Does Picking Your Nose Break Wudu? The Explanation You're Looking For

Hi again! Things that break wudu are an important topic of discussion in Islamic legal literacy. Muslims must understand all of this so that they know whether their wudu has been broken or not. There are many things they have done for that, such as looking for explanations in Islamic books, on the internet, and so on. One of the important things about this that some Muslims often ask is: does picking your nose break wudu?

Whatever your reason for reading this article, I am very sure you are looking for an explanation about picking nose and its effect on wudu: does picking nose break wudu or not? Trust me! I will not disappoint you on this day. That's what I'm going to explain now. So, you just need to read this article to the end!

Wudu: General Things You Should Understand

First of all, the important thing about “does picking nose break wudu?” What I will explain now are some general things about wudu that you must understand. You must understand all of this at the beginning of this discussion so that you can understand the main topic in this discussion very well.

The general things about wudu that you must understand are as follows:

What Is Wudu?

As a Muslim, you must understand the meaning of wudu. That will help you understand other explanations about it. It will be very difficult for you to understand other discussions about it if you don't understand the meaning of wudu because it is the most basic thing.

If you read some Islamic legal literature, you will find an explanation about wudu is as follows:

اِسْتِعْمَالُ الْمَاءِ فِيْ أَعْضَاءٍ مَخْصُوْصَةٍ مُفَتَّتَحًا بِنِيَّةٍ

Using water on certain parts of the body that begins with the intention.

التَعَبُّدُ لِلَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ بِغَسْلِ أَعْضَاءٍ مَخْصُوْصَةٍ ، عَلَى صِفَةٍ مَخْصُوْصَةٍ

Worship Allah Azza wa Jalla by washing certain parts of the body with certain characteristics.

The two definitions above are general definitions of wudu. The detailed meaning of wudu is using water in a certain way and a certain Niyyah as worship to Allah. The specific thing is that using water is washing and wiping several parts of the body to remove minor hadas (الحَدَثُ الأَصْغَرُ) as an obligation and worship to Allah.

Why Wudu Is Important?

All things discussed in Islamic legal literacy are important. Fasting in Ramadan is very important. That's why there are many explanations about it, such as when does fasting in Ramadan start, what breaks fasting in Ramadan, what is recommended during fasting in Ramadan, and so on. Likewise, wudu.

Now, do you know why wudu is important? If you want to know why wudu is important, pay attention to the Quranic verses and hadith below:

يٰٓاَيُّهَا الَّذِيْنَ اٰمَنُوْا لَا تَقْرَبُوا الصَّلٰوةَ وَاَنْتُمْ سُكٰرٰى حَتّٰى تَعْلَمُوْا مَا تَقُوْلُوْنَ وَلَا جُنُبًا اِلَّا عَابِرِيْ سَبِيْلٍ حَتّٰى تَغْتَسِلُوْا ۗوَاِنْ كُنْتُمْ مَّرْضٰٓى اَوْ عَلٰى سَفَرٍ اَوْ جَاۤءَ اَحَدٌ مِّنْكُمْ مِّنَ الْغَاۤىِٕطِ اَوْ لٰمَسْتُمُ النِّسَاۤءَ فَلَمْ تَجِدُوْا مَاۤءً فَتَيَمَّمُوْا صَعِيْدًا طَيِّبًا فَامْسَحُوْا بِوُجُوْهِكُمْ وَاَيْدِيْكُمْ ۗ اِنَّ اللّٰهَ كَانَ عَفُوًّا غَفُوْرًا

O you who have believed, do not approach prayer while you are intoxicated until you know what you are saying or in a state of janabah, except those passing through [a place of prayer], until you have washed [your whole body]. And 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 find no water, then seek clean earth and wipe over your faces and your hands [with it]. Indeed, Allah is ever Pardoning and Forgiving. (An-Nisa’ [4]: 43).

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 (minor hadas) until he does wudu." This hadith was narrated by al-Bukhari and Muslim.

If you understand the Quranic verse and hadith above, you can conclude that wudu is very important in Islam for several reasons as follows:

• Wudu is the most important way to remove minor hadas.
• Allah Taala will not accept the prayers of Muslims who have minor hadas.

Niyyah for Wudu

Niyyah for wudu is one of the important things about wudu that you must understand well. Why? The reason is very simple, because Niyyah is the standard for everything we do. If our Niyyah is good, then everything we do will be good. But if our Niyyah is bad, then everything we do will be bad. You can find this explanation in the hadith below:

عَنْ عُمَرَ أَنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهم عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ قَالَ إِنَّمَا الْأَعْمَالُ بِالنِّيَّةِ وَلِكُلِّ امْرِئٍ مَا نَوَى فَمَنْ كَانَتْ هِجْرَتُهُ إِلَى اللَّهِ وَرَسُولِهِ فَهِجْرَتُهُ إِلَى اللَّهِ وَرَسُولِهِ وَمَنْ كَانَتْ هِجْرَتُهُ لدُنْيَا يُصِيبُهَا أَوِ امْرَأَةٍ يَتَزَوَّجُهَا فَهِجْرَتُهُ إِلَى مَا هَاجَرَ إِلَيْهِ

From Umar radliyallahu anhu, that the Messenger of Allah (Prophet Muhammad) sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said, "Action depends on his intention (Niyyah), and a person only gets something according to his intention. Whoever emigrated to Allah and His Messenger, then his emigration was to Allah and His Messenger, and whoever emigrated for the sake of the world or because of the woman he wanted to marry, then his emigration was according to where he migrated."

