❖ Ruling on Wiping the Head During Wudu in Ghusl (Bath) ❖
📚 Source: Fatāwā ʿIlmiyyah, Vol. 1, Kitāb al-ʿAqāʾid, p. 209
❖ Question
What is the ruling on wiping the head during wudu (ablution) when performing ghusl (ritual bath)? Is it necessary?
❖ Answer
Alḥamdulillāh, and peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah. To proceed:
➊ Evidence: Omission of Head Wiping in Ghusl
It is preferable not to wipe the head when performing wudu as part of ghusl.
📖 Proof from Hadith:
Narrated in Sunan al-Nasāʾī:
“حَتَّى إِذَا بَلَغَ رَأْسَهُ لَمْ يَمْسَحْ“
“When the Prophet ﷺ reached his head (during ghusl), he did not wipe it.”
(Sunan al-Nasāʾī, Vol. 1, p. 205–206, Ḥadīth 422, Bāb Tark Masḥ al-Raʾs fī al-Wuḍūʾ min al-Janābah – Ḥadīth is Ṣaḥīḥ Gharīb)
➋ Washing of the Feet After Ghusl
Authentic narrations also show that feet were washed at the end of ghusl, not necessarily as part of wudu.
📖 Imām Ibn Ḥajar al-ʿAsqalānī رحمه الله states:
“None of the narrations regarding ghusl from janābah mention wiping of the head.”
(Fatḥ al-Bārī, 1/363, under Ḥadīth 259)
➌ Opinion of Imām Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal and the Mālikī School
✔ Imām Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal رحمہ الله was also of the view that there is no need to wipe the head during wudu performed as part of ghusl from janābah.
📘 (See: Masāʾil Abī Dāwūd, p. 19, Bāb al-Junub wa al-Ḥāʾiḍ)
✔ The Mālikī madhhab holds a similar position — no need to perform masḥ (wiping) of the head in this specific case.
➍ Conclusion
✅ There is no need to wipe the head during wudu that is performed as part of ghusl.
✅ Washing the face, arms, and feet is sufficient.
✅ Washing the feet at the end of ghusl is mustaḥabb (recommended), as supported by several authentic reports.
وَاللّٰهُ أَعْلَمُ بِالصَّوَابِ
