| Author: Reza Razi | Date: 2015-12-26 |
Is it permissible to perform prayer with ghusl of Friday and other obligatory or recommended ghusls[1]?
What is the ruling on performing wudu[2] after ghusl of janabah or ghusls that suffice for wudu? Is it useless?
| Answer to question: 1 | Date: 2015-12-29 |
The truth is that ghusl of janabah suffices for prayer, and there is no need after it to perform wudu, and this is based on the Book of God that has said: ﴿يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا لَا تَقْرَبُوا الصَّلَاةَ وَأَنْتُمْ سُكَارَى حَتَّى تَعْلَمُوا مَا تَقُولُونَ وَلَا جُنُبًا إِلَّا عَابِرِي سَبِيلٍ حَتَّى تَغْتَسِلُوا﴾[3]; “O you who believed! Do not approach prayer when you are drunk until you know what you say, and nor in a state of major impurity, unless you are passing through, until you perform ghusl”; in view of the fact that He has considered performing ghusl an end to the prohibition of approaching prayer during janabah, which means it is permissible to approach prayer after performing ghusl of janabah, and therefore, it is not obligatory to perform wudu for prayer after performing ghusl of janabah, but rather it is considered achieving what is already achieved.
But does ghusl of other than janabah suffice for prayer? The truth is that it does; because the impurity caused by janabah is greater than the impurity caused by anything else, and if its ghusl suffices for prayer, then a fortiori ghusl of other than it will suffice, and this is the saying of the Ahl al-Bayt of the Prophet, peace and blessings of God be upon him and his family, the saying of many companions and followers, and the saying of Mansoor Hashemi Khorasani; as one of our companions informed us, he said:
«سَمِعْتُ الْمَنْصُورَ الْهَاشِمِيَّ الْخُرَاسَانِيَّ يَقُولُ: الْغُسْلُ الْوُضُوءُ الْأَكْبَرُ، قُلْتُ: إِنَّهُمْ يَقُولُونَ لَا يُجْزِي عَنِ الْوُضُوءِ إِلَّا الْغُسْلُ مِنَ الْجَنَابَةِ! قَالَ: سُبْحَانَ اللَّهِ! أَيُجْزِي الْغُسْلُ مِنَ الْجَنَابَةِ، وَلَا يُجْزِي الْغُسْلُ مِنَ الْحَدَثِ الْأَصْغَرِ؟! أَفَلَا يَعْقِلُونَ؟!»; “I heard Mansoor Hashemi Khorasani say: Ghusl is the greater wudu. I said: They say that it does not suffice for wudu unless (it is) ghusl of janabah! He said: Glory be to God! Does ghusl of janabah suffice and ghusl of a smaller impurity does not suffice?! So do they not use the intellect?!”
Therefore, performing wudu after performing ghusl is useless, but rather adherence to it is considered an innovation and obsession; as one of our companions informed us, he said:
«سَمِعْتُ الْعَالِمَ يَقُولُ: الْوُضُوءُ بَعْدَ الْغُسْلِ بِدْعَةُ الْمُتَكَلِّفِينَ»; “I heard the scholar say: performing wudu after performing ghusl is the innovation of pretenders”.
Yes, there is nothing wrong with performing wudu before performing ghusl; as one of our companions informed us, he said:
«كُنْتُ أَتَوَضَّأُ بَعْدَ الْغُسْلِ لِمَا أَجِدُ فِي نَفْسِي، فَأَرَدْتُ أَنْ أَسْأَلَهُ فَنَسِيتُ، فَلَمَّا دَخَلْتُ عَلَيْهِ قَالَ لِي: لَعَلَّكَ تَتَوَضَّأُ بَعْدَ الْغُسْلِ! قُلْتُ: نَعَمْ، وَأَرَدْتُ أَنْ أَسْأَلَكَ فَنَسِيتُ! قَالَ: فَلَا تَفْعَلْ، فَإِنْ أَبَيْتَ إِلَّا أَنْ تَفْعَلَ، فَتَوَضَّأْ قَبْلَ الْغُسْلِ لَا بَعْدَهُ، فَإِنَّ الْوُضُوءَ بَعْدَ الْغُسْلِ إِسْرَافٌ، وَإِنَّ اللَّهَ لَا يُحِبُّ الْمُسْرِفِينَ»; “I used to perform wudu after performing ghusl because of what I found in my heart, so I wanted to ask His Excellency about it, but I forgot, then when I came to him, he said to me: Perhaps you perform wudu after performing ghusl! I said: Yes, and I wanted to ask you, but I forgot! He said: Do not (do so), and if you do not want (to do anything) other than that, then perform wudu before performing ghusl, not after it; because performing wudu after performing ghusl is an act of wasting, and God does not like the wasteful”.
