No prayer without purification

Allah does not accept a prayer offered without wudu.

Narrated by Abdullah ibn Umar

Allah does not accept a prayer without purification, nor charity from stolen wealth.

Sahih Muslim 224

What this hadith teaches

Wudu is a condition of prayer. A prayer without it is not valid, however long or beautiful.

Reference and grade

Grade
Sahih (in Sahih Muslim)
Narrator
Abdullah ibn Umar

The hadith in Arabic نص الحديث

لاَ تُقْبَلُ صَلاَةٌ بِغَيْرِ طُهُورٍ وَلاَ صَدَقَةٌ مِنْ غُلُولٍ ‏"‏ ‏.‏ وَكُنْتَ عَلَى الْبَصْرَةِ

Arabic text of Sahih Muslim 224, as given on sunnah.com.