Question: Should a woman, when performing ghusl for janabah, wet the hair of her head, or will her ghusl be valid even if she does not wet it? Please clarify this matter in the light of the hadiths in such a way that no ambiguity remains, and also explain the Prophetic method of ghusl, in which there is no room for addition or reduction.
Answer: Umm Salamah (may Allah be pleased with her) narrates, she says:
قلت : يا رسول الله إني امراة اشد ضفر راسي افانقضه لغسل الجنابة ؟ قال : لا إنما يكفيك ان تحثين على راسك ثلاث حثيات من ماء، ثم تفيضين على سائر جسدك الماء فتطهرين او قال : ” فإذا انت قد تطهرت
I said: “O Messenger of Allah! I am a woman who ties her braids tightly. Should I untie them for the ghusl of janabah?” The Prophet ﷺ said: “No, it is enough for you that you pour three handfuls of water over your head, then pour water over the rest of your body, and you will be purified,” or he said: “Then you have truly purified yourself.”
From this sahih hadith it is known that a woman has the concession to not untie her braids for menstruation and janabah. The actual purpose is to make the water reach the roots of the hair, because in the ghusl of janabah it is obligatory that all the hair be wet; if some hair remains dry, the ghusl will not be valid.
In the hadith of Sahih Muslim there is: افانقضه للحيضة والجنابة “Should I untie my braids for menstruation and janabah?” From this it is known that whether it is the ghusl of menstruation or of janabah, the aim is to make the water reach the roots of the hair; the woman has been given the concession not to untie her braids. In a hadith of Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) there is:
ثم تصب على راسها فتدلكه دلكا شديدا حتي تبلغ شؤون راسها
“Then she pours water over her head and rubs it thoroughly until the water reaches the roots of the hair.”
From these sahih hadiths it is known that in the ghusl for menstruation or janabah, the woman is permitted by the Shariah not to untie the hair of her head, but she must make the water reach the roots of the hair; wetting the hair is necessary. As for the Prophetic method of ghusl, the hadiths for it are as follows:
عن عائشة زوج النبى صلى الله عليه وسلم، ان النبى صلى الله عليه وسلم كان إذا اغتسل من الجنابة بدا فغسل يديه، ثم يتوضا كما يتوضا للصلاة، ثم يدخل اصابعه فى الماء فيخلل بها اصول شعره، ثم يصب على راسه ثلاث غرف بيديه، ثم يفيض الماء على جلده كله .
“The respected wife of the Prophet ﷺ, Aishah al-Siddiqah (may Allah be pleased with her), narrates that when the Prophet ﷺ performed ghusl for janabah, he would first wash both his hands, then perform wudu’ as for prayer, then insert his fingers into the water and comb through the roots of his hair with them, then pour three handfuls of water over his head with his hands, then pour water over all his skin.”
In the hadith of Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) in Sunan Abi Dawud and others, after washing both hands, there is also mention of فيغسل فرجه (i.e., washing his private part). Likewise, after the combing of the hair, there is mention of حتى إذا راي انہ قد اصاب البشرة وانقي البشرة, that is, he would comb his hair until, when he thought that the water had reached the skin or had cleansed it, he would pour water three times over his head.
عن ميمونة زوج النبى صلى الله عليه وسلم، قالت : توضا رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم وضوءه للصلاة غير رجليه، وغسل فرجه وما اصابه من الاذى، ثم افاض عليه الماء، ثم نحى رجليه فغسلهما هذه غسله من الجنابة
The respected wife of the Prophet ﷺ, Maymunah (may Allah be pleased with her), says: “The Messenger of Allah ﷺ performed wudu’ as for prayer, except that he did not wash his feet, and he washed his private part and whatever impurity was on him, then he poured water over himself, then he moved from his place and washed his two feet. This was the Prophet’s ghusl of janabah.” In this narration there is some transposition: he used to wash his private part and the place of impurity before wudu’. From this narration it is also known that the letter waw does not indicate sequence. Maymunah (may Allah be pleased with her) says:
صببت للنبي صلى الله عليه وسلم غسلا، فافرغ بيمينه على يساره فغسلهما، ثم غسل فرجه، ثم قال : بيده الارض فمسحها بالتراب ثم غسلها، ثم تمضمض واستنشق، ثم غسل وجهه وافاض على راسه، ثم تنحى فغسل قدميه، ثم اتي بمنديل فلم ينفض بها
“I placed water for the ghusl of the Prophet ﷺ, and he first poured water with his right hand over his left, and washed both his hands; then he washed his private part; then he rubbed his hand on the ground and cleaned it with earth, then washed it; then he rinsed his mouth and put water into his nose; then he washed his face and poured water over his head; then he moved aside and washed his two feet. Then a towel was brought to him, but he did not use it to dry himself with the water.”
In the hadith of Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) there is mention of performing wudu’ like that for prayer before the ghusl. In the hadith of Maymunah (may Allah be pleased with her) there is no mention of wiping the head, while the wudu’ is described in detail. Likewise, there is a hadith from Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her), who relates:
ثم يغسل يديه ثلاثا ويستنشق ويمضمض ويغسل وجهه وذراعيه ثلاثا ثلاثا، حتى إذا بلغ راسه لم يمسح وافرغ عليه الماء . فهكذا كان غسل رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم
“After washing the private part, he would then wash both his hands three times, put water into his nose and rinse his mouth, and wash his face and arms three times each, until when he reached his head he did not wipe it, and he poured water over it. That was the ghusl of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.”
Allamah Sindhi لم يمسح under it writes:
قد سبق أنه كان يتوضا وضوء اللصلوة فإما أن يقال ذلك عموم يخص بهذا أو يقال له تارة يفعل هذا و تارة ذاك لبيان الجواز
“It has already passed in a hadith that he performed wudu’ as for prayer. It may be said that this hadith is general, and it has been specified by this hadith (meaning, the generality of wudu’ includes wiping, but this hadith specifies that there is no wiping, since it is specific in negating wiping). Or it may be said that he sometimes did this and sometimes that, and he did it to show that both are permissible (i.e., both ways are allowed).”
Thus it is known that before performing the ghusl of janabah, the semen and other matter on the body should be cleaned, the private part should be washed, then the hands should be properly cleaned, and wudu’ should be performed as for prayer; then water should be taken and made to reach the roots of the hair, and then water should be poured over the whole body. In this way the ghusl of janabah is complete.