Likewise, Niyyah for wudu. Without it, all the washing and rubbing that we do in wudu are ordinary washing and rubbing that cannot remove minor hadas.

The Niyyah for wudu that you must memorize are as follows:

نَوَيْتُ الْوُضُوْءَ لِرَفْعِ الْحَدَثِ الْأَصْغَرِ فَرْضًا لِلَّهِ تَعَالَى

I intend to do wudu to remove minor hadas, as an obligation, because of Allah Taala.

When Do You Need to Do Wudu?

One of the other things about wudu that you should understand is when do you need to do wudu or when should you do wudu? I say that because wudu does not have to be done all the time. In some cases, wudu is mandatory for you. But in some other cases, wudu is recommended or sunnah for you.

In several previous paragraphs and articles, I have explained that wudu is done to remove minor hadas so that we can perform acts of worship that require us to have wudu while doing it, such as prayer, holding the Qurah, and Tawaf. If we do all that without wudu, then everything we have done cannot be said to be worship.

So, in simple terms, if you ask me, "When do you need to do wudu?", the answer is, "When you have minor hadas and you are going to do acts of worship that require you to have wudu during those acts of worship."

What Should You Do If You Can't Do Wudu?

Wudu is using water to wash and wipe various parts of the body. So, something used for wudu is water. But, in some cases, you will experience a condition where you don't have water for wudu, or you can't have water because you are sick, very cold weather and so on. If you are in such a condition, what should you do if you can't do wudu?

If you understand the Quranic verse that I have quoted in the previous paragraphs, you will be able to conclude that you can do Tayammum instead of wudu if you can't do wudu. You can also find this explanation in the hadith below:

عَنْ اِبْنِ عَبَّاسٍ رَضِيَ اللهُ عَنْهُمَا -- فِيْ قَوْلِهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ:…وَإِن كُنتُم مَّرۡضَىٰٓ أَوۡ عَلَىٰ سَفَرٍ … فَقَالَ ؛ إِذَا كَانَتْ بِالرَّجُلِ الْجِرَاحَةُ فِيْ سَبِيْلِ اللهِ وَالْقُرُوْحُ ، فَيَجْنُبُ ، فَيَخَافُ أَنْ يَمُوْتَ إِنِ اغْتَسَلَ ، تَيَمَّمَ . رَوَاهُ الدَّارُقُطْنِيُّ

From Ibni Abbas radliyallahu anhuma - about the word of Allah Azza wa Jalla, “… and if you are sick, or on a journey … (An-Nisa’ [4]; 43) —he then said, “If there is a wound and ulcers in someone's body because of fighting in the way of Allah then he is junub and he is worried that he will die if he bathes, then he can do Tayamum.” This hadith is narrated by ad-Daruquthni.

Tayammum is worshiping Allah by wiping the face and hands with holy dust. You can find this explanation 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 earth to wipe the face and two hands.

The Niyyah for Tayammum is as follows:

نَوَيْتُ التَّيَمُّمَ لِإِسْتِبَاحَةِ الصَّلَاةِ فَرْضًا لِلَّهِ تَعَالَى

I intend to do Tayammum in order to be allowed to pray, as an obligation, because of Allah Taala.

Main Things That Break Wudu

The next important thing about “Does picking nose break wudu?” what I will explain now is the main things that break wudu. I want you to understand all of that now so you can understand the main topic in this discussion well.

In general, if you read Islamic legal literature, you will find explanations that there are two main things that break wudu: minor hadas and major hadas. Pay attention to the explanation of these two things below so that you have a good understanding.

What Is Minor hadas?

By the way, do you know what a minor hadas is? If you read some Islamic legal literature about it, you will find an explanation that minor hadas (الحَدَثُ الأَصْغَرُ) is one of the impure conditions on your body that can be removed by wudu. If you cannot do that because of things that are justified in Islam, they can do Tayammum as an alternative.

Things That Cause You to Have Minor hadas

The things that cause you to have minor hadas are as follows:

• Vomiting and nosebleeds.
• Loss of consciousness due to sleep, madness, and so on.
• Something that comes out of two private ports: the front hole and the back hole.
• Touching other people's vital organs (front or back) using the palm of the hand or the inside of the finger.
• If the skin of a man and a woman who is not a mahram touches without a barrier.

What Is Major Hadas?

What is meant by major hadas (الحَدَثُ الْأَكْبَرُ) is an impure condition in your body which can be removed with ghusl Janabah. If Muslims cannot do that because of things that are justified in Islam, they can do tayammum as an alternative.

Things That Cause You to Have Major Hadas

The things that cause you to have major hadas are as follows:

• Died (men and women).
• Menstrual blood no longer comes out (only women).
• Postpartum blood does not come out anymore (only women).
• After giving birth (only women).
• Husband and wife personal relationship on the bed (men and women).
• Sperm out (men and women).

Does Picking Your Nose Break Wudu?

Hi! Are you still with me? Now I will explain the answer to the question which is the main topic in this discussion. So, I really hope you read the explanation below very well so that there are no more questions about it in your mind. Of course, if you still have questions about it, you can write them in the comment column. I would love to have a dialogue with you.

Actually, if you understand everything I have explained above, you can conclude the answer to this question. But if you are still unsure about answering, don't worry! I will help you with that.

Take note! Do you see that picking nose is one of the things that causes you to have minor hadas or major hadas? No, right?!

So, if you ask me, “Does picking nose your break wudu?”, the answer is “No. Picking nose does not break wudu.”

Do you have any questions? Please write in the comment column!