Verse 6 of Surat al-Ma’idah means: “0 believers, if you stand up for prayer, wash your face and arms up to [and including] the elbows and wet wipe [part of] your head and wash your feet up to [and including] the ankles.”
Wudu’ (Ablution) has obligatory and recommended parts. The obligatory parts are those parts which if left out the wudu’ is not valid. The recommended parts are those parts which if left out the wudu’ would still be valid, but one misses out on that reward. The wudu’ must be made with water only.
How to Perform Wudu’
1-It is recommended to say “Bismillah” (with the Name of Allah) while washing the hands.
2-It is recommended to wash the two hands with the wrists three times.
3-It is recommended to rinse the mouth three times using the right hand.
4-It is recommended to draw water into the nose with the right hand and to blow it out of the nose with the left hand three times.
5-It is an obligation to have the proper intention. When the water touches the first part of your face say in your heart “I intend to perform wudu’”.
6-It is an obligation to wash your face, from the normal hairline to the chin and from one ear to the other including the hair and skin. The inner part of the man’s thick beard is excluded.
If a string was put at the middle of the forehead at the normal hairline and drawn to the top of the ear, then one washes all that would be below that string, both hair and skin, with the ears excluded.
It is recommended to wash the face three times.
7-It is an obligation to wash the hands, forearms, and elbows once.
8-It is recommended to wash them three times each. Start with the right and then the left.
9-It is an obligation to wet wipe part of the head, between the normal hairline and the occiput.
10-It is recommended to wet wipe both ears three times.
11-It is an obligation to wash the feet with the ankles. It is recommended to wash them three times starting with the right foot.
12-Do the obligatory parts (within steps 1 to 11) in the aforementioned order.
13-It is recommended to say a supplication after finishing wudu’.
It is preferred to use a small amount of water in wudu’ and ghusl. It is mentioned in Sahih Muslim that the Messenger of Allah used a mudd مد (about half a cup) of water for wudu’ and a sa^ صاع (about a pint) for ghusl. A mudd is the fill of a pair of average-sized hands cupped together. The sa^ is four mudds. It is also mentioned in Sahih Muslim that the Messenger of Allah used six (6) mudds (about 3 cups) of water for wudu’ and thirty (30) mudds (about one cup less than a gallon) for ghusl.