Salah: Encyclopedia II - Salah - Ritual ablution

Salah - Ritual ablution

Prayer can only be conducted after a Muslim has performed wudu (ritual ablution). In wudu, Sunni Muslims wash their hands, teeth, faces, noses, arms, hair, ears and feet three times in a particular order. Shi'a Muslims first wash their faces, then their arms, and then wipe their heads and feet with the moisture on their hands.

When no water is available, sand may be used. (If the cleansing was done using water, the Muslim is considered to have cleansed him or herself from the physical manifestations of sin in a lasting fashion that extends between prayers; unless the Muslim does something to remove this cleanliness, the cleansing would not need to be repeated before the next prayer. When sand is used, the cleansing is only temporary and regardless of whether or not the Muslim commits any physical acts of uncleanliness he or she will need to undergo the ceremonial cleansing immediately before the next prayer.)

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Ritual ablution", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki