Wudhu is a key element of our worship. You can’t pray without it. But what are some of the realities, significances, and benefits of wudhu? and what are the ways to brighten your wudhu?
Wudhu is purification. It is a core part of the beautiful preparations we make before our worship. Like the use of miswak, perfume and the wearing of beautiful clothes… not only do they draw the presence of the angels, but they are also a way of showing our sincerity in our worship of Allah, and demonstrating beautiful character.
Wudhu is also a way for you to attain khushoo in your salah. The state of your wudhu affects the state of your Salah. A person who remembers Allah, and the Akhirah during their wudhu is likely to remember Allah and the akhirah in their salah. A person who is thinking about his day-to-day business, and worldly matters, is likely to think about worldly matters in their salah. If you struggle to attain khushoo in your salah, one should refresh their wudhu for each salah and make a complete wudhu without missing any of the duas for wudhu!
“Allah is Beautiful, He loves beauty...” (Muslim)
If you take care of your wudhu, it will reflect itself in your salah.
‘If someone performs his Prayer at the proper time, makes his ablution correctly, does the bowing and prostration properly and observes due humility, that Prayer will rise up, and bright and shining, and will say: “May God take care of you as you have taken care of me!”
But if someone performs his Prayer at the wrong time, without correct ablution, not bowing and prostrating properly and not observing due humility, his Prayer will rise up all dark and gloomy, saying: “May God neglect you as you have neglected me.”
Then when it has reached wherever God wishes, it will be folded up like an old rag and he will be slapped with it in the face’
Imam al-Ghazali, Inner Dimensions of Islamic Worship
Wudhu has many virtues, one of them is it will be the way Rasul Allah ﷺ’s Ummah will be recognised on the day of qiyamah. Our wudhu will make our faces bright and shining, and we will be recognised by that. So why not make efforts to perfect our wudhu? Further, Allah loves those who purify themselves. “Surely Allah loves those who always turn to Him in repentance and those who purify themselves.” (Quran 2:222) What does this tell us? It tells us that one of the ways through to attain closeness to Allah SWT, is through our wudhu!
Uthman b. ‘Affan reported: ‘The Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) said: He who performed ablution well, his sins would come out from his body, even coming out from under his nails.’ From this, we realise that wudhu removes our minor sins and may even remove the major sins after wiping away the minor ones! So in this, we see how it is both a physical purification, as well as a purification that removes our sins!
Another benefit of wudhu is that it is a safeguard. It is a shield against unseen evils and a means through which you draw the closeness of the angels.
“You should renew your ritual ablutions (wudhu) before each obligatory prayer and strive always to remain in a state of ritual purity. Renew your wudhu whenever you break it, for wudhu is the weapon of the believer, and when the weapon is in evidence, the enemy dares not approach.”
— Imam al Haddad, The Book of Assistance
“Pray two rak’as each time you make wudhu. If you cannot remain continuously ritually pure try always to be so when sitting in the mosque, reciting the Qur’an, acquiring knowledge, and sitting for dhikr, as well as during all other devotions.“
Many of us are aware of the general duas for wudhu, such as those before, during, and after the wudhu. Imam al-Ghazali, in his book, Bidayatul Hidayah mentions many others. Some of these are for after washing your hands, after entering water into the mouth, when doing masah etc. When remembering Allah through these duas, it is a way to put nur into your wudhu. This is one of the ways in which we can brighten our wudhu, and by it improve our Salah and draw close to Allah ﷻ
Click HERE to download a PDF that includes all of these duas for wudhu from Bidayatul Hidayah, alongside their English translation!
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Article Inspired by Shaykh Zaqir’s Diploma in Islamic Studies!
