Short answer
Wudu is the washing a Muslim does before prayer, because God (﷾) commands it in the Qur'an. It is an act of worship of the One God (﷾). The Prophet (ﷺ) taught that sins leave with the water when wudu is done well. That is God's (﷾) forgiveness, not a power in the water. He also said that cleanliness is half of faith. Wudu does not mean the person was unclean in himself. It is a condition God (﷾) set for prayer. Shinto purification, misogi and harae, clears away tsumi and kegare (offences and pollution). It readies a person to come before the kami, the sacred beings and powers of Shinto. Tsumi and kegare include sickness and misfortune, not only wrongdoing. So the two look alike at the water's edge, but they differ in whom they are for. Wudu prepares a person to stand before the Creator and speak to Him directly.
Full explanation
What wudu is
Wudu is the washing a Muslim does before prayer. The Qur'an commands it in plain words. Wash your face, and your arms to the elbows. Wipe your head, and wash your feet to the ankles. A Muslim does it before prayer whenever it is needed, and it takes a few minutes. The same verse gives the reason. God (﷾) does not wish to place people in difficulty, but to make them clean and to complete His favour, so that they may be grateful. So wudu is an act of worship, done because the One God (﷾) asked for it.
“O ye who believe! when ye prepare for prayer, wash your faces, and your hands (and arms) to the elbows; Rub your heads (with water); and (wash) your feet to the ankles. If ye are in a state of ceremonial impurity, bathe your whole body. But if ye are ill, or on a journey, or one of you cometh from offices of nature, or ye have been in contact with women, and ye find no water, then take for yourselves clean sand or earth, and rub therewith your faces and hands, Allah doth not wish to place you in a difficulty, but to make you clean, and to complete his favour to you, that ye may be grateful.”
What the washing brings
The Prophet (ﷺ) described what happens when a believer washes. As he washes his face, the wrongs his eyes looked at leave with the water. The same is true of his hands and his feet, until he comes out clean of sins. He also said that cleanliness is half of faith. Another saying sets a limit. Wudu done well, followed by a humble prayer, wipes out past sins other than major ones. For major sins, a person turns to God (﷾) in sincere repentance. The water has no power of its own. The forgiveness is God's (﷾), and the Qur'an asks: who can forgive sins except Allah (﷾)?
Abu Hurayra reports that the Prophet (ﷺ) said: when a Muslim, or a believer, washes his face in wudu, every wrong his eyes looked at goes out from his face with the water, or with its last drop. When he washes his hands, every wrong his hands took hold of goes out with the water; and when he washes his feet, every wrong his feet walked to goes out with the water, until he comes out clean of sins.
Abu Malik al-Ash'ari reports that the Prophet (ﷺ) said that cleanliness (purity) is half of faith, and that praising Allah fills the scale. The hadith goes on to call prayer a light and charity a proof.
Amr ibn Sa'id reports that Uthman called for water for wudu and said he heard the Prophet (ﷺ) say: when a prescribed prayer comes, and a Muslim does its wudu well and prays it with humility and proper bowing, it is an expiation for his past sins, as long as he has not committed a major sin; and this holds for all time.
“And those who, having done something to be ashamed of, or wronged their own souls, earnestly bring Allah to mind, and ask for forgiveness for their sins,- and who can forgive sins except Allah?- and are never obstinate in persisting knowingly in (the wrong) they have done.”
Not a stain on the person
Islam does have rules of purity for prayer. Wudu lifts the lesser ritual state (hadath) that keeps a person from prayer. A full bath (ghusl) lifts a greater state, such as the one the Qur'an calls junub. The translation of the verse shown here renders it "ceremonial impurity". It keeps a person from prayer until he bathes, but it does not make him unclean to touch or to sit with. Once a companion, Abu Hurayra, was in that state and slipped away from the Prophet (ﷺ) to bathe. He did not want to sit with him before his bath. The Prophet (ﷺ) said: Glory be to Allah (﷾)! A believer never becomes impure. The Qur'an also says what to do when there is no water. A Muslim wipes his face and hands with clean earth. Dry earth washes nothing off the skin. So wudu is not the cleaning of a dirty body. It is obedience to God (﷾), in the way He set out.
