The fards of a ghusl
Question: What are the fards [compulsory acts] of a ghusl [ritual washing] according to the four madhhabs?
ANSWER
In the Hanafî Madhhab:
1- To wash the mouth,
2- To wash the nose,
3- To wash every part of the body.
[It is fard to wash inside the navel, the moustache, the eyebrows, and the beard as well as the skin under them, the hair on the head. It is not fard to wash the eyes, the closed ear ring holes.]
In the Mâlikî Madhhab:
1- Niyyat [intention],
2- To wash every part of the body,
3- Dalk [to rub the washed limbs gently with the palm or with a towel],
4- Muwâlât [quickness, to wash the limbs one right after another],
5- To make khilâl [to comb it with the fingers] of the hair.
In the Shafi’î Madhhab:
1- Niyyat,
2- To wash every part of the body.
[In some religios books, it is written that the fards of a ghusl in the Shafi’î Madhhab, including cleaning the body from najâsat, are three. Since najâsat will also have been cleaned when the body is washed, it is not an inconvenience to say that the fards of a ghusl are two.
In the Hanbalî Madhhab:
The fard of a ghusl is one, namely, washing the entire body. It is the rukn of the ghusl. That is, it is the fard inside the ghusl. When beginning to perform ghusl, it is also fard to make niyyat and to say the Basmala. Because the inside of the mouth and the nose is considered to be an outer part of the body, it is fard to wash there. When these are included, the fards of the ghusl are 5:
1- To make niyyat,
2- To say the Basmala,
3- To wash the entire body,
4- To wash the inside of the mouth,
5- To wash the inside of the nose.
