Home › Surahs › Surah Al-Ma'idah › Verse 6
Surah Al-Ma'idah, verse 6: meaning and tafsir
يَٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوٓا۟ إِذَا قُمْتُمْ إِلَى ٱلصَّلَوٰةِ فَٱغْسِلُوا۟ وُجُوهَكُمْ وَأَيْدِيَكُمْ إِلَى ٱلْمَرَافِقِ وَٱمْسَحُوا۟ بِرُءُوسِكُمْ وَأَرْجُلَكُمْ إِلَى ٱلْكَعْبَيْنِ ۚ وَإِن كُنتُمْ جُنُبًا فَٱطَّهَّرُوا۟ ۚ وَإِن كُنتُم مَّرْضَىٰٓ أَوْ عَلَىٰ سَفَرٍ أَوْ جَآءَ أَحَدٌ مِّنكُم مِّنَ ٱلْغَآئِطِ أَوْ لَٰمَسْتُمُ ٱلنِّسَآءَ فَلَمْ تَجِدُوا۟ مَآءً فَتَيَمَّمُوا۟ صَعِيدًا طَيِّبًا فَٱمْسَحُوا۟ بِوُجُوهِكُمْ وَأَيْدِيكُم مِّنْهُ ۚ مَا يُرِيدُ ٱللَّهُ لِيَجْعَلَ عَلَيْكُم مِّنْ حَرَجٍ وَلَٰكِن يُرِيدُ لِيُطَهِّرَكُمْ وَلِيُتِمَّ نِعْمَتَهُۥ عَلَيْكُمْ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَشْكُرُونَ ٦
O you who believe, when you rise up for prayer, wash your faces, and your hands up to the elbows; wipe over your heads; and wash your feet up to the ankles. If you are in a state of major impurity, cleanse yourselves [by taking a bath]. But if you are ill, on a journey, or have relieved yourselves, or had sexual contact[11] with women and find no water, then purify yourselves with clean earth[12], and wipe your faces and hands therewith. Allah does not want to impose hardship on you, rather He wants to purify you and complete His favor upon you, so that you may be grateful.
Translation of the meanings: Rowwad Translation Center — version 1.0.19 · QuranEnc.com
[11] i.e., had sexual intercourse or seminal discharge.
[12] This is the act of dry ablution or tayammum.
Ask about this verseAsk on WhatsApp
Al-Mukhtasar: Abridged Explanation of the Quran
Tafsir Center for Quranic Studies · QuranEnc.com
6. O you who believe in Allah, follow His Messenger and practice His laws, when you intend to stand up to offer the prayer and you are in the state of minor ritual impurity, then perform ablution by washing your faces and then your hands together with the elbows, then wiping your heads and finally washing your feet together with the ankles. If you are in the state of major ritual impurity, then take a full bath. If you are sick and you fear that the sickness will get worse or the healing will be delayed, or if you are on a journey even though you are not sick, or if you are in the state of minor ritual impurity, such as after going to the toilet, or in a state of major ritual impurity, such as after having had sexual intercourse, and you do not find water to purify yourselves with, despite having searched for it, then make use of the ground by striking it with your hands and then wiping over your faces and then wiping your hands with it. Allah does not wish to make the laws difficult for you by forcing you to use water that may lead to harm or difficulty. He has therefore given you a substitute when this is not possible due to sickness or the lack of water. This is a completion of His favour on you, so that you give thanks for such favour and are not ungrateful.
Quran text: Tanzil Project (Tanzil Quran Text, Uthmani v1.1, CC BY 3.0). The translation and tafsir are quoted word for word, unchanged, from the Noble Quran Encyclopedia, QuranEnc.com, each credited to its source. Details on our sources page. These texts are quoted exactly as published; no answer is written by AI. Quran Chat does not issue fatwas.