How Long Is Wudu Valid for? The Explanation You're Looking For

Hi again! The validity of wudu is one of the important things that you must understand. Without it, you will not know for sure if your wudu has been broken and when you should perform it. The most common consequence is that you will not know if you can still perform rituals that require you to have wudu during performing them. And one important question about that that you have to understand the answer to is: how long is wudu valid for?

Whatever your reason for reading this article, I am sure you are looking for an explanation about "how long is wudu valid for?". Don't worry! I will not let you down today. Trust me! That's what I will explain in this article. You just need to read it to the end!

Things Causing You to Need Wudu

First of all, I will explain the reasons why you need wudu. You have to understand all of that first because they will help you understand the answers to the questions that are the main topic of this discussion.

To be honest, discussing things that cause you to need wudu is talking about things that require you to do wudu. And, before you understand any of that, you have to understand the things that break wudu. It is highly unlikely that you will have to perform wudu if your wudu is not broken.

In general, if you read some literature on Islamic law regarding wudu, you will find that there are two main things that can break your wudu:

Small Hadas

Small Hadas is an impure condition in you because of the following things:

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

In Islam, if you have small hadas, you can remove them with wudu. If you can't do that, you can do tayammum as an alternative.

Big Hadas

Big hadas is an unholy condition in yourself that can be removed by ghusl Janabah. If you can't do that, you can do tayammum as an alternative.

Below are things that cause you to have big hadas:

• Your sperm is coming out.
• Having conjugal relations.
• Menstrual blood stops (no longer comes out).
• Postpartum blood stops (no longer comes out).
• Childbirth.
• Died.

Those are all things that break your wudu.

But one important thing that you must understand now is that even though small hadas and big hadas can break your wudu, something that causes you to need wudu is small hadas. The reason is that it is the only thing that can be removed by wudu. If you have big hadas, you should perform ghusl Janabah (or alternatively tayammum if you cannot perform ghusl Janabah) to get rid of them.

How Long Is Wudu Valid for?

Hi! Are you still with me? Now I will explain the answer to the question which is the main topic in this discussion: how long is the validity of wudu? There are some Muslims who do not understand that well. I think you don't want to be like them, do you? So, understand the explanation below!

To be honest, you can't determine the duration of the validity of wudu with certainty. You can't say 1 minute, 2 minutes, 1 hour, 2 hours, and so on. The reason is because the validity of wudu can only be identified by the small or big hadas in your body: whether they are present or not.

For example, if you perform wudu at 07.00 and then you fart at 09.00, then the validity of your wudu is 2 hours. If you perform wudu at 12.00 and then you have intercourse at 15.00, then the validity of your wudu is 3 hours, and so on.

So, what's the answer to that question?

Of course, if we cannot determine the duration of the validity of wudu with certainty, then the answer to that question is, "As long as there are no small or big hadas in your body, your wudu is still valid."

What Should I Do If I Doubt, I Farted or Not?

Now I'm going to explain the last thing related to the main topic in this discussion: doubt whether you have farted or not. A common question about it is: what should I do if I doubt, I farted or not? If you experience this, what should you do?

The only thing you have to do if you experience this is to check if you have farted or not. You can do this by determining whether you hear farts or not, or whether you have smelled farts or not. If you are sure that you have heard a fart or smelled a fart, then your wudu is broken. Thus, you must perform wudu again if you are going to perform rituals that require you to have wudu.

You can find the guideline in the hadith below:

عَنْ أَبِيْ هُرَيْرَةَ رَضِيَ اللهُ عَنْهُ قَالَ : قاَلَ رَسُوْلُ اللهِ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ : إِذَا وَجَدَ أَحَدُكُمْ فِيْ بَطْنِهِ شَيْئًا فَأَشْكَلَ عَلَيْهِ أَخَرَجَ مِنْهُ شَيْءٌ أَمْ لَا ؟ فَلَا يَخْرُجَنَّ مِنَ الْمَسْجِدِ حَتَّى يَسْمَعَ صَوْتًا أَوْ يَجِدَ رِيْحًا . أَخْرَجَهُ مُسْلِمٌ

From Abu Hurairah radiyallahu anhu, he said, “The Messenger of Allah (Prophet Muhammad) sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said, “If one of you finds something in his stomach, then he doubts whether something has come out of him or not? So, he is not allowed to leave the mosque until he hears a sound or smells an aroma.” This hadith was narrated by Muslim.

If you are sure, whether you believe you have farted or not, you can use your belief as the standard for the validity of your wudu. If you believe that you have farted, then you have farted and your wudu has been broken. If you are sure that you have not farted, it means that you have not farted and your wudu is still valid (not broken).

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