Ghusl

The tradition & historical record

Ghusl (Arabic: غسل ġusl, IPA: [ˈɣʊsl]) is an Arabic term meaning full-body ritual purification, or ritual bath, which is mandatory before the performance of various Islamic activities and prayers. For any Muslim, it is performed after sexual intercourse (i.e. it is fardh), before Friday prayer and prayers for Islamic holidays, before entering the ihram in preparation for Hajj, after having lost consciousness, and after formally converting to Islam. Sunni Muslims also perform the ablution before Salat al-Tawba "Prayer of Repentance". Ghusl is often translated as "full ablution", as opposed to the "partial ablution" or wudu وضوء that Muslims perform after lesser impurities such as urination, defecation, flatulence, deep sleep, and light bleeding (depending on the madhhab). ¹

Ghusl becomes obligatory for seven causes, and the ghusl for each of these different causes has different names: ¹

Ghusl Janabat is ghusl performed after sexual intercourse/ejaculation, when someone becomes junub, or ritually impure. Ghusl Hayd is following menstruation. Ghusl Nifas is following lochia (vaginal discharge after giving birth, which can occur for up to 6 weeks after birth). Ghusl Mayyit is ghusl performed on a dead Muslim. In some denominations, two further categories obligate ghusl: ¹

Ghusl Istihada is for irregular bleeding (in women). Ghusl Mas-hil Mayyit becomes obligatory if one directly touches a dead body. Ghusl also becomes obligatory following a vow or oath to perform it. ¹

Similar to wudu, some water sources are permissible for use for ghusl whereas some water sources are not. Ghusl requires clean, odourless water that has not been used for a previous ritual and begins with the declaration of the intention of purity and worship. Permissible water sources include: ¹

Rainwater Well water Spring, sea, or river water Water of melting ice Water of a big tank or pond Ghusl is not allowed with unclean or impure water or water extracted from fruit and trees. ¹

The Quranic mandate exhorts believers not to approach praying while drowsy until after washing the entire body. The same requirement is applied to those who have had contact with a woman, are traveling, ill, or just used the toilet. This last group, if they can't find water, can wipe their hands and faces with clean dirt. The phrase translated as 'intercourse' in this verse has been interpreted by Hanafi scholars to mean sexual contact, while Shafi'i scholars interpret it to mean both physical and sexual contact. Hence, the Hanafi school of thought does not require one to take wudu if there is non-sexual contact with a member of the opposite sex, while the Shafi'i school of thought does require wudu before salah and so on. ¹

There are three farḍ (obligatory) acts. If one of these acts is omitted, it must be returned to and completed before the remaining acts. ¹

Rinsing the inner mouth (gargle with water). Irrigate nose (rinse inside of nose) with water and blowout. Washing the entire body. ¹

An optional alternate method as demonstrated by the Islamic prophet, Muhammad: ¹

Washing both hands up to the elbows. Wash the private parts and remove dirt or filth from the body (using your left hand). Perform wudu (ablution). Pour water over the head three times, and rub the hair so that the water reaches the roots of the hair. Then wash the body, ensuring the water reaches all parts, starting with the right side of the body and then the left, and rubbing it with the hands so that the water reaches the entire body. In Islam, ghusl requires the washing of the entire body. There are some differences in details between the Sunni and the Shia schools of thought. ¹

The text above is adapted from the Wikipedia article “Ghusl”, available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 licence. ¹

Ghusl is In Islam means to circulate the body with pure water, according to the structured record cited below. This entry was generated automatically from that record and has not yet been reviewed by a person familiar with the tradition. ²

The source record links this tradition to 18 external registers, which can be verified through the citation. ²