How to Pray If You Can't Do Wudu? Read This!

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Hi all readers! Are you looking for an explanation on "how to pray if you can't do wudu?"? If your answer is "Yes", congratulations! Now you are reading the right article. Why? Because that's what I will explain in this article. As Muslims, we must understand that. That's why I wrote this article. So, you must read it to the end!

Specifically, there are some important things about "how to pray if you can't do wudu?" which I will explain in this article. Some of the important things I mean are as follows:

What Should You Do Before Prayer?

The first important thing about "how to pray if you can't do wudu?" which I will explain now is "what should you do before prayer?". I want you to understand that first before you read more explanation in this article because it is a basic question about prayer in Islam which must be well understood.

Prayer is one of the obligatory worships in Islam. Not only that, prayer is one of the pillars of Islam. We can find this explanation in the hadith below:

عَنْ عَبْدِ اللهِ بْنِ عُمَرَ رَضِيَ اللهُ عَنْهُمَا قَالَ : قَالَ رَسُوْلُ اللهِ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ : بُنِيَ الْإِسْلَامُ عَلَى خَمْسٍ : شَهَادَةِ أَنْ لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللهُ وَأَنَّ مُحَمَّدًا رَسُوْلُ اللهِ , وَإِقَامِ الصَّلَاةِ , وَإِيْتَاءِ الزَّكَاةِ , وَصَوْمِ رَمَضَانَ , وَحَجِّ الْبَيْتِ

From Abdullah bin Umar radliyallahu anhuma, he said, "The Messenger of Allaah sallallahu alaihi wa sallam said, "Islam is built on five things; a testimony that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, perform prayers, pay zakat, fast in the month of Ramadan, and go on Hajj.”

Specifically, we can find the command to pray in the Quran below:

وَاَقِيْمُوا الصَّلٰوةَ وَاٰتُوا الزَّكٰوةَ وَارْكَعُوْا مَعَ الرّٰكِعِيْنَ

And establish prayer and give zakah and bow with those who bow [in worship and obedience]. (Al-Baqarah [2]: 43).

If we read some Islamic legal literature regarding prayer, we will find an explanation that there are five things that must be done before praying. These five things are called the conditions of prayer (شُرُوْطُ الصَّلَاةِ).

The five conditions of prayer (شُرُوْطُ الصَّلَاةِ) that I mean are as follows:

• Holy of minor hadas (الحَدَثُ الأَصْغَرُ) and major hadas (الحَدَثُ الأَكْبَرُ).

Minor hadas and major hadas are two conditions that prevent Muslims from praying. So, they have to remove minor hadas and major hadas before praying.

In Islam, minor hadas can be removed by ablution. If we cannot perform wudu, we must perform tayammum. Meanwhile, the way to get rid of major hadas is ghus Janabah (غُسْلُ الْجُنَابَةِ). If we can't do ghusl Janabah, if we have to do tayammum.

• Closing the aurat.

Aurat are the parts of the body that must be covered. There is a difference between male genitalia and female genitalia in prayer.

If we read some Islamic legal literature, we will find an explanation that the male aurat in prayer are the parts of the body from the navel to the two knees. As for the aurat of a woman in prayer, her entire body is except for the palms of the hands and the face.

• Purify the body, clothes, and a place for prayer.

Everything that will be used for prayer must be holy. That is a basic rule that we must always remember. So, our bodies, our clothes, and the place we will use for prayer must be holy.

• Facing Qibla.

Facing the Qibla is one of the conditions for a valid prayer. We can find this explanation in the Quran and hadith below:

قَدْ نَرٰى تَقَلُّبَ وَجْهِكَ فِى السَّمَاۤءِۚ فَلَنُوَلِّيَنَّكَ قِبْلَةً تَرْضٰىهَا ۖ فَوَلِّ وَجْهَكَ شَطْرَ الْمَسْجِدِ الْحَرَامِ ۗ وَحَيْثُ مَا كُنْتُمْ فَوَلُّوْا وُجُوْهَكُمْ شَطْرَهٗ ۗ وَاِنَّ الَّذِيْنَ اُوْتُوا الْكِتٰبَ لَيَعْلَمُوْنَ اَنَّهُ الْحَقُّ مِنْ رَّبِّهِمْ ۗ وَمَا اللّٰهُ بِغَافِلٍ عَمَّا يَعْمَلُوْنَ

We have certainly seen the turning of your face, [O Muhammad], toward the heaven, and We will surely turn you to a qiblah with which you will be pleased. So, turn your face toward al-Masjid al-Haram. And wherever you [believers] are, turn your faces toward it [in prayer]. Indeed, those who have been given the Scripture well know that it is the truth from their Lord. And Allah is not unaware of what they do. (Al-Baqarah [2]: 144).

