Ghusl
Definition
Ghusl is the ritual bath that purifies the entire body from major ritual impurity (janaba), which is incurred by marital relations, nocturnal emission, or the end of menstruation and postnatal bleeding. Al-Ghazali presents ghusl as one of the most vivid physical symbols in Islamic worship: the complete immersion or complete washing of every part of the body mirrors the total renewal that the believer seeks after states that, even when lawful, carry a kind of heaviness that must be lifted before standing before Allah. The purity that results is the condition for prayer, Quran recitation, and entering the mosque.
As understood in the classical tradition of Imam al-Ghazali and the scholars of his school.
How the scholars use Ghusl.
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"In minor ablution, there are two opinions, the stronger of which is that they are also obligatory. One cannot pray with this ghusl unless he intends both ghusl and ablution, as the rest of the ablution acts are included in the ghusl due to the intention. Without intention, ablution is not achieved and prayer is not valid, as the Prophet, peace be upon him, said, There is no prayer for one who does not have ablution."
— Shaykh Abd al-Qadir al-Jilani, Al-Ghunya li-Ṭālibī Ṭarīq al-Ḥaqq — Volume One
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"When the Prophet, peace be upon him, was pleased with something, he would say, "Labbayk, indeed the life is the life of the Hereafter." The third section on the etiquettes of entering Mecca for tawaf includes six points. First, to perform ghusl (ablution) at Dhu Tuwa before entering Mecca. The recommended ghusls in Hajj are nine: first for ihram at the miqat, then for entering Mecca, then for tawaf of arrival, then for standing at Arafat, then standing at Muzdalifah, then three ghusls for stoning the three Jamarat (and no ghusl for stoning Jamrat al-Aqabah), then for the farewell tawaf."
— Imam al-Ghazali, Book 7: The Mysteries of Pilgrimage
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"Mujahid said: Whoever can ensure that he sleeps only in a state of purity, while remembering and seeking forgiveness from Allah, let him do so. For souls are resurrected in the state in which they were seized. How to Perform Ghusl (Full Ablution) To perform ghusl, begin by setting the vessel to your right side and mentioning the Name of Allah Almighty. Wash your hands three times, then perform istinja, which is the cleansing of the private parts."
— Imam al-Ghazali, Book 3: The Book of Purification
Appears in
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