Answered by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani
I make wudu at work standing in the bathroom and will wash my feet last. Sometimes before washing my feet I dry the rest of my body and then proceed to take my shoes and socks off. I have only recently heard that one has to finish wudu whilst the limbs are still wet – i though that this was mustahaab. Has my wudu been valid if any or all of my limbs have dried before I have completed wudu? Is there a difference of opinion in this within the schools of thought?
Walaikum assalam,
The confirmed sunna is to perform the actions of the wudu consecutively. The definition of consecutively is to wash the next limb before the previous one would have dried under normal conditions. [Durr al-Mukhtar, Radd al-Muhtar]
It is recommended that no actions foreign to the wudu (such as drying off some parts of the body) intervene during the actions of the wudu.
As you know, Sidi, leaving a confirmed sunna without a reasonable excuse is blameworthy. Making it a habit to do so is sinful. Leaving something recommended is not blameworthy, but you lose reward and are leaving the best way of doing things.
And Allah alone gives success.
Wassalam,
Faraz Rabbani.