Ruling 315

It is obligatory to perform wuḍūʾ for six things:

1. For obligatory prayers – except the funeral prayer (ṣalāt al‐mayyit) – and for recommended prayers;
2. For a sajdah and tashahhudthat have been forgotten, – if between them and the prayer one has done something that invalidates wuḍūʾ; for example, he has urinated. It is not obligatory, however, to perform wuḍūʾ for the two prostrations for inadvertence (sajdatā al‐sahw);
3. For the obligatory circumambulation (ṭawāf) of the Kaʿbah that is part of hajj or ʿumrah;³²
4. If one had made a vow (nadhr) or a covenant (ʿahd) or had taken an oath (qasam) that he would perform wuḍūʾ;
5. If one had made a vow that, for example, he would kiss the writing of the Qur’an;
6. For washing a copy of the Qur’an that has become impure or for taking it out from a lavatory and such places, in the event that he is obliged to touch the writing of the Qur’an with his hand or with some other part of his body. However, in the event that the delay that would be caused by performing wuḍūʾwould result in further disrespect to the Qur’an, one must take the Qur’an out from the lavatory and such places – or wash it if it has become impure – without performing wuḍūʾ.

³² ʿUmrah refers to the pilgrimage to Mecca that has fewer rituals than the hajj pilgrimage. It is sometimes referred to as the ‘minor pilgrimage’.