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Does this break my wudu?

Wudu is broken by using the bathroom, passing gas, deep sleep and losing consciousness. On a few things, such as bleeding, vomiting and touching, the four schools differ. Search the list for anything else: each answer says whether it breaks your wudu and, where the schools differ, what each one says.

This checker is the quick answer. For the full explanation, read the guide What breaks wudu?, and if you are still learning wudu itself, start with how to make wudu.

43 answers

  • Using the toilet (urine or stool)

    Breaks wudu

    Using the bathroom breaks wudu in every school. Make a new wudu before your next prayer.

  • Passing gas (wind)

    Breaks wudu

    Passing gas breaks wudu in every school, with or without a sound or smell. If you only think you felt something and are not sure, your wudu stays: certainty is not removed by doubt.

  • Pre-seminal fluid (madhy)

    Breaks wudu

    The clear fluid that can come out when you are aroused breaks wudu in every school. It does not need a ghusl: wash it off your body, wash the spot on your clothes, and make wudu.

  • Ejaculation, intercourse or a wet dream

    Breaks wudu

    These need more than wudu: they need a ghusl, the full ritual bath, before you pray. A ghusl also counts as your wudu.

  • Period or postnatal bleeding

    Breaks wudu

    During your period or postnatal bleeding you do not pray, and those prayers are not made up. When the bleeding ends, take a ghusl and return to prayer.

  • Vaginal discharge

    Breaks wudu

    In the view of most scholars, discharge from the vagina breaks wudu, like anything else that comes out of the private parts. If it comes out all the time, the rule for a lasting condition applies (see constant drops below).

  • Constant drops of urine, gas or discharge

    Schools differ

    If something leaks so often that you cannot keep wudu long enough to pray, you are excused. In most schools you make wudu after the prayer time begins and pray with it, even if drops come out. Ask an imam to help you apply this to your case.

    Hanafi
    Make wudu once the prayer time begins. It lasts until that time ends.
    Maliki
    If it happens most of the time, it does not break wudu at all, though a new wudu is recommended.
    Shafi'i
    Make wudu for each obligatory prayer, after its time begins.
    Hanbali
    Make wudu once the prayer time begins. It lasts until that time ends.

  • Deep sleep

    Breaks wudu

    Deep sleep breaks wudu in every school, because you no longer know whether something came out. After waking from a proper sleep, make a new wudu.

  • Dozing off while sitting

    Does not break it

    A light doze while sitting firmly does not break wudu in most schools, for example nodding off during a talk at the mosque. If you fell into a deep sleep, make a new wudu.

    Hanafi
    Sleep while sitting firmly does not break wudu. Sleep lying down does.
    Maliki
    Light sleep does not break wudu. Heavy sleep does.
    Shafi'i
    Sleep with your seat firmly on the ground does not break wudu.
    Hanbali
    A little sleep while sitting or standing does not break wudu.

  • Fainting or losing consciousness

    Breaks wudu

    Fainting, a general anaesthetic or anything else that takes away your awareness breaks wudu in every school.

  • Being drunk or high

    Breaks wudu

    Losing your clear mind through alcohol or drugs breaks wudu, like fainting. The Quran says not to come near prayer while intoxicated (4:43). Wait until your mind is clear, make a new wudu, and pray.

  • Bleeding from a cut or wound

    Schools differ

    The schools differ, so follow yours. A drop that stays on the wound does not break wudu in any school.

    Hanafi
    Breaks wudu if it flows beyond the wound.
    Maliki
    Does not break wudu.
    Shafi'i
    Does not break wudu.
    Hanbali
    Breaks wudu if it is a lot.

  • Nosebleed

    Schools differ

    A nosebleed follows the ruling for bleeding, and the schools differ on it.

    Hanafi
    Breaks wudu if it flows beyond the wound.
    Maliki
    Does not break wudu.
    Shafi'i
    Does not break wudu.
    Hanbali
    Breaks wudu if it is a lot.

  • A drop of blood, a pinprick or a squeezed pimple

    Does not break it

    A small amount of blood that does not flow, such as from a pinprick, a scratch or a pimple, does not break wudu in any school.

  • Pus from a wound or pimple

    Schools differ

    Flowing pus is treated like blood, and the schools differ on it. A little that does not flow does not break wudu.

