Daily Deeds: Cleansing Power of Wudu

This post was excerpted from Healing Body and Soul by Amira Ayad

Allah, subahana wa ta ala, says in the Qur'an: "O you who believe! When you intend to offer the prayer, wash your face and your hands (forearms) up to the elbows, rub (by passing wet hands over) your heads, and wash your feet up to the ankles..." --Surah Al-Maidah, 5: 6

"Ablution is not a mere physical act; it is a sign of the purification of the soul, driving away evil thoughts, clearing the mind and preparing one to concentrate only on the glorification and worship of Allah. Prophet Muhammad, sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, taught us that ablution washes away sins, purifying and cleansing the soul."

In a Sahih hadith narrated in Muslim and Tirmidhi, the Prophet, sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, was reported to have said: "If the Muslim performs ablution and washes his face, any offense he overlooked with his eyes will come out with the water; and when he washes his hands, any assault he commited with his hands will come out with the water; and when he washes his feet any misdeed to which he walked with his feet will come out with the water, till he concludes (the ablution) free from sins."