What Is Required During Ghusl if Retracting the Foreskin Is Difficult?
Hanafi Fiqh
Answered by Mawlana Ilyas Patel
Question
I’m a 19-year-old Hanafi convert. I learned I must retract my foreskin during ghusl to clean properly. During my last ghusl, I struggled to do so, finding it hard physically and psychologically.
After multiple attempts, I retracted and cleaned the glans, but couldn’t reach deeper folds at the base due to discomfort.
Is my ghusl valid given these difficulties? Is cleaning the deeper skin necessary? How should I approach this going forward?
Answer
In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful and Compassionate.
The washing of your inner glans to the best of your ability will be fine. It is not necessary to clean the deeper inner layers. Water can naturally seep in.
As a general ruling, in your case, you don’t need to be circumcised, although you are encouraged to do so. You just need to ensure that you wash reasonably well under the foreskin, so that no impurities remain. When you do this, your wudu or ghusl will be valid.
As it is an area that is sensitive, except with significant difficulty, pain, or the risk of harm, do what is reasonable and leave it at that. Allah Most High says: “Allah does not burden a soul beyond its capacity.” [Qur’an 2:286]
For a ghusl to be valid, the following eleven things must be washed:
- The mouth.
- The inside of the nose.
- The entire body, at least once.
- The inside of the foreskin, if it can be pulled back without difficulty.
- The navel.
- The inside of any body piercing that has not closed up.
- Under braided hair for a man; for a woman with braided hair, this is not required as long as the water reaches the roots of the hair.
- The skin beneath the beard.
- The skin beneath the mustache.
- The skin beneath the eyebrows.
- The external private parts.
[Tahtawi/Shurunbulali, Hashiyat Maraqi al-Falah]
And the basic ruling is that circumcision is a Sunnah, as indicated in the hadith. It is one of the distinguishing symbols (sha’a’ir) of Islam and one of its distinctive characteristics.
If the people of an entire town were to abandon it collectively, the ruler would compel its observance as a public symbol of Islam. Therefore, it should not be left unless there is a valid excuse. The excuse of an elderly man who cannot bear it is an obvious example. [Ibn Abidin, Radd al-Muhtar]
One should not feel inferior for not being circumcised due to age. You are as normal as anyone else and can practice and do what others can do. Always avoid excessive scrutiny, especially in matters of purification, because water, due to its natural flow, can reach and wash reasonably well.
And Allah knows best.
[Mawlana] Ilyas Patel
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani
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What Is the Proper Method of Performing the Ritual Bath (Ghusl)? -Note that if one were to only rinse their mouth, their nose, and make water reach every part of their outer body, the ghusl is valid.
Mawlana Ilyas Patel has received traditional education in various countries. He started his schooling in the UK and completed his hifz of the Quran in India. After that, he joined an Islamic seminary in the UK, where he studied secular and Aalimiyya sciences. Later, he traveled to Karachi, Pakistan, and other Middle Eastern countries to further his education. Mawlana has served as an Imam in the Republic of Ireland for several years and taught the Quran and other Islamic sciences to both children and adults. He also worked as a teacher and librarian at a local Islamic seminary in the UK for 12 years. Presently, he lives in the UK with his wife and is interested in books and gardening.
