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What are the du`as that are to be said before and after wudu?
Praise be to Allah.
Du’as to be said at the beginning of wudu and after finishing it have been narrated from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him).
With regard to what is to be said at the beginning, the only thing that has been narrated is to mention the name of Allah by saying Bismillah (in the name of Allah).
The evidence for that is the words of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him): “There is no wudu for one who does not mention the name of Allah in it.” Narrated by al-Tirmidhi, 25. He said: Concerning this topic it was narrated from ‘Aishah, Abu Sa’id, Abu Hurayrah, Sahl ibn Sa’d and Anas. Ahmad ibn Hanbal said: I do not know of any hadith with a jayyid isnad on the topic. (Al-Tirmidhi)
The hadeeth was classed as sahih by al-Albani in Sahih al-Tirmidhi.
In the answer to question no. 21241 we have stated that this hadith is one concerning whose soundness the scholars differed.
Al-Nawawi narrated in al-Majmu’ (1/385) that al-Bayhaqi said:
“The soundest report concerning saying Bismillah (for wudu) is the hadith of Anas, according to which the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) put his hand in the vessel of water then he said: “Do wudu in the name of Allah.” [Anas] said: I saw the water springing up from between his fingers, and the people did wudu until the last of them had done wudu, and there were nearly seventy men. Its isnad is jayyid, and it was quoted as evidence by al-Bayhaqi in his book Ma’rifat al-Sunan wa’l-Athar; he classed the other ahadith as da’eef (weak).”
With regard to what is said after wudu , a number of ahadith have been narrated concerning that.
From the reports it may be concluded that he said:
Ashhadu an la ilaha ill-allah wahdahu la sharika lah, wa ashhadu anna Muhammadan ‘abduhu wa rasuluhu. allahumm aj’alni min al-tawwabina waj’alni min al-mutatahhirina, subhanaka allahumma wa bi hamdika, ashhadu an la ilaha illa anta, astaghfiruka wa atubu ilayka
(I bear witness that there is no god except Allah Alone, with no partner or associate, and I bear witness that Muhammad is His slave and Messenger. O Allah, make me one of those who repent and make me one of those who purify themselves. Glory and praise be to You, O Allah, I bear witness that there is no god but You, I seek Your forgiveness and I repent to You).
Muslim (234) narrated from ‘Umar ibn al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “There is no one among you who does wudu and does it well, then says, Ashhadu an la ilaha ill-Allah wahdahu la sharika lah, wa ashhadu anna Muhammadan ‘abduhu was rasuluhu (I bear witness that there is no god except Allah Alone, with no partner or associate, and I bear witness that Muhammad is His slave and Messenger) but the eight gates of Paradise will be opened for him and he will enter through whichever one he wants.” Narrated by Muslim, 234.
Al-Tirmidhi (55) added: “allahumm aj’alni min al-tawwabeena waj’alni min al-mutatahhireena (O Allah, make me one of those who repent and make me one of those who purify themselves).”
This addition was classed as da’if (weak) by al-Hafiz ibn Hajar (may Allah have mercy on him), who said: This addition which is narrated by al-Tirmidhi is not proven to be part of this hadith. End quote from al-Futuhat al-Rabbaniyyah, 2/19.
Al-Albani classed it as sahih in Sahih al-Tirmidhi. Ibn al-Qayyim stated in Zad al-Ma'ad that it is proven to be from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him).
With regard to the phrase “subhanaka allahumma wa bi hamdika, ashhadu an la ilaha illa anta, astaghfiruka wa atubu ilayka (Glory and praise be to You, O Allah, I bear witness that there is no god but You, I seek Your forgiveness and I repent to You), this was narrated by al-Nasai in ‘Aml al-Yawm wal-Laylah, and by al-Hakim in al-Mustadrak, from Abu Sa’id al-Khudri (may Allah be pleased with him). The narrators differed as to whether the hadith could be attributed to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) or whether these were the words of Abu Sa’id (may Allah be pleased with him).
Al-Hafiz Ibn Hajar (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
“The isnad is undoubtedly sound, rather they differed as to whether the text could be attributed to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) or not (i.e., whether it was marfu’ or mawquf). Al-Nasai always rules on the basis of erring on the side of caution, hence he was mistaken. But according to the method of al-Nawawi, following Ibn al-Salah and others, it is more likely to be marfu’.” (Al-Futuhat al-Rabbaniyyah, 2/21)
It was classed as sahih by al-Albani in Sahih al-Targhib (225) and al-Silsilah al-Sahihah (2333). (See Tamam al-Minnah, p. 94-98)
These are the du’as that have been narrated from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) to be said in wudu . As for saying du’a when washing the different parts of the body, no such thing has been proven from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him).
Al-Nawawi said in al-Adhkar (p. 30):
“As for the du’as that are said when washing various parts of the body in wudu, no such thing has been narrated from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him).”
Ibn al-Qayyim said in Zad al-Ma'ad (1/195):
“It is not narrated from him that he used to say anything in his wudu apart from saying Bismillah. Every hadith which speaks of du’as to be said in wudu is false and fabricated. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) did not say any of these things and he did not teach them to his ummah. There is nothing narrated from him except saying Bismillah at the beginning and saying Ashhadu an la ilaha ill-Allah wahdahu la sharika lah, wa ashhadu anna Muhammadan ‘abduhu wa rasuluhu. allahumm aj’alni min al-tawwabina waj’alni min al-mutatahhirina (I bear witness that there is no god except Allah Alone, with no partner or associate, and I bear witness that Muhammad is His slave and Messenger. O Allah, make me one of those who repent and make me one of those who purify themselves) afterwards.
According to another hadith narrated in Sunan al-Nasai, one of the things that may also be said after wudu is: “Subhanaka Allahumma wa bi hamdika, ashhadu an la ilaha illa anta, astaghfiruka wa atubu ilayka (Glory and praise be to You, O allah, I bear witness that there is no god but You, I seek Your forgiveness and I repent to You).”
It says in Fatawa al-Lajnah al-Daimah (5/221):
“It is not proven that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said any du’a during wudu. What the common folk say in dua when washing each part of the body is an innovation (bid’ah), such as saying when washing the face, “O Allah, make my face white on the day when faces will be turned black”; or when washing the hands: “O Allah, give me my book (record of my deeds) in my right hand, and do not give me my book in my left hand,” and other du’as which are said when washing the other parts of the body in wudu.”