عَنْ عَامِرٍ بْنِ رَبِيْعَةَ رَضِيَ اللهُ عَنْهُ قَالَ ؛ كُنَّا مَعَ النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ فِيْ لَيْلَةٍ مُظْلِمَةٍ ، فَأَشْكَلَتْ عَلَيْنَا الْقِبْلَةَ ، فَصَلَّيْنَا . فَلَمَّا طَلَعَتِ الشَّمْسُ إِذَا نَحْنُ صَلَّيْنَا إِلَى غَيْرِ الْقِبْلَةِ ، فَنَزَلْتْ ( فَأَيْنَمَا تُوَلُّوْا فَثَمَّ وَجْهُ اللهِ ) . أَخْرَجَهُ التِّرْمِذِيُّ

From ‘Amir bin Rabi'ah radliyallahu anhu, he said, "We have been with the Prophet (Muhammad) sallallahu alaihi wa sallam on a dark night. We don't know the direction of the qibla. We also pray. When the sun rises it turns out we have prayers facing a direction that is not the direction of the qibla. Then the verse goes down "Wherever you face, then there is "the face" of Allah." This hadith is narrated by at-Tirmidhi.

• Enter the prayer time.

What is meant by entering the prayer time is that the prayer must be performed on time. For example, the Fajr prayer must be performed at the time of the Fajr prayer. We cannot perform the Fajr prayer at the time of the Duhr, Asr, Maghrib, or Isha prayers.

That's a brief explanation of "what should you do before prayer?". As Muslims, we must understand that.

Wudu Before Prayer: Why Is It Important?

The second important thing about "how to pray if you can't do wudu?" which I will explain now is wudu before prayer: why is it important? I want you to understand that now because that is one of the important things in this discussion that has to be well understood.

I hope you still remember everything that I have explained in the previous few paragraphs, especially the explanation in the first point that before we pray, we must be pure from minor hadas (الحَدَثُ الأَصْغَرُ) and major hadas (الحَدَثُ الأَكْبَرُ).

In simple terms, if you ask me, "why is wudu before prayer important?", the answer is because wudu is the most important way to get rid of small impurities. We cannot perform namaz if we have minor hadas. If we pray while we have minor hadas, our prayer is invalid.

We can find this explanation in the hadith below:

عَنْ أَبِيْ هُرَيْرَةَ رَضِيَ اللهُ عَنْهُ أَنَّ رَسُوْلُ اللهِ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ قَالَ : لَا يَقْبَلُ اللهُ صَلَاةَ أَحَدِكُمْ إِذَا أَحْدَثَ حَتَّى يَتَوَضَّأَ . مُتَّفَقٌ عَلَيْهِ

From Abu Hurairah radiyallahu anhu, that the Messenger of Allah (Prophet Muhammad) sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said, "Allah does not accept someone's prayer from you if he has hadas (small hadas) until he performs wudu." This hadith was narrated by al-Bukhari and Muslim.

That is a brief explanation of wudu before prayer: why is it important? As Muslims, we must understand that.

How to Pray If You Can't Do Wudu?

The third important thing about "how to pray if you can't do wudu?" which I will explain now is a specific explanation. So, I really hope that you read the explanation below very well.

At the beginning of the discussion in this article, I explained that minor hadas can be removed by wudu. If we cannot perform wudu, we must perform tayammum.

I have also explained that prayer will not be valid if we have minor hadas

Now, if you ask me, "how to pray if you can't do wudu?", the answer is "you have to do tayammum because tayammum is an alternative way to get rid of minor hadas."

We can find an explanation of tayammum in the definition of tayammum below:

التَّيَمُّمُ هُوَ : التَّعَبُّدُ لِلَّهِ تَعَالَى بِقَصْدِ الصَّعِيْدِ الطَّيِّبِ لِمَسْحِ الْوَجْهِ وَالْيَدَيْنِ بِهِ

Tayammum is worshiping Allah Taala by using clean and holy dust to wipe the face and two hands.

We can find an explanation that tayammum is an alternative way of removing minor hadas in the Quran below:

