Is It Problematic to Use Soap During the Ritual Bath (Ghusl)?

Answered by SeekersGuidance Answers Service

Question: Assalam’aleykum,

1. Can i just check that if by “confirmed” we mean Sunnah Muakadah?

2. If someone washes their body with water, and then rubs and washes off soap, does this fulfill the washing and rubbing required for the ghusl?

3.If a shower is kept on whilst doing the wudhu, is this considered wastefulness? Would it be somewhat disliked or Prohibitively Disliked?

Answer: Wa alaikum assalam wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh,

I pray that you are in the best of health and faith, insha’Allah.

1. The Confirmed Sunna (sunna muakkada) is that which our Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) or the Companions did most of the time (and was not of worldly habits)

Please see: The Rulings of the Sacred Law

2. Liquids are, broadly, of two types:

– Pure and purifying, such as unconditioned water.

This may be used for purification (i.e. wudu and ghusl) as well as removing filth (najasa).

– Pure but not purifying, such as juice, tea, vinegar, etc.

This may be not be used for purification, but may still be used to remove filth according to the Hanafi school.

Detergent or soap does not affect the unconditioned nature of water in the Hanafi school. [Ala’ al-Din Abidin, Gifts of Guidance]

3. Using excessive amounts of water is wasteful. Wastefulness (israf) is blameworthy in wudu, as the sunna is to use a moderate amount of water. [`Ala’ al-Din Abidin, al-Hadiyya al-`Ala’iyya]

Avoiding wastefulness is a general command in Islam, as many hadiths explain.

The fuqaha explain that slight wastefulness is blameworthy. Excessive wastefulness is sinful. Thinking that performing an action in a wasteful manner is the sunna (or optimal way) makes it both sinful and an reprehensible innovation (bid`a).

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And Allah alone gives success.

wassalam,

SeekersGuidance Answers Service

Checked & Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani