Purity for prayer and the full bath (ghusl)

Taharah means purity. Before you pray, three things should be clean: your body, your clothes, and the place where you pray. You also need to be in a state of purity, which you reach with wudu, and sometimes with a full bath called ghusl. This lesson covers the basics that scholars agree on.

Indeed, Allah loves those who are constantly repentant and loves those who purify themselves.

Quran 2:222 (Saheeh International translation)

The Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, also said: "Purity is half of faith" (Sahih Muslim 223). Caring for purity is part of your worship, not a chore on the side.

Clean body, clothes, and place

Before you pray, make sure there is no impurity (najasah), such as urine or stool, on your body, your clothes, or your prayer spot. Allah says: "And your clothing purify" (Quran 74:4), meaning keep your clothes clean of impurities.

• Your body: after using the toilet, clean yourself well. The Prophet cleaned himself with water (Sahih Muslim 271), and he also allowed wiping clean with stones, which scholars extend to tissue and similar things (Sahih al-Bukhari 162 and Sahih Muslim 237).

• Your clothes: if something impure gets on them, wash that spot with water, and then you may pray in them. The Prophet told a woman whose clothes had menstrual blood on them to scrape it, rub it with water, rinse it, and then pray in it (Sahih Muslim 291). If a faint stain remains after washing, it does no harm (Sunan Abi Dawud 365).

• Your place: pray on a clean spot. When a man urinated in the Prophet's masjid and people rushed at him, the Prophet told them to leave him and simply pour a bucket of water over the spot, and said: "You were sent to make things easy and not to make them difficult." (Sahih al-Bukhari 220)

You do not need to worry about things you cannot see. Your clothes and your home are clean unless you know for sure that something impure touched them. One of the basic principles of Islamic law is that certainty is not removed by doubt.

Ghusl: the full ritual bath

Ghusl means washing your whole body with water in a set way. Allah says: "And if you are in a state of janabah, then purify yourselves." (Quran 5:6). Janabah is the state after sexual intercourse or a sexual discharge. Scholars agree that ghusl is required:

• after sexual intercourse, even without ejaculation (Sahih al-Bukhari 291 and Sahih Muslim 348);

• after a sexual discharge, including a wet dream when you find the fluid on waking. This applies to women as well as men (Sahih al-Bukhari 282 and Sahih Muslim 313);

• for a woman, when her monthly period ends (Sahih al-Bukhari 306 and Sahih Muslim 333), and when the bleeding after childbirth ends.

Being in this state is nothing shameful. Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) once slipped away from the Prophet to take a bath, because he did not want to sit with him before ghusl. The Prophet said, "Glory be to Allah," and told him that the believer never becomes impure (Sahih al-Bukhari 283 and Sahih Muslim 371). You simply take ghusl before your next prayer.

Entering Islam: when Qays ibn Asim (may Allah be pleased with him) came to the Prophet wanting to accept Islam, the Prophet told him to bathe with water and lote tree leaves (Sunan Abi Dawud 355 and Sunan al-Tirmidhi 605). Scholars differ on whether this bath is required or recommended. If you have not taken one since your shahada, it is simple: take one now.

This is how Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) described the Prophet's ghusl (Sahih al-Bukhari 248 and Sahih Muslim 316), and Maymunah (may Allah be pleased with her) described him moving aside at the end to wash his feet (Sahih al-Bukhari 276).

The essential part is that water reaches your whole body, including your hair and skin, with the intention of purifying yourself. Many scholars also count rinsing the mouth and nose as part of the essential ghusl, so include them. An ordinary shower becomes ghusl when you intend it and the water reaches your whole body in this way.

Women with braided hair do not have to undo their braids for ghusl. The Prophet told Umm Salamah (may Allah be pleased with her) that pouring three handfuls of water over her head and then pouring water over her body was enough (Sahih Muslim 330).

Tayammum: when there is no water

Allah made purification easy. If you cannot find water, or using water would harm you because of illness, you can purify yourself with clean earth instead. This is called tayammum, and it can stand in for both wudu and ghusl.

But if you are ill or on a journey or one of you comes from the place of relieving himself or you have contacted women and do not find water, then seek clean earth and wipe over your faces and hands with it. Allah does not intend to make difficulty for you, but He intends to purify you and complete His favor upon you that you may be grateful.

Quran 5:6 (Saheeh International translation)

The Prophet showed Ammar ibn Yasir (may Allah be pleased with him) how to do it: he struck the ground once with his hands, then wiped the backs of his hands and his face (Sahih al-Bukhari 347 and Sahih Muslim 368). The schools differ on small details, such as how many times to strike the ground, and your local masjid can show you its practice. When you find water again, you go back to using water (Sunan Abi Dawud 332).

Now that you know how to prepare for prayer, the next lesson teaches what to say when you bow.