His words, “When you rise for prayer,” mean: when you intend to stand for the prayer—be it obligatory or voluntary—“wash your faces and your hands up to the elbows.”

“Wash your faces”: Allah did not mention washing the palms because that is a Sunnah act, not an obligation. The face runs, in width, from ear to ear, and, in length, from the top of the forehead’s curve down to the end of the beard. Rinsing the mouth and inhaling water into the nose are both included within the washing of the face.

“and your hands up to the elbows”: the elbow is the joint between the forearm and the upper arm, and it is included in the washing, for whenever the Prophet ﷺ washed his hands he continued past the elbow into the upper arm.

“and wipe over your heads”: the head is wiped rather than washed, which is a mercy from Allah toward His servants. Because the head is covered with hair, making its full washing obligatory would burden people, cause water to flow onto their clothes, and be especially difficult in winter. Out of His mercy, therefore, the head is wiped, not washed; and the ears are considered part of the head, so they too are wiped, for the Prophet ﷺ used to wipe over his ears.

“and (wash) your feet up to the ankles”: meaning, wash your feet up to and including the ankles. The two ankles are the protruding bones at the bottom of the shin, and they form part of the area to be washed.

These, then, are the four limbs that constitute wudu’. Thereafter He, the Exalted, says, “And if you are in a state of major ritual impurity, then purify yourselves.”