Article How to perform a ghusl

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How to perform a ghuslQuestion: How to perform a ghusl as prescribed in the sunnat?
ANSWER
It is very easy to perform a ghusl. After having washed the mouth and the nose, if one dives into the sea, into a lake, or wets one’s body thoroughly under the shower, then one will have performed a ghusl. It will be in accordance with the sunnat if one performs an ablution first, and then washes the whole body.Niyyat [intention] for a ghusl is sunnat in the Hanafî Madhhab but fard in the other madhhabs. If a person forgets to make niyyat when performing a ghusl, the ghusl will be valid.
When performing a ghusl, one says the Basmala. Also, it will be good if one says the Kalima-i shahâdat. To perform a ghusl as prescribed in the sunnat, we must first wash both of our hands and private parts even if they may be clean. Then, if there is any najâsat [substances which Islâm prescribes as dirty] on our body, we must wash it away. Then we must perform a complete ablution by intending for the ghusl. Then, we must pour water on our entire body three times. To do this, we must pour it on our head three times first, then on our right shoulder three times and then on the left shoulder three times. Each time, the part on which we pour water must become completely wet. We must also rub it gently during the first pouring. In a ghusl, it is permissible to pour the water on one limb so as to make it flow onto another limb, which, in this case, will be cleaned, too. For, in a ghusl, the whole body is counted as one limb. But when performing an ablution, if the water poured on one limb moistens another limb, the second limb will not be considered to have been washed. When a ghusl is completed, it is makrûh [improper, disliked or abstained by the Prophet] to perform an ablution again, but it will become necessary to perform an ablution again if it is broken while making a ghusl. While performing a ghusl, if one’s ablution is broken, it does not affect the ghusl. But one has to make a new ablution to perform a namâz [ritual prayer].

While making a ghusl, it is not appropriate to soap oneself or to get rubbed with a coarce bath-glove. You should wash the dirt after or before the performance of the ghusl. It is not proper to perform both of them at the same time, and also one will have used more than the necessary amount of water for the ghusl, which is makrûh. In the Mâlikî Madhhab, if it poses an obstacle to muwâlât, i.e. washing the limbs one right after another, the ghusl will not be valid.

When having a shower, one should make a ghusl first. Then one should wash oneself for cleaning the dirt. While washing oneself to clean the dirt, it is not an inconvenience to use necessary amount of much water.

During the performance of the ghusl, if things nullifying the ablution (e.g. if blood or urine issues, or if one breaks wind) occur, one carries on the ghusl. For a thing that nullifies an ablution does not nullify a ghusl. However, one cannot perform a namâz with this ablution, so one has to make an ablution later.

Ghusl and extravagance
Question: Is it extravagance to use more than the necessary amount of water when performing an ablution and a ghusl?
ANSWER
Yes. However, it is not an inconvenience to wash oneself before or after the ghusl in order to clean the dirt.
Waswasa
Question: I am a person overwhelmed by waswasas. Despite taking great care, if there is any dry place on my body during an ablution and ghusl, or if I forget to make the sajda-i sahw, or if I forget to perform such things, if I eat or drink as a result of forgetfulness during fasting, if I miss a prayer time by forgetting, and if I do not make qadâ of it for being unable to remember, what will be my state in the Hereafter?
ANSWER
In our religion, it is an excuse to forget. It does not break your fast to eat or drink by forgetting, and it does not necessitate making qadâ of it. Also, It is not a sin to miss a prayer time due to forgetfulness.

If there is any dry place on our body during the ghusl and ablution, it is not an inconvenience as we do not know. It is not necessary to wash over and over in case there is any dry place. These are waswasas; it is a sin to have these kinds of waswasas.

Talking while performing ghusl
Question: Is it an inconvenience to talk during the ghusl?
ANSWER
It is an act of sunnat not to talk during the ghusl. One should not talk if there is no necessity.

Performing it at some other place
Question: In the book Endless Bliss, it is written: “When a ghusl is completed, it is makrûh to perform an ablution again. It is permissible to perform it at some other place even if it has not been broken.” What is meant by “to perform it at some other place”?
ANSWER
It means that you should perform an ablution not at the place where you have performed the ghusl, but at a washbasin which is in any other place. If it is done so, it will not become makrûh.

Washing the feet again after the ghusl
Question: Is it necessary to wash the feet again after the ghusl?
ANSWER
If water accumulates under the feet, it is necessary to wash them again. But, if water does not accumulate, then it is not necessary to wash them again