“O ye who believe! when ye prepare for prayer, wash your faces, and your hands (and arms) to the elbows; Rub your heads (with water); and (wash) your feet to the ankles. If ye are in a state of ceremonial impurity, bathe your whole body. But if ye are ill, or on a journey, or one of you cometh from offices of nature, or ye have been in contact with women, and ye find no water, then take for yourselves clean sand or earth, and rub therewith your faces and hands, Allah doth not wish to place you in a difficulty, but to make you clean, and to complete his favour to you, that ye may be grateful.”
Abu Hurayra reports that the Prophet (ﷺ) met him in a street of Medina at a time when he needed a full bath (he was junub). He slipped away, bathed and came back. The Prophet (ﷺ) asked where he had been, and he said he had not wanted to sit with him before bathing. The Prophet (ﷺ) said: Glory be to Allah! A believer never becomes impure.
Misogi and harae, briefly
Shinto has its own washing. At a shrine's entrance, visitors rinse their hands and mouth at a water font (temizuya). Misogi is the fuller washing, of the whole body in water. The Kojiki (712 CE) is Japan's oldest surviving chronicle. In it the kami Izanagi washes in a river after his return from Yomi, the land of the dead. Misogi and harae (purification rites) clear away tsumi and kegare before the kami, the sacred beings and powers of Shinto. Tsumi covers acts that break the social order, and also sickness and natural calamity. Kegare is a polluted condition, often from natural events rather than deeds. Twice a year the Great Purification ritual is read. It says the kami of purification will carry the tsumi off to the sea, so that none remains in the land.
The Encyclopedia of Shinto describes the temizuya (also read chozuya) as a font near the entrance of a shrine, where visitors rinse their hands and mouth in symbolic purification. It says that rinsing there is a symbolic way of purifying body and mind before entering a sacred space, after which visitors go on to the main shrine.
The Encyclopedia of Shinto defines misogi as ablution: washing the whole body, and so purifying oneself of misfortunes, tsumi and kegare that have become attached to it. It traces the practice to Izanagi's washing after his return from Yomi, as the Kojiki and Nihon Shoki tell it. Misogi may be done before a rite or on a visit to a shrine, and it is closely linked with harae.
“So he went out to a plain [covered with] ahagi at a small river-mouth near Tachibana in Himuka in [the island of] Tsukushi, and purified and cleansed himself.”
The Encyclopedia of Shinto defines harae as purification: clearing mind and body of accumulated tsumi and defilements by ablutions (misogi) or by other rites and recitations, typically performed before the kami.
The Encyclopedia of Shinto describes tsumi as an action that breaks social norms and order, and also certain natural hazards held to be dangerous or impure. Tsumi include harmful acts such as injuring or killing people, and also sickness and natural calamity. Tsumi can be removed by purification rites (harae). It adds that human beings are not considered sinful by nature, and that there is generally no idea of original sin.
The Encyclopedia of Shinto defines kegare as a polluted condition, the opposite of purity. Where tsumi have been understood as the result of human behaviour, kegare is seen as the result of natural events. It was thought that kegare clinging to a person could bring calamity on the community, and it is generally purified by misogi.
Florenz's study of the Great Purification (Oho-harahe) calls it one of the most solemn ceremonies of Shinto, by which the whole country, from princes to common people, was to be freed of tsumi, pollutions and calamities. From about the eighth century it was held twice a year, on the last day of the sixth and twelfth months. Offerings were thrown into the water and the ritual was read. He distinguishes misogi, the washing of a person or place after contact with something held ceremonially impure. In his note on the word tsumi he reports Motoori Norinaga's view that it covers pollution (kegare), ill deeds and calamities.
“it is to be expected that from this day onwards, there will be no offence which is called offence, in the four quarters of the region under heaven”
Whom the washing is for
Here the two part ways. Shinto purification readies a person to come before the kami, and the ritual looks to kami of purification to carry tsumi away. Wudu readies a person to stand before the One God (﷾) who made him. No one stands between them. God (﷾) says He is near, and He answers the one who calls on Him. The Qur'an says He knows what a person's soul whispers to him, and is nearer to him than his jugular vein. He told Moses to serve Him alone and to establish prayer to celebrate His praise. Wudu is the first step of that prayer.
“it is to be expected that from this day onwards, there will be no offence which is called offence, in the four quarters of the region under heaven”
“When My servants ask thee concerning Me, I am indeed close (to them): I listen to the prayer of every suppliant when he calleth on Me: Let them also, with a will, Listen to My call, and believe in Me: That they may walk in the right way.”
