What Can I Do About Misgivings During Ghusl?

Answered by Mawlana Ilyas Patel

Question

I have read a hadith prohibiting excessive cleaning of body parts (i.e., more than three times) during wudu. Is there a similar prohibition for Ghusl? There is a requirement that every strand (hair) and skin of the body must get wet during Ghusl. The Ghusl will not be completed if even a single strand or a small portion of skin is unwashed. If someone suffers from misgivings and therefore spends excessive time porting water over the body to ensure each area of the body is cleansed, is that prohibited? What is the Sharia guidance and ruling on this matter, and should an individual continue washing until they are completely satisfied that water has reached all areas of the body?

Answer

In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful and Compassionate

I pray you are in good faith and health. Thank you for your question.

Washing three times is sunna. If you had a reason for washing multiple times, such as stain or impurity, to get rid of, that would be fine. If, on the other hand, it was mere misgivings, then you should avoid such a practice in the future as it is unnecessary and contrary to the sunna.

[Ibn ʿAbidin , Radd al-Muhtar]

Description of the Prophet’s Ritual Bath

Maymuna (Allah be pleased with her) reported that I brought water to the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and give him peace) for his ritual bath from major impurity. He washed his hands twice or thrice, then put his right hand in the vessel and poured it over his private parts, washing it with his left hand. Then, he struck the ground with his left hand, rubbed it hard, and performed ablution for prayer. Then, he poured three handfuls of water over his head and washed the rest of his body. Then, he moved away from that place and washed his feet. I brought him a towel, but he turned it away. [Muslim]

Learn From Others

Learn from others, like your local Imam, scholars, and righteous friends in your locality, on how they perform a simple shower to an obligatory bath (ghusl).

I would like you to go through the valuable answers and links below. You will receive guidance and direction in sha Allah.

Related Answers

• The Complete Ghusl – SeekersGuidance
  The Ritual Bath (ghusl): Obligatory, Recommended, and Disliked Acts – SeekersGuidance
• Purification in Islam: A Comprehensive Reader – SeekersGuidance
• A Reader on Ritual Purity, Urine Leakage and Misgivings – SeekersGuidance
• Can You Advise Me on How to Make a Ghusl Quickly? – SeekersGuidance
• A Reader on OCD and Waswasa (Baseless Misgivings)

I would like you to go through this 2-hour long podcast. It will be highly beneficial and guide you through.

• Being Balanced – Emotional and Mental Health – Shaykh Abdul-Rahim Reasat

• Satanic Tactics: Seven Tricks of the Devil (seekersguidance.org)?

Wassalam,
[Mawlana] Ilyas Patel
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Mawlana Ilyas Patel is a traditionally-trained scholar who has studied in the UK, India, Pakistan, Syria, Jordan, and Turkey. He started his early education in the UK. He went on to complete the hifz of the Quran in India, then enrolled in an Islamic seminary in the UK, where he studied the secular and ‘Aalimiyya sciences. He then traveled to Karachi, Pakistan. He has been an Imam in Rep of Ireland for several years. He has taught hifz of the Quran, Tajwid, Fiqh, and many other Islamic sciences to children and adults onsite and online extensively in the UK and Ireland. He taught at a local Islamic seminary for 12 years in the UK, where he was a librarian and a teacher of Islamic sciences. He currently resides in the UK with his wife. His interest is a love of books and gardening.