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Do I Need To Remember Washing Every Part Of My Body During Ghusl?
Is doing so mandatory or can I be reasonably confident that I have washed everything?
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19 Replies
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Do I Need To Remember Washing Every Part Of My Body During Ghusl?
updated 1 year, 10 months ago
2 Members
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19
Replies
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Ghusal needs to be done in a thorough and complete manner. This doesn’t mean you need to remember washing every part, you just need to make sure that you took a proper shower.
Please see:
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JazakAllah. Yeah, I spend a lot of time cleaning myself thoroughly, but the problem is that I have problems with my memory and forget things easily. But I still have confidence that I did wash all body parts.
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If you by nature do it thoroughly then you don’t need to indulge yourself in doubts.
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JazakAllah.
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Sorry Mr. Umer Qureshi, I just want to clarify a point. So, even if during ghusl, I have a doubt with regards to whether I washed a certain part of the body, so long as I’m washing myself thoroughly I can carry on with ghusl, ignore that doubt and refrain from washing the body part over which I have this doubt?
Is it the same for wudu?
JazakAllah
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Yes.
When you’re certain about these things only then you should redo it, otherwise mere doubts must be ignored, otherwise these doubts start turning into OCD in no time.
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JazakAllah Mr. Umer Qureshi. And this is a principle that everyone should follow? I mean to say it’s not only something that someone who is normally doubtful should keep in mind?
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Correct.
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Asalamualaikum Mr. Umer Qureshi,
Sometimes when I am performing ghusl, I get lost in thought and then I start questioning myself if I washed a part of my body. In this case, should I continue to adopt the approach that unless I am certain of missing this body part, I should not wash it again?
JazakAllah
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Yes, follow the same approch and maintain consistency in implementing it in every situation.
In case of repeated tasks, which we are attuned to in our daily life, we are ought to do them properly even if our attention is diverted somewhere else. So unless you have a certain reason to believe that you skipped some part, you shouldn’t bother about attention deficit in such tasks.
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JazakAllah Mr. Umer Qureshi,
1.a) And I should keep the same point in mind for wudu too, right? Even if I get lost in thought (although this doesn’t typically happen for wudu)?
1.b) Sometimes I know I’ll have washed the hand, but then I start doubting whether water reached the entire hand. But still, I should be certain that the entire hand has not been washed, right?
2.) Let’s say I read a scholar’s opinion on what to do when one is unsure of washing a body part during wudu/ghusl. In this case, I’m not obligated to follow what they’re saying because it wouldn’t be a shariae ruling, correct? Because shariah doesn’t give rulings on such matters? Am I right? JazakAllah.
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1.b) is also pertaining to wudu by the way!
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1.(a & b) Correct
2.) There’s no harm in listening to their arguments and assess them accordingly. Whether it is faqh based ruling or not, and if yes, then what is the basis of their conclusion. If one finds such basis logical and reasonable and in line with principles laid down in Quran and Sunnah, then one should follow it. And if its otherwise, then one can simply ignore that. But you’e right, Sharia doesn’t do into detail regarding such matters, and they have mostly been left to the intellect and nature of human beings.
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JazakAllah Mr. Umer Qureshi!
I’m not totally confidence about my understanding of the principles laid down in Quran and Sunnah yet, so can I just use some of the points that you’ve mentioned to me to guide myself? For example, (1) there is no hardship in religion, and that (2) we should not doubt that we are doing things that we do on a daily basis incorrectly unless proven otherwise.
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Both points are correct.
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Asalamualaikum Mr. Umer Qureshi,
I just want to go back to a discussion we had here.
I asked you: “Sometimes when I am performing ghusl, I get lost in thought and then I start questioning myself if I washed a part of my body. In this case, should I continue to adopt the approach that unless I am certain of missing this body part, I should not wash it again?”
And you replied, “Yes, follow the same approch and maintain consistency in implementing it in every situation.
In case of repeated tasks, which we are attuned to in our daily life, we are ought to do them properly even if our attention is diverted somewhere else. So unless you have a certain reason to believe that you skipped some part, you shouldn’t bother about attention deficit in such tasks.”
Logically, what you told me makes a lot of sense, and has also made life a lot easier for me, Alhamdullilah. However, a question came to mind.
When it comes to “repeated tasks, which are attuned to in our daily life”, should I still ignore doubts even if there is a variation in how I perform these tasks? For example, if I wash my face differently during wudu one day. Or, if I perform istinja a bit differently one day after relieving myself, where – in addition to normal washing – I wash beyond that area that normal washing covers as a result of detecting impurity somewhere which I believe normal washing will not be able to clean. In these cases, should a person still ignore doubts about not having washed themselves properly? And if yes, is it because in spite of the variation in how I am washing, the act of washing in of itself is still something that I encounter on a regular basis? Similarly washing with an objective, whether that be washing an entire arm or washing away impurity – these are things that I am innately aware of how to perform and will do properly in a general sense. So, I should ignore doubts in this case too even if the ‘variation’ I adopt is something different and not regularly part of my life? And I’m asking if this is a principle that everyone should follow, and not just someone like me who has lots of doubts.
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You have answered your question yourself i.e. ‘Act of Washing is regular, innate sense of washing and cleanliness etc irrespective of the variation‘.
Usually in such matters we shouldn’t bound people on how to pursue them, but when it comes to doubts then it becomes imperative to laydown some basic principles to follow so that minimum requirements of cleanliness are fulfilled without any undue hardship at the end of the person.
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JazakAllah Mr. Umer Qureshi,
Do you mind elaborating a little bit on the second paragraph?
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Such matters when left to human nature are conducted seamlessly most of the times without any major difficulty on their part like a part of their normal course of events.
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