يٰٓاَيُّهَا الَّذِيْنَ اٰمَنُوْٓا اِذَا قُمْتُمْ اِلَى الصَّلٰوةِ فَاغْسِلُوْا وُجُوْهَكُمْ وَاَيْدِيَكُمْ اِلَى الْمَرَافِقِ وَامْسَحُوْا بِرُءُوْسِكُمْ وَاَرْجُلَكُمْ اِلَى الْكَعْبَيْنِۗ وَاِنْ كُنْتُمْ جُنُبًا فَاطَّهَّرُوْاۗ وَاِنْ كُنْتُمْ مَّرْضٰٓى اَوْ عَلٰى سَفَرٍ اَوْ جَاۤءَ اَحَدٌ مِّنْكُمْ مِّنَ الْغَاۤىِٕطِ اَوْ لٰمَسْتُمُ النِّسَاۤءَ فَلَمْ تَجِدُوْا مَاۤءً فَتَيَمَّمُوْا صَعِيْدًا طَيِّبًا فَامْسَحُوْا بِوُجُوْهِكُمْ وَاَيْدِيْكُمْ مِّنْهُ ۗمَا يُرِيْدُ اللّٰهُ لِيَجْعَلَ عَلَيْكُمْ مِّنْ حَرَجٍ وَّلٰكِنْ يُّرِيْدُ لِيُطَهِّرَكُمْ وَلِيُتِمَّ نِعْمَتَهٗ عَلَيْكُمْ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَشْكُرُوْنَ

O you who have believed, when you rise to [perform] prayer, wash your faces and your forearms to the elbows and wipe over your heads and wash your feet to the ankles. And if you are in a state of janabah, then purify yourselves. But if you are ill or on a journey or one of you comes from the place of relieving himself or you have contacted women and do not find water, then seek clean earth and wipe over your faces and hands with it. Allah does not intend to make difficulty for you, but He intends to purify you and complete His favor upon you that you may be grateful. (Al-Maidah [5]: 6).

That's a brief explanation of "how to pray if you can't do wudu?". As Muslims, we must understand that.

10 FAQs About Prayer Without Wudu

The fourth important thing about "how to pray if you can't do wudu?" which I will explain now is 10 FAQs about prayer without wudu. I want you to understand it all by the end of this discussion so that you have a good understanding of prayer without wudu after reading this article.

There are many questions and answers about prayer without wudu. Of course, I'm not going to explain it all now. In this article I will only explain 10 common questions and answers.

"Please note! I will explain the 10 FAQs about praying without wudu below in more detail in the next few articles."

Can I Pray Without Wudu If I'm Sick?

If you ask me, "can I pray without wudu if I'm sick?", the answer is as follows:

1. If you don't have a minor hadas, you can pray without wudu.
2. If you have minor hadas and medically your condition will get worse if you touch water, you may pray without wudu. But if medically your condition will be good if you touch water, you should not pray without wudu.

Can I Pray Without Wudu at Work?

If you ask me, "can I pray without wudu at work?", the answer is as follows:

1. If you don't have a minor hadas, you may pray without wudu.
2. If you have minor hadas and you have water for wudu, you must perform wudu before praying at work.
3. If you have minor hadas and you don't have water for wudu, you should do tayammum before praying at work.

Can You Pray Without Wudu While Traveling?

If you ask me, “can you pray without wudu while traveling?”, the answer is as follows:

1. If you don't have a minor hadas, you can pray without wudu while traveling.
2. If you have minor hadas and you have water for wudu, you must perform wudu before prayer while traveling.
3. If you have minor hadas and you don't have water for wudu, you should do tayammum before prayer while traveling.

Is It a Sin to Pray Without Wudu?

If you ask me, "is it a sin to pray without wudu a sin?", the answer is "no. But if you have minor hadas, your prayer is invalid."

Is It Ok to Pray Without Wudu?

If you ask me, "is it ok to pray without wudu?", the answer is as follows:

1. If you don't have minor hadas, you can pray without wudu.
2. If you have minor hadas, you must perform wudu before prayer. If you cannot perform wudu, you must perform Tayammum.

Can I Pray After Shower Without Wudu?

If you ask me, "can I pray after shower without wudu?", the answer will be as follows:

1. If the shower you mean is regular shower and you have minor hadas, you cannot pray without wudu.
2. If the shower you mean is Janabah ghusl and you don't have any minor hadas after shower, you can pray without wudu.
3. Iif the shower you mean is Janabah ghusl and you have minor hadas after shower, you cannot pray without wudu.

What to Do If You Pray Without Wudu?

If you ask me, “what to do if you pray without wudu?”, the answer is you have to do wudu first and then pray again.

Can a Child Pray Without Wudu?

If you ask me, "can a child pray without wudu?", the answer is "yes. It could be because they are not actually obliged to pray.”

What Is the Punishment for Praying Without Wudu?

If you ask me, “what is the punishment for praying without wudu?”, the answer is “there is no punishment for praying without wudu but our prayers are not valid if we have minor hadas.”

What Happens When You Pray Without Wudu?

If you ask me, "what happens when you pray without wudu?", the answer is "if we have minor hadas, our prayer is invalid if we pray without wudu."

That is a brief explanation of 10 FAQs about praying without wudu. As Muslims, we must understand that.

Readers all! That's a brief explanation of "how to pray if you can't do wudu?" and some important things about it. Do you understand? If you have questions, feel free to ask!

I think that's enough for this article. May be useful. Amen.

See you again in the next article!