1. Washing the entire face: this includes rinsing the mouth and sniffing water into the nose. If somebody washes his face but does not rinse his mouth and sniff water into his nose or misses either of them, his wuḍū is invalid. That is because the mouth and the nose are part of the face. Allāh, Exalted is He, says in Sūrat Al Māidah, Āyah no. 6 (the meaning of which translates as) “wash your faces”.

So, Allāh ordered us to wash the whole face. That means that anybody who leaves part of it has not fulfilled the command of Allāh, Exalted is He. Moreover, the Prophet (May Allāh praise him and Peace be upon him) used to rinse his mouth and sniff water into his nose. [Page 30 of Sheikh Fawzān’s Al Mulakhkhaṣ Al Fiqhī (Summary of Islamic Jurisprudence) (Arabic version)].

2. Washing the hands and arms up to and including the elbows: The evidence for this is that Allāh, Exalted is He, says (the meaning of which translates as) “and your hands and arms up to and including the elbows” [Sūrat Al Mā`idah, Āyah No. 6].
   This means washing the elbows because the Prophet (May Allāh praise him and Peace be upon him) used to pass water over his elbows. In another ḥadīth (narration), it is mentioned that “He washed his hands and arms to the point where he began washing his upper arm” which shows that the elbows are to be washed. [Page 30 of Sheikh Fawzān’s Al Mulakhkhaṣ Al Fiqhī (Summary of Islamic Jurisprudence) (Arabic version)].

3. Wiping the whole head, including the ears; The evidence for this is that Allāh, Exalted is He says, (the meaning of which translates as) “and wipe your heads”. [Sūrat Al Mā`idah, Āyah No. 6]
   The Prophet (May Allāh praise him and Peace be upon him) said, “The ears are part of the head” [ reported by Ibn Mājah, Al-Dāraqutnni] [Page 30 of Sheikh Fawzān’s Al Mulakhkhaṣ Al Fiqhī (Summary of Islamic Jurisprudence) (Arabic version)].

4. Washing the feet up to and including the ankles; The evidence for this is that that Allāh Exalted is He, says (the meaning of which translates as), “And wash your feet up to and including the ankles”. [Sūrat Al Mā’idah, Āyah No. 6]. The Arabic word ilā (up to) in the Āyah means ‘including’ according to the ḥadīths (narrations) that have reached us describing how wuḍū` (ablution) is to be performed. The ḥadīths show that the ankles must also be washed. [Page 30 of Sheikh Fawzān’s Al Mulakhkhaṣ Al Fiqhī (Summary of Islamic Jurisprudence) (Arabic version)]

5. Performing each element in order: The face must be washed first, followed by the arms. Then one must wipe the head, and then wash the feet. This is because Allāh, Exalted is He, says (the meaning of which translates as) “O you who have believed, when you rise to [perform] prayer, wash your faces and your forearms to the elbows and wipe over your heads and wash your feet to the ankles” [Sūrat Al Mā’idah, Āyah No. 6] and the Prophet (May Allāh praise him and Peace be upon him) performed wuḍū (ablution) in this order and said, “This is wuḍū; without it, ṣalāt (prayer) will not be accepted” [Page 30 of Sheikh Fawzān’s Al Mulakhkhaṣ Al Fiqhī (Summary of Islamic Jurisprudence) (Arabic version)].

6. Performing the elements in quick succession: The parts of the body must be washed in quick succession, meaning that one does not have a break between washing each part. Each body part is to be washed immediately after the other as much as one is able [Page 31 of Sheikh Fawzān’s Al Mulakhkhaṣ Al Fiqhī (Summary of Islamic Jurisprudence) (Arabic version)].