“It was We Who created man, and We know what dark suggestions his soul makes to him: for We are nearer to him than (his) jugular vein.”
“Verily, I am Allah: There is no god but I: So serve thou Me (only), and establish regular prayer for celebrating My praise.”
| Point | Wudu | Misogi and harae |
|---|---|---|
| What is washed | Face, arms and feet, and the head is wiped, before prayer | Hands and mouth at the shrine font; the whole body in misogi |
| What it clears | The lesser state that keeps a person from prayer | Tsumi and kegare, offences and pollution |
| Who it is for | The One God (﷾), with no one between | The kami |
| Who takes sin away | God (﷾) alone forgives | The kami of purification carry tsumi off |
| Sickness | A test that wipes away sins | Counted among the tsumi |
Sickness is a test
Shinto counts sickness and calamity among the tsumi to be cleared away. Islam sees them as a test from God (﷾). The Qur'an promises good news to those who meet loss with patience, and says that blessings and mercy from God (﷾) are upon them. The Prophet (ﷺ) said that no tiredness, illness or sorrow reaches a Muslim without God (﷾) wiping away some of his sins by it. So in Islam illness is never something to be purified away. A sick person's patience brings him God's (﷾) mercy.
The Encyclopedia of Shinto describes tsumi as an action that breaks social norms and order, and also certain natural hazards held to be dangerous or impure. Tsumi include harmful acts such as injuring or killing people, and also sickness and natural calamity. Tsumi can be removed by purification rites (harae). It adds that human beings are not considered sinful by nature, and that there is generally no idea of original sin.
“Be sure we shall test you with something of fear and hunger, some loss in goods or lives or the fruits (of your toil), but give glad tidings to those who patiently persevere, Who say, when afflicted with calamity: "To Allah We belong, and to Him is our return":- They are those on whom (Descend) blessings from Allah, and Mercy, and they are the ones that receive guidance.”
Abu Sa'id al-Khudri and Abu Hurayra report that the Prophet (ﷺ) said no tiredness, illness, sorrow, sadness, hurt or distress reaches a Muslim, not even the prick of a thorn, without Allah wiping away some of his sins because of it.
From the water font to the prayer
Many people in Japan already wash their hands before they visit a shrine. Islam takes the question behind that habit seriously: why come clean to what is sacred? Its answer is that the Creator asks us to come to prayer clean, and that He hears us directly. The Qur'an also speaks of purifying oneself. Whoever purifies himself does so for his own good, and the return is to God (﷾). Islam is a complete way of life (deen), with belief in one Creator, prayer, food, family and character together. Consider the Qur'an with care, and the last Prophet (ﷺ), who was sent to all people. The site's Wudu guide shows each step of the washing. Its Salah guide shows the prayer that follows.
The Encyclopedia of Shinto describes the temizuya (also read chozuya) as a font near the entrance of a shrine, where visitors rinse their hands and mouth in symbolic purification. It says that rinsing there is a symbolic way of purifying body and mind before entering a sacred space, after which visitors go on to the main shrine.
“O ye who believe! when ye prepare for prayer, wash your faces, and your hands (and arms) to the elbows; Rub your heads (with water); and (wash) your feet to the ankles. If ye are in a state of ceremonial impurity, bathe your whole body. But if ye are ill, or on a journey, or one of you cometh from offices of nature, or ye have been in contact with women, and ye find no water, then take for yourselves clean sand or earth, and rub therewith your faces and hands, Allah doth not wish to place you in a difficulty, but to make you clean, and to complete his favour to you, that ye may be grateful.”
“When My servants ask thee concerning Me, I am indeed close (to them): I listen to the prayer of every suppliant when he calleth on Me: Let them also, with a will, Listen to My call, and believe in Me: That they may walk in the right way.”
“Nor can a bearer of burdens bear another's burdens if one heavily laden should call another to (bear) his load. Not the least portion of it can be carried (by the other). Even though he be nearly related. Thou canst but admonish such as fear their Lord unseen and establish regular Prayer. And whoever purifies himself does so for the benefit of his own soul; and the destination (of all) is to Allah.”
“Do they not consider the Qur'an (with care)? Had it been from other Than Allah, they would surely have found therein Much discrepancy.”
