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Before you pray

How to make wudhu, picture by picture.

Eight steps in order, with a picture for each one and drops to tap as your child washes. The four washes the Qur'an names are marked, and every step links to where it comes from.

A clay boy in a sage-green kurta stands at a stone basin, ready to begin wudhu.
A clay-style illustration of a young boy in a green kurta standing calmly at a basin with open hands before beginning wudhu
Step 1 of 8

Sunnah — the beautiful way

Start with Bismillah

Roll up your sleeves and say Bismillah.

Tap any underlined word to see what it means.

Bismillah

In the name of Allah

Once

Just once is enough for this step.

  1. 1Find clean water and roll your sleeves above your elbows.
  2. 2Say Bismillah before you begin.
  3. 3Remember in your heart that you are getting ready to pray.

Remember: Wudhu starts in your heart, not at the tap.

Quick check

Can you put wudhu in order?

Tap the pictures one at a time, from the very first thing you do to the very last.

0 / 8 placed

  1. 1
  2. 2
  3. 3
  4. 4
  5. 5
  6. 6
  7. 7
  8. 8

Start with the very first thing you do before washing.

The four the Qur'an names

These four must happen for wudhu to count. The rest of the steps are the beautiful way the Prophet ﷺ did it, shown to us by his companions.

  • 1Wash the face
  • 2Wash the arms to the elbows
  • 3Wipe over the head
  • 4Wash the feet to the ankles
Source: Qur'an 5:6

Every step in detail

Read these together, then let your child do the walkthrough on their own.

A clay-style illustration of a young boy in a green kurta standing calmly at a basin with open hands before beginning wudhuSunnah

Start with Bismillah

Once

  • Find clean water and roll your sleeves above your elbows.
  • Say Bismillah before you begin.
  • Remember in your heart that you are getting ready to pray.
A clay-style illustration of a young boy washing his right hand up to the wrist under a bronze tapSunnah

Wash your hands

Three times

  • Wash the right hand up to the wrist three times.
  • Then the left hand up to the wrist three times.
  • Go between the fingers so no dry spot is left.
A clay-style illustration of a young boy bringing a cupped palm of water to his mouth to rinse itSunnah

Rinse your mouth

Three times

  • Take water in your right hand.
  • Swill it around your mouth and spit it out.
  • Do it three times.
A clay-style illustration of a young boy sniffing water gently from his cupped palm into his noseSunnah

Rinse your nose

Three times

  • Take water in your right hand and sniff a little into your nose.
  • Blow it out with your left hand.
  • Do it three times — gently, not hard.
A clay-style illustration of a young boy washing his face with both cupped hands over a clay bowlFard

Wash your face

Three times

  • Cup water in both hands and wash your face three times.
  • Cover it all: from where your hair starts down to your chin, and from ear to ear.
  • Keep your eyes closed while the water goes over them.
A clay-style illustration of a young boy washing his right forearm up to the elbow with his left handFard

Wash your arms to the elbows

Three times each

  • Wash the right arm from the fingertips to the elbow, three times.
  • Then the left arm the same way, three times.
  • Make sure the elbow itself gets wet.
A clay-style illustration of a young boy passing both damp hands back over the top of his headFard

Wipe over your head

Once

  • Wet your hands and wipe over your head from the front to the back.
  • This one is a wipe, not a wash — the head does not need pouring water.
  • Then wipe inside your ears with your index fingers and behind them with your thumbs.
A clay-style illustration of a young boy seated on the floor rinsing his right foot over a shallow clay basinFard

Wash your feet to the ankles

Three times each

  • Wash the right foot up to the ankle, three times.
  • Then the left foot up to the ankle, three times.
  • Run a finger between your toes and check the heels.

When wudhu is finished

أَشْهَدُأَنْلَاإِلَٰهَإِلَّاوَأَشْهَدُأَنَّمُحَمَّدًارَسُولُ

Tap any underlined word to see what it means.

Ash-hadu an la ilaha illallah, wa ash-hadu anna Muhammadan rasulullah

I bear witness that there is no god but Allah, and I bear witness that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah

Source: Sahih Muslim 234
Now learn the prayer →

1-to-1 lessons

Want a teacher to check your child's wudhu?

A tutor can watch each step on a video call and correct the small things — the elbows, the ears, between the toes — in one short lesson.

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