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Shiavault - a Vault of Shia Islamic Books The Ritual and Spiritual Purity III. Ghusl A. Introduction Ghusl is a major ablution as opposed to wudu which is a minor ablution. In Islamic laws, ghusl is considered an act of worship; it is an act of purifying oneself from the ritual impurity (najasat) caused by sexual intercourse, discharge of semen or blood, and by touching the dead body. The ritual bath given to a dead Muslim before burial is also known as ghusl .

The ghusl for each of these causes has different names: Purification from the impurity caused by sexual intercourse or discharge of semen is known as ghusl janabat. Purification from the impurity caused by menstruation is known as ghusl hayd. Purification from the impurity caused by irregular bleeding is known as ghusl istihadah. Purification from the impurity caused by post-natal bleeding is known as ghusl nifas.

In Islamic laws, death is also considered a cause of ritual impurity of a Muslim's body. Therefore, a dead Muslim has to be washed ritually before the burial ceremony. Such a ritualistic bath for a dead Muslim is known as ghusl mayyit. Touching a dead body, before the ritualistic bath, also makes one impure (najis). Purifica­tion from this impurity is known as ghusl mass mayyit. In this chapter we shall explain the method and the general rules of ghusl .

In chapter 4, we shall discuss the rules of ghusl janabat. The ghusl s related to women have been discussed extensively in my The Ritual Ablutions for Women (Taharatu ' n-Nisa' ). B. Manner of performing Ghusl Before explaining the rules of performing the ghusl it is necessary to mention that all the ghusl s are performed in the same manner; the difference is only in the niyyat of each ghusl .

For example, for purifying oneself from the ritual impurity of sexual intercourse, one has to make the niyyat that `he is doing ghusl janabat'. Ghusl is a ritual bath; it involves washing of the whole body. There are two methods of performing ghusl . One is known as ghusl tartibi, and the other is known as ghusl irtimasi. 1. Ghusl Tartibi: “Ghusl tartibi” means an ordinal bath, performed in three stages.

After washing away the najasat (e.g., semen or blood) from the body and after niyyat, the body has to be washed in three stages: First, head down to the neck; then the right side of the body from the shoulder down to the foot; and lastly, the left side of the body. Each part should be washed thoroughly in such a way that the water reaches the skin.