“Say: "O men! I am sent unto you all, as the Messenger of Allah, to Whom belongeth the dominion of the heavens and the earth: there is no god but He: it is He That giveth both life and death. So believe in Allah and His Messenger, the Unlettered Prophet, who believeth in Allah and His words: follow him that (so) ye may be guided."”
“Muhammad is not the father of any of your men, but (he is) the Messenger of Allah, and the Seal of the Prophets: and Allah has full knowledge of all things.”
Six replies answered
Encyclopedia of Shinto: Kegare
The Encyclopedia of Shinto defines kegare as a polluted condition, the opposite of purity. Where tsumi have been understood as the result of human behaviour, kegare is seen as the result of natural events. It was thought that kegare clinging to a person could bring calamity on the community, and it is generally purified by misogi.
Cited for
Islam has purity rules too, so it is just another system of pollution.
The response
Islam has rules for prayer: wudu, and a full bath in some states. The translation of 5:6 calls the state that needs a bath "ceremonial impurity". That state keeps a person from prayer until he bathes. The Prophet (ﷺ) said that a believer never becomes impure. He said it to a companion who had slipped away to bathe before sitting with him. The rules are conditions God (﷾) set for prayer. When there is no water, clean earth serves. They do not make the person unclean to touch or to be with.
Where it lands — Islam's rules of purity are conditions for prayer, not a stain on the person.
Sahih al-Bukhari 283 — Kitab al-Ghusl (Bathing), hadith 283
Abu Hurayra reports that the Prophet (ﷺ) met him in a street of Medina at a time when he needed a full bath (he was junub). He slipped away, bathed and came back. The Prophet (ﷺ) asked where he had been, and he said he had not wanted to sit with him before bathing. The Prophet (ﷺ) said: Glory be to Allah! A believer never becomes impure.
Cited for
Your Prophet said a believer never becomes impure. So does Islam think I, who am not a Muslim, am unclean?
The response
No. The Prophet (ﷺ) said it to a companion who thought his own need for a bath kept him from sitting with him. It answers that worry, and it calls no one else unclean. The Qur'an says God (﷾) has honoured the children of Adam. When a funeral passed, the Prophet (ﷺ) stood up. Told that it was a Jew's, he said: is it not a soul?
Where it lands — Islam's rules of purity concern a Muslim's readiness for prayer. God (﷾) has honoured the children of Adam.
Sahih Muslim 244 — Kitab al-Taharah (Purification), hadith 244
Abu Hurayra reports that the Prophet (ﷺ) said: when a Muslim, or a believer, washes his face in wudu, every wrong his eyes looked at goes out from his face with the water, or with its last drop. When he washes his hands, every wrong his hands took hold of goes out with the water; and when he washes his feet, every wrong his feet walked to goes out with the water, until he comes out clean of sins.
Cited for
If sins leave with the water, then wudu works just like harae carrying tsumi away.
The response
The water does nothing by itself. In another saying, the Prophet (ﷺ) tied this forgiveness to wudu done well and a humble prayer. It covers sins other than major ones. For major sins, a person turns to God (﷾) in sincere repentance. The Qur'an asks: who can forgive sins except Allah (﷾)? The forgiveness comes from God (﷾), not from water or from any purifying being.
Where it lands — The forgiveness tied to wudu is God's (﷾) mercy to one who obeys Him. The water has no power of its own.
Encyclopedia of Shinto: Misogi
The Encyclopedia of Shinto defines misogi as ablution: washing the whole body, and so purifying oneself of misfortunes, tsumi and kegare that have become attached to it. It traces the practice to Izanagi's washing after his return from Yomi, as the Kojiki and Nihon Shoki tell it. Misogi may be done before a rite or on a visit to a shrine, and it is closely linked with harae.
Cited for
Misogi in cold water, washing the whole body, is harder, so it shows more devotion than a quick wash.
The response
Islam does not seek hardship for its own sake. The verse of wudu says God (﷾) does not wish to place people in difficulty. He wishes to make them clean and to complete His favour. When wudu is hard to do, the Prophet (ﷺ) said that God (﷾) wipes out sins and raises a person's rank for doing it fully. But the hardship is never the aim. A short washing, done again and again for a lifetime, is its own kind of devotion. What counts is that it is done for God (﷾).
Where it lands — Islam never seeks hardship for its own sake. Worship is judged first by whom it is for.
