the feet and the heels.
Wash everything up to and including the ankle, and your'e good.
And believe it or not, that's it. Those 5 parts are ALL you NEED to do for wuduu (don't believe me? Check the Quran 5:6.)
6) Following the order. This is the way they've been mentioned in the Quran, this is the way the Prophet (SAW) did them, this is the way we do it.
The Sunnah Parts of the Ablution
1) Mention the name of Allah at the beginning.
No real concrete evidence for this, but we do it for everything else, so why not? Just..say it in your head if you're in your bathroom; have a little respect. :P
2) Dental Hygiene.
For best results use a toothbrush, for additional points use a Miswak. No teeth? NO PROBLEM! Use your finger! Aisha (RA) asked "O Messenger of Allah, how should a toothless person cleanse his mouth?" to which he replied "By putting his fingers into his mouth." (Related by at-Tabarani) Although I'm pretty sure you can buy some kind of gum-brush too.
3) Washing the hands 3 times at the beginning.
Yes, you heard correct that's a sunnah!
4) Rinsing the mouth 3 times.
Also a sunnah! And THANK GOD for that, especially during Ramadan. If you're like me, you probably have some concerns putting stuff in your mouth when you're supposed to be fasting, especially water. You can do it, you're allowed to rinse your mouth for wuduu when fasting, but it still makes me nervous. Fortunately, we are not obliged to!
5) Sniffing up and blowing out water 3 times.
Yup! This one's a sunnah too! Another blessing, especially during Ramadan.
6) Running one's fingers through their beard.
A special sunnah for you beardy readers out there.
7) Running water through one's fingers and toes.
This one's kind of confusing, since you have to wash your hands and feet anyway you'd kind of wonder why it is mentioned as a sunnah....no big deal though; I guess it just means actually "running" the water through them as opposed to simply wetting them, then rubbing with your hand. It's kind of hard NOT to do this one what with taps being the main source of water for wuduu nowadays.
8) Repeating each washing three times
It's also okay to do it once, or twice! But not more than 3: the Prophet (SAW) said "This is the ablution. Whoever does more than that has done wrong, transgressed and committed evil." (Related by Ahmad, an-Nasai and Ibn Majah)
9) Beginning each action with the right side
Same with anything else: always start from the right.
10) Rubbing the limbs with water
As opposed to simply submerging them, I guess... again, a difficult one NOT to do, unless you've got a GIGANTIC sink and 10 minutes to wait while it fills. Or the Ocean is your sink ;)
11) Close sequence.
Don't dawdle; get in, get wet, get out. Do each part, one after the other.
12) Wiping the ears.
This one is also a sunnah (my guess: it's, again, because of Ramadan; the ear has pathways to the throat through which water can be conducted). The sunnah is to wipe the interior of the ears with the index fingers and the exterior portions with the thumbs. Al-Miqdam ibn Mad Yakrib reported that the Prophet, upon whom be peace, wiped his head and his ears, the interior and exterior, while making ablution. He also put his fingers inside his ear. (Related by Abu Dawud and at-Tahawi)
13) Elongating the streaks of light
The parts washed during wuduu will be emitting light on the day of judgement, by "elongating the streaks of light" it is meant to wash a bit above the ankles, elbow, and forehead. Abu Hurairah (reports Abu Zar'ah) would wash his arms above the elbows, and his feet up to his calves. He was asked "Why do you do this?" and he replied "This is the extent of the embellishment." (Related by Ahmad).
14) Economizing the use of water, even if one is in front of the sea.
Naturally this would make sense for desert dwellers, but it IS a sunnah, so we should do it too!
15) Supplication while performing ablution
Nothing concrete here, except one hadith from Abu Musa al-Ash'ari who said "I came to the Messenger of Allah with water. While he was performing ablution, I heard him supplicate, 'O Allah, forgive my sins. Make my residence spacious for me and bless me in my provisions.' I said, 'O Prophet of Allah, I heard you supplicating such and such.' He said, 'Did I leave anything out?'" (Related by an-Nasai and Ibn as-Sunni)
16) Supplication after ablution
A few of these around, check out the Dua apps and Fortification of the Muslim.
17) Praying two rak'ah after the ablution
pretty self explanatory.
And now you know! How much of what you do is actually a sunnah? :D