    Hanafi
    Breaks wudu if it flows beyond the wound.
    Maliki
    Does not break wudu.
    Shafi'i
    Does not break wudu.
    Hanbali
    Breaks wudu if it is a lot.

  • Vomiting

    Schools differ

    The schools differ, so follow yours. Either way, rinse your mouth before you pray.

    Hanafi
    Breaks wudu if it is a mouthful.
    Maliki
    Does not break wudu.
    Shafi'i
    Does not break wudu.
    Hanbali
    Breaks wudu if it is a lot.

  • Touching your private parts

    Schools differ

    This is about touching them directly with your hand, skin on skin. The schools differ, so follow yours.

    Hanafi
    Does not break wudu.
    Maliki
    For a man, touching it with the palm or the inside of the fingers breaks wudu.
    Shafi'i
    Breaks wudu when touched with the palm or the inside of the fingers.
    Hanbali
    Breaks wudu when touched directly with the hand.

  • Touching or shaking hands with the opposite sex

    Schools differ

    This is one of the biggest differences between the schools. It is about someone of the opposite sex who is not a close relative (mahram), whatever their religion.

    Hanafi
    Does not break wudu.
    Maliki
    Breaks wudu only when there is desire.
    Shafi'i
    Breaks wudu: any skin-to-skin touch, even without desire.
    Hanbali
    Breaks wudu only when there is desire.

  • Touching or kissing your spouse

    Schools differ

    Your husband or wife counts as someone of the opposite sex who is not a close relative, so the same difference applies. If any fluid comes out, wudu is broken in every school.

    Hanafi
    Does not break wudu, unless fluid comes out.
    Maliki
    Breaks wudu when there is desire.
    Shafi'i
    Breaks wudu: any skin-to-skin touch.
    Hanbali
    Breaks wudu when there is desire.

  • Hugging your parents, children or siblings

    Does not break it

    Hugging or touching close family, the people you could never marry (mahram), with normal family affection does not break wudu.

  • Touching someone who is not Muslim

    Does not break it

    Touching a person who is not Muslim does not break wudu, and their skin is not impure. The only question is the one about the opposite sex, which is the same for everyone.

  • Touching a dog

    Does not break it

    Touching a dog does not break wudu in any school. The schools only differ on whether you need to wash the spot before you pray.

    Hanafi
    Its saliva is impure, so wash off any saliva. Dry fur is not a problem.
    Maliki
    A dog is pure. Nothing to wash.
    Shafi'i
    A dog is impure. Wash a spot touched by its saliva or wet body seven times, once with earth.
    Hanbali
    A dog is impure. Wash a spot touched by its saliva or wet body seven times, once with earth.

  • Laughing out loud in prayer

    Schools differ

    Laughing out loud breaks the prayer in every school, so you start it again. Only the Hanafi school says it also breaks wudu.

    Hanafi
    Breaks both the prayer and wudu, for an adult in a prayer with bowing and prostration.
    Maliki
    Breaks the prayer, not wudu.
    Shafi'i
    Breaks the prayer, not wudu.
    Hanbali
    Breaks the prayer, not wudu.

  • Smiling in prayer

    Does not break it

    Smiling without a sound breaks neither your wudu nor your prayer.

  • Not sure if you broke your wudu

    Does not break it

    Certainty is not removed by doubt. If you are sure you made wudu and only doubt whether you broke it, your wudu stays. If doubts keep coming back, scholars advise ignoring them.

    Maliki
    Doubting whether you broke it means you make a new wudu, unless doubts come to you all the time.

  • Eating or drinking

    Does not break it

    Eating and drinking do not break wudu, whatever you eat. The one exception is camel meat in the Hanbali school. Rinsing your mouth after eating is good, not required.

  • Eating camel meat

    Schools differ

    Only the Hanbali school says it breaks wudu, based on a hadith in Sahih Muslim. The other three schools say it does not.

    Hanafi
    Does not break wudu.
    Maliki
    Does not break wudu.
    Shafi'i
    Does not break wudu.
    Hanbali
    Breaks wudu.

  • Smoking or vaping

    Does not break it

    Smoking does not break wudu. Rinse your mouth before you pray, since a strong smell bothers the people praying next to you.