Encyclopedia of Shinto: Tsumi
The Encyclopedia of Shinto describes tsumi as an action that breaks social norms and order, and also certain natural hazards held to be dangerous or impure. Tsumi include harmful acts such as injuring or killing people, and also sickness and natural calamity. Tsumi can be removed by purification rites (harae). It adds that human beings are not considered sinful by nature, and that there is generally no idea of original sin.
Cited for
Shinto has no original sin, so it sees people more kindly than Islam does.
The response
The Qur'an says no bearer of burdens can bear the burden of another, so no one carries a sin he did not do. Islam's question is a different one: who forgives the wrongs a person does himself? The Qur'an says only God (﷾) does. It tells people never to despair of His mercy, for He forgives all sins.
Where it lands — In Islam no one inherits a sin, and God (﷾) alone forgives the sins a person commits.
Encyclopedia of Shinto: Temizuya; Paying Respects at a Shinto Shrine
The Encyclopedia of Shinto describes the temizuya (also read chozuya) as a font near the entrance of a shrine, where visitors rinse their hands and mouth in symbolic purification. It says that rinsing there is a symbolic way of purifying body and mind before entering a sacred space, after which visitors go on to the main shrine.
Cited for
Rinsing my hands at a shrine is only a custom. I do not think about the kami at all.
The response
Many people feel that way. The custom still raises a question: why wash before coming to a sacred place? Islam answers that the Creator asks us to come to prayer clean. He is near, and He answers the one who calls on Him. Wudu makes washing the first step of prayer to Him.
Where it lands — The habit of washing before the sacred finds its answer in prayer to the One who made us.
Perspectives
Shinto: purification before the kami
Shinto purifies people and places of tsumi and kegare before they come before the kami, by washing (misogi) and by rites and recitations (harae). Its teachers say people are not sinful by nature.
Misogi washes away impurity before coming to the sacred, so wudu must be the same idea.
Rebuttal
Both use water before the sacred, but they rest on different grounds. Wudu is done because the One God (﷾) commanded it before prayer, in the way He set out. Clean earth serves when there is no water. It does not mean the person was unclean, for a believer never becomes impure. It is obedience to God (﷾), and it leads to prayer to Him alone.
Misogi may be done before a rite or on a shrine visit. It readies a person to meet the kami.
Rebuttal
That is the real question: whom the washing is for. Wudu readies a person to stand before the One God (﷾) who made him. He is near, and He answers the one who calls on Him.
Tsumi include sickness and calamity, and purification rites (harae) clear them away.
Rebuttal
Islam does not treat illness as something to be purified away. It is a test from God (﷾). God (﷾) wipes away some sins by it, and patience in it brings His mercy.
Shinto teachers say people are not sinful by nature, and that there is generally no idea of original sin.
Rebuttal
The Qur'an says no bearer of burdens can bear the burden of another. The question that remains is who forgives the wrongs a person does himself. The Qur'an answers: only God (﷾).
The Great Purification ritual expects that, once it is read, no tsumi will remain in the land.
Rebuttal
The ritual looks to kami of purification to carry the tsumi off to the sea. Islam turns a person to God (﷾) Himself. The Qur'an says He forgives all sins, and tells people never to despair of His mercy.
The Islamic perspective
Wudu is a washing God (﷾) commands before prayer. Done well, it brings His forgiveness. It does not mean the person was unclean, for a believer never becomes impure. Illness and loss are a test, not a pollution. Worship, and the washing for it, belong to the One God (﷾) who hears every caller directly. Belief, worship and character belong together as one way of life.
The Qur'an commands wudu before prayer. Wash the face and the arms to the elbows, wipe the head, and wash the feet to the ankles.
Wudu done well, with a humble prayer, wipes out past sins other than major ones, for which a person turns to God (﷾) in repentance. Cleanliness is half of faith.
A believer never becomes impure. Wudu is a condition God (﷾) set for prayer, not the cleaning of a dirty body, and clean earth serves when there is no water.
Only God (﷾) forgives sins, and no one should despair of His mercy.
Illness and loss are a test from God (﷾). By them God (﷾) wipes away sins, and patience in them brings His mercy.
Worship, and the washing for it, belong to the One God (﷾), who is near and answers every caller.
The Qur'an invites careful reading, and Muhammad (ﷺ), the last Prophet, was sent to all people.