The wudu song: getting ready to pray

The story

Raiha hears the adhan on Baba's phone, wants to pray with Yusuf, and runs to the bathroom, where she soaks her sleeves, the mirror and Noor the cat. Yusuf shows her wudu one step at a time at the sink, and Baba explains that wudu is how we get clean and ready to talk to Allah, who tells us to wash in the Quran. Over the next day Raiha reminds a half-asleep Yusuf about his left arm, learns from Maryam that clean hands alone are not wudu, and finally does every step by herself before Isha, with Mama watching.

What your child learned

• Wudu is not splashing. It has steps, one after the other: Bismillah first, then hands, mouth, nose, face, arms up to the elbows, head, ears, and feet up to the ankles.
• The hands, mouth, nose, face, arms and feet are washed three times. The head is wiped once, from the front to the back and back again, and the ears inside and behind with wet fingers.
• Right before left: the right arm before the left arm, and the right foot before the left foot. Wudu is all the steps, not just the first one.
• We make wudu to be clean and ready to talk to Allah. Allah tells us in the Quran to wash our face and arms, wipe our head and wash our feet when we stand up to pray, and He loves those who keep themselves clean. When we finish, we say the shahada.

Talk about it at dinner

• What happened when Raiha ran to the bathroom by herself? Was that wudu?
• Which side do we wash first? What did Yusuf forget when he was half asleep?
• Why do we make wudu before we pray?

Try this week

Before one prayer each day this week, make wudu side by side with your child and say the steps out loud in order, as Raiha does: Bismillah, hands, mouth, nose, face, right arm, left arm, head, ears, right foot, left foot. Let your child be the one who checks that nothing was skipped.

Print and do

Where it comes from

The teaching in this episode rests on these sources. The links open quran.com and sunnah.com, where you can read each one in Arabic and English.

• The wudu verse: Quran 5:6
• The order of wudu as the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him did it: Sahih al-Bukhari 164
• The same order: Sahih Muslim 226
• Washing three times: Bukhari 159
• Right side first: Bukhari 168
• Bismillah before wudu: Abu Dawud 101 (hasan)
• The dua after wudu: Sahih Muslim 234
• The dua's wording on the card: Sunan an-Nasa'i 148
• The head wiped once: Bukhari 192
• Allah loves those who purify themselves: Quran 2:222

In this episode

1. 0:00 Welcome
2. 0:03 Prayer time!
3. 0:26 Wudu step by step
4. 3:11 Why we make wudu
5. 3:57 Say it with me
6. 5:04 Yusuf forgets an arm
7. 5:44 Muddy hands
8. 6:13 Raiha by herself
9. 6:59 The Wudu Song
10. 7:31 Quiz
11. 8:17 Sing along

From the same episode

• The Wudu Song, the song on its own with the words on screen (from Thursday 12 November).
• Wudu, the Bedtime Dua and the Thirsty Dog! Three Episodes, a longer sitting (from Sunday 22 November).

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