Asalam waleakum brothers and sisters. Ghusl is an Arabic term referring to the full body ritual washing ablution required, if the adult loses the state of body cleanness prior to ablution (wuduh) for various rituals and prayers. Ghusl is mandatory for any adult Muslim after having sexual intercourse, orgasmic discharge (e.g. semen), completion of the menstrual cycle, giving birth, and death by natural causes.

Islam also recommends the performance of the full ablution before the Friday sermon prayer and Eid prayers, before entering the ehram, in preparation for hajj, after having lost consciousness, and after formally converting to Islam.

Ghusl should not be confused with wuduh, a partial ablution, that Muslims perform before salat.

The following water is allowed to be used for ghusl. • Rain water • Well water • Spring, sea or river water • Water of melting snow or hail • Water of a big tank or pond

Ghusl is not allowed with the following types of water • Unclean or impure water • Water extracted from fruit and trees • Water that has changed its color, taste or smell and becomes thick because something was soaked in it • Small quantity of water in which something unclean has fallen, e.g. urine, blood, stool or wine or some animal had died after falling into it • Used water of Wudu or Ghusl • Water left over after drinking by haraam animals, e.g. pigs or animals of prey • Water left by a person who has just drunk alcohol

In the unclean state, the following things are prohibited: • Salaat. • Touching the Holy Qur'an. • Reciting the Holy Qur'an, even without touching it. • To enter into a Mosque. • To make Tawaaf of the Holy Ka'bah. • Intercourse is not permissible; it is a great sin. • It is not permissible to remove, cut or break any nails or hair from any part of the body during the state of impurity.

The Qur'anic mandate for Ghusl comes in the forty-third ayat of sura 4 (An-Nisa (Women)):

"O ye who believe! Approach not prayers with a mind befogged, until ye can understand all that ye say,- nor in a state of ceremonial impurity (Except when travelling on the road), until after washing your whole body. If ye are ill, or on a journey, or one of you cometh from offices of nature, or ye have been in contact with women, and ye find no water, then take for yourselves clean sand or earth, and rub therewith your faces and hands. For Allah doth blot out sins and forgive again and again."

Farā'id of Ghusl

There are three fard (obligatory) acts. If one of these acts is omitted, it must be returned to and then completion of the successive acts are to be performed.

• Rinsing the inner mouth. • Sniffing water and blowing it out. • To wash the entire body in a rigorous manners making sure everywhere is wet.

Sunnah of Ghusl • Make niyyat (intention) for Ghusl within one's mind • Wash both hands • Wash the private parts • Make Wudhu • Pour water over head thrice • Pour water over right shoulder thrice • Pour water over left shoulder thrice

There is great reward in fulfilling the Sunnah acts. The Sunnah acts listed above should not be neglected or left out unnecessarily.

The MAKROOH acts of Ghusl The factors, which are makrooh in Wudhu, are also makrooh in Ghusl. Other Makrooh factors in Ghusl are: • To recite ANY dua during Ghusl • To face the Qibla is not good • Speaking unnecessarily, while nude. (NB: The Prophet (SAW) never did ghusl completely nude, he always wore a short which he lowered)

Aniyah for Ghusl 'nawaytu an aghtasilu li ghusl lil janabati li raf'il hadath' after sexual intercourse

Or

'nawaytu an aghtasilu li ghus lil haydhi li raf'il hadath' after the female cycle.

Some Masaa'il relating to Ghusl. • Do NOT face the Qibla when doing Ghusl. • Do NOT talk. • Make haste in covering the body after Ghusl if done nude • Even if a single hair remains dry then the Ghusl is NOT valid. • If one recalls that a certain part of the body was not washed then they can wash it at that time. There is no need to repeat the Ghusl. • Nail varnish, rings and other ornaments must be removed to ensure that the water reaches all places. • Any food particle stuck between the teeth MUST be removed BEFORE performing Ghusl.

Remember to cut the nails of the fingers and toes as well as removing any unwanted hair from under the armpits and under the navel. The removal of unwanted hair and nails should preferably be carried out once a week. Care should be taken that if nails/hair are left in excess of 40 days then the person will be guilty of sin.

In Islam, ghusl requires the washing of the full body. If, after Ghusl, one recalls that a certain portion of the body is left dry, it is not necessary to repeat the Ghusl, but merely wash the dry portion. It is not sufficient to pass a wet hand over the dry place. If one has forgotten to rinse the mouth or the nostrils, these too could be rinsed when recalled after Ghusl has been performed. Ghusl should be made in a place of total privacy. In another hadith, ibn Abbas stated that Maimuna said that

The Messenger of Allah (SAW) was given a towel (after ghusl), but he did not rub his body with it, but he did like this with water (i.e. he shook it off). In addition, ibn Abbas recorded the following hadith on the authority of his mother's sister.

'Ubaydullah al-Halabi narrates that someone asked Imam Muhammad al-Baqir (a.s.) about a man who performs ghusl and then finds some (doubtful) drops (on his private part) while he had already urinated before performing the ghusl. (That is, should he consider the drops as urine or semen?) The Imam said,

"He will just have to do wudu (for his salat). But if he had not passed urine before the ghusl, then he must repeat the ghusl." (Wasa'il, vol. 1, p. 517. )

This rule of istibra' applies only to men. Sulayman bin Khalid asked Imam Muhammad al-Baqir (a.s.) about a man who became ritually impure because of sexual intercourse and then performed ghusl without urinating. Then some drops came out of him . The Imam said, "He must repeat the ghusl." Sulayman: "What if similar drops come out of a woman after she has performed ghusl?" The Imam said, "She does not have to repeat the ghusl . " Sulayman: "What is the difference between the two?" The Imam said, "(A woman does not have to repeat ghusl janabat) because what comes out of her is certainly from the (remnants of the) discharge of man." (Wasa'il, vol. 1, p. 482.)

Many thanks to @rawqeebat, @mz_tosyn, @laToun, @smugdisguise, @adexdot72 and @rebelliousXIV for their time and input into this post. Jazak Allah Khayr.

Video link on how to do Ghusl with illustrations

And Allah knows best.

May Allah forgive me if I am wrong and guide us to the right path…Ameen.

.سُبْحَانَ رَبِّكَ رَبِّ الْعِزَّةِ عَمَّا يَصِفُون َ ; وَسَلامٌ عَلَى الْمُرْسَلِينَ ; وَالْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