  • Nail polish

    Can block wudu

    Nail polish does not break wudu, but water cannot reach the nail through it, so a wudu made over it is not valid. Remove it before wudu. If you put it on while you already had wudu, that wudu stays until something breaks it. "Breathable" polishes are debated, so check carefully before relying on one.

  • Makeup

    Can block wudu

    Makeup does not break wudu. Before you make wudu, remove anything that forms a waterproof layer, like waterproof mascara or thick foundation, so water reaches the skin. Many sisters simply wash makeup off first and put it on again after wudu.

  • Paint, glue or dough on your skin

    Can block wudu

    Wudu is not broken, but anything that forms a layer on the skin must come off so water reaches it. Oil, lotion and cream that soak in are fine.

  • Henna or hair dye

    Does not break it

    Henna and normal dye leave a colour, not a layer, so they neither break nor block wudu. Wash off any paste before you make wudu.

  • A tattoo from before Islam

    Does not break it

    An old tattoo does not break or block wudu, because the ink is under the skin and water still reaches the skin. You do not need to remove it, and your prayer is valid. Becoming Muslim wipes clean what came before.

  • A plaster, bandage or cast

    Does not break it

    A dressing you need does not stop your wudu. Wash the parts you can, and wipe a wet hand over the dressing instead of washing under it. If water would harm the wound, ask your doctor and an imam.

  • Contact lenses

    Does not break it

    You do not need to take them out. Water does not have to reach inside the eye.

  • Taking a shower

    Does not break it

    A shower does not break wudu. If nothing broke it, you can pray. If you did a ghusl with wudu inside it, you can also pray.

  • Getting undressed or changing clothes

    Does not break it

    Being undressed, for example while showering or changing, does not break wudu.

  • Seeing your own or someone else's private parts

    Does not break it

    Seeing private parts does not break wudu by itself. If looking leads to arousal and fluid comes out, wudu is broken by the fluid.

  • Swearing, lying or backbiting

    Does not break it

    These do not break wudu in any of the four schools, though they are sins. Many scholars recommend a fresh wudu after anger or bad words, as a way to calm down and start again.

  • Crying

    Does not break it

    Crying does not break wudu.

  • Cutting hair or nails, or shaving

    Does not break it

    Cutting your hair or nails, or shaving, does not break wudu, and you do not need to wash those places again.

  • Getting something impure on your skin or clothes

    Does not break it

    Your wudu stays. Wash the impurity off your body or clothes before you pray, but you do not need a new wudu for it.

  • Burping, yawning or sneezing

    Does not break it

    None of these break wudu.

Rulings follow the mainstream positions of the four Sunni schools: Hanafi, Maliki, Shafi'i and Hanbali. When your case is unusual, ask the imam of your local mosque.

How we decide

Every answer follows the mainstream positions of the four Sunni schools: Hanafi, Maliki, Shafi'i and Hanbali. Where they agree, you get one answer. Where they differ, you see each school's view, so you can follow yours.

Wudu is broken by what comes out of the body through the private parts, by losing your awareness, and, depending on the school, by bleeding, vomiting or certain kinds of touching. Some things do not break wudu but stop water from reaching the skin, like nail polish: those are marked "Can block wudu".

Certainty is not removed by doubt. If you are sure you made wudu and only doubt whether you broke it, your wudu stays in most schools.

This is a guide, not a fatwa. If your case is unusual, ask the imam of your local mosque.

Common questions

What breaks wudu?

Using the bathroom, passing gas, deep sleep and losing consciousness break wudu in every school. On bleeding, vomiting and touching, the four schools differ, so follow your school.

Does touching a woman break wudu?

It depends on your school. In the Shafi'i school any skin-to-skin touch with a woman who is not a close relative breaks it. In the Maliki and Hanbali schools, only touch with desire does. In the Hanafi school it does not. The same applies to a woman touching a man.

Does bleeding break wudu?

Bleeding that flows breaks wudu in the Hanafi school, and in the Hanbali school when it is a lot. It does not in the Maliki and Shafi'i schools. A drop that does not flow breaks it in no school.

Does nail polish break wudu?

No, but it stops water from reaching the nail, so you cannot make wudu over it. Remove it first. If you put it on after making wudu, that wudu stays until something breaks it.

Which school should I follow?

If you do not know yet, follow the school of the mosque or teacher you learn from, and stay with it. Revertly lets you choose your school and teaches each step in it.

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