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Wudu

In 2005 Wikipedia's first sentence called it “important part of ritual purity in islam”. Today it says “procedure for cleansing parts of the body”. 2 sections present on 6 October 2023 are absent today.
Measured, not asserted. Every count, date and revision on this page was taken from Wikipedia's own history and checked against the live article. The words quoted are theirs.
Machine-checked against the full current article on 2026-08-03.
We saved snapshots of this article over twenty years; you are reading the 2005 one. Red dashes: removed from Wikipedia since. Pale dots: rewritten; the numbered note shows what it says now. 1 tap a number or a side note to jump between them
The opening as it read in 2005

Wudu is often translated as "partial ablution ," as opposed to ghusl , or "full ablution." The ideal form is done with water.1 The Muslim first silently makes the niya or intention to perform wudu and cleanse himself of his impurities. He begins by saying bismillah ("In the Name of Allah "). The actions of wudu follow: Wash the right hand up the wrist three times, then the left hand. Suck water into the mouth and spit it out three times. Gently put water into the nostrils with the right hand, pinch the top of the nose with the left hand to exhale the water. Wash the face (from the hairline on the forehead to where facial hair begins and ear to ear). Wash the entire right arm, including the hand, three times, then the left arm three times. The Muslim should wash up to a point slightly above the elbow. Wet hands and starting with your hands flat on the top of your head near the hairline, wipe them to the back of the head where hair ends and come forward. This is only done once. With wet fingers, place thumbs at backs of ears, use index finger on curves of ear and middle finger to wash the ears. This is only done once Starting with the right foot, wash both feet including the ankles. Thereotically one can do one wudu for fajr salaat and be okay for the rest of the day, but certain things invalidate the ablution. They are: "When urine, stool, gas, blood and anything which comes out of the 2 private parts is discharged." Deep sleep. "Losing one's mind or reason by ingesting intoxicants, drugs, or for any other reason..." "Touching, with bare hands, one's own sexual organs with lust." Touching a member of the opposite sex, according to Shafi'i , see below. Hence, most Muslims perform wudu several times a day. If water is unavailable or the amount available is insufficient, one may perform tayammum, or "dry ablution." "Strike both hands lightly on pure earth, rock, or sand. Wipe the face once. Wipe the hands (to the wrists) as if you were washing them."2

This is Wikipedia's own text, saved in our repository. Their copy of it is revision 16308237.
Today
In 2005 Wikipedia's first sentence called it “important part of ritual purity in islam”. Today it says “procedure for cleansing parts of the body”. 2 sections present on 6 October 2023 are absent today. Read the current article and compare.
2005201020152020Oct '232025
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Counts in the opening at each snapshot. Green: the word gained ground. Red: it was cut. Grey: no change.

What Wikipedia says this is

Every article opens by defining its subject. This one was redefined since October 7, and today's defining sentence is their current revision.

Then

important part of ritual purity in islam

Now

procedure for cleansing parts of the body

Sections that no longer exist

Present on October 6, 2023, absent today, with no near-matching heading in the current article and the article shorter overall, so this is not a renamed heading or a topic absorbed into a fuller treatment. 2 sections of 400 characters or more gone since October 6 2023, with the article 5,951 characters shorter.

  • Performing wudu from large bodies of water
  • Performing wudu from a well
Struck red text is no longer in the article; dotted amber text was rewritten. Every revision id links to Wikipedia's copy; the text shown is our own saved copy. Data: /data. Wikipedia text is CC BY-SA; quoted for the record; not affiliated with Wikipedia.

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