such as wuduʾ, ghusl, tayammum, and putting on one’s garment.

In wuduʾ a person begins with the right: he washes the right hand before the left, and the right foot before the left, so long as the limbs in question are two distinct parts. If the limb is a single unit—like the face—we do not say, “Start with the right side of the face before the left.” Rather, the face is washed once in its entirety, in accordance with the Sunnah. Should someone be unable to wash his face except with one hand, he then starts with the right; some authorities add that he should begin from the upper portion.

The same ruling applies to wiping the ears: one does not wipe the right ear first and then the left; instead, both are wiped simultaneously. Only if a person is incapable of wiping with both hands at once does he give precedence to the right over the left.

The same holds for ghusl. When a person intends to perform a full bath after major ritual impurity, he first performs a wuduʾ like that for prayer, then pours water over his head three times until the water reaches the roots. He then washes the rest of his body, starting with the right side before the left, because the Prophet ﷺ instructed the women who were washing his deceased daughter, saying, “Start with her right side and the places of wuduʾ.”