Rather, the truth is that performing wudu before performing every ghusl is recommended, except for ghusl of janabah, and this is the meaning of Hadiths that say: «كُلُّ غُسْلٍ قَبْلَهُ وُضُوءٌ إِلَّا غُسْلُ الْجَنَابَةِ»[4]; “There shall be wudu before every ghusl except for ghusl of janabah”; as one of our companions informed us, he said:
«أَتَيْتُ الْمَنْصُورَ قَبْلَ الزَّوَالِ مِنْ يَوْمِ الْجُمُعَةِ لِأُصَاحِبَهُ إِلَى الصَّلَاةِ، فَقَالَ لِي: تَرَبَّصْ سَاعَةً حَتَّى أَغْتَسِلَ لِيَوْمِ الْجُمُعَةِ، فَلَمْ أَزَلْ مَشْغُولًا مُنْذُ أَصْبَحْتُ، فَذَهَبَ إِلَى الْمُتَوَضَّئِ فَتَوَضَّأَ وُضُوءَ الصَّلَاةِ، ثُمَّ ذَهَبَ إِلَى الْمُغْتَسَلِ، فَقُلْتُ لَهُ: جُعِلْتُ فِدَاكَ، أَغُسْلٌ بَعْدَ الْوُضُوءِ؟! قَالَ: وَمَا يَمْنَعُنِي مِنْ ذَلِكَ؟! هَلْ هُوَ إِلَّا نُورٌ عَلَى نُورٍ؟! ثُمَّ دَخَلَ الْمُغْتَسَلَ وَأَغْلَقَ الْبَابَ، فَنَادَانِي مِنْ وَرَاءِ الْبَابِ: إِلَّا غُسْلَ الْجَنَابَةِ! إِلَّا غُسْلَ الْجَنَابَةِ!»; “I came to Mansoor before midday on Friday to accompany him in going to prayer, then he said to me: Wait an hour so that I perform ghusl for Friday, for I have been constantly busy since morning. Then he went to the place of wudu and performed wudu of prayer; then he went to the place of ghusl, so I said: May I be sacrificed for you, ghusl after wudu?! He said: What prevents me from it? Is it anything but a light upon another light?! Then he entered the place of ghusl and closed the door, then he called to me from behind the door: Except for ghusl of janabah! Except for ghusl of janabah!”
| Appendix Number: 1 | Appendix Author: Sa‘id Qaderi | Appendix Date: 2019-07-31 |
Please explain more about the sufficiency of ghusl for wudu. Is it correct to perform prayer with every ghusl? That is, can we intend to perform ghusl every time we bathe and then perform prayer without wudu?
| Answer to appendix: 1 | Date: 2019-08-04 |
There are many narrations about the sufficiency of ghusl for wudu; such as the narration of Aisha, in which it has been said: «إِنَّ النَّبِيَّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَآلِهِ وَسَلَّمَ كَانَ لَا يَتَوَضَّأُ بَعْدَ الْغُسْلِ»[1]; “The Prophet, peace and blessings of God be upon him and his family, would not perform wudu after ghusl”, and her other narration in which it has been said: «كَانَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَآلِهِ وَسَلَّمَ يَغْتَسِلُ وَيُصَلِّي الرَّكْعَتَيْنِ وَيُصَلِّي الْغَدَاةَ وَلَا أَرَاهُ يُحْدِثُ وُضُوءًا بَعْدَ الْغُسْلِ»[2]; “The Messenger of God, peace and blessings of God be upon him and his family, used to perform ghusl, perform two rak‘ats of prayer, and then perform morning prayer, and I did not see him performing wudu after ghusl”, and the narration of Anas and ibn Abbas from the Messenger of God, peace and blessings of God be upon him and his family, in which it has been said: «لَيْسَ مِنَّا مَنْ تَوَضَّأَ بَعْدَ الْغُسْلِ»[3]; “Whoever performs wudu after ghusl is not from us”, and the narration of ibn Umar, in which it has been said: «إِنَّ النَّبِيَّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَآلِهِ وَسَلَّمَ سُئِلَ عَنِ الْوُضُوءِ بَعْدَ الْغُسْلِ، فَقَالَ: وَأَيُّ وُضُوءٍ أَفْضَلُ مِنَ الْغُسْلِ؟!»[4]; “They asked the Prophet, peace and blessings of God be upon him and his family, about wudu after ghusl, so he said: Which wudu is better than ghusl?!”, and the narration of Muhammad ibn Muslim from Abu Ja‘far Muhammad ibn Ali al-Baqir, peace be upon him, in which it has been said: «الْغُسْلُ يُجْزِي عَنِ الْوُضُوءِ، وَأَيُّ وُضُوءٍ أَطْهَرُ مِنَ الْغُسْلِ؟!»[5]; “Ghusl suffices for wudu, and which wudu is purer than ghusl?!”, and the narration of Ammar al-Sabati, in which it has been said: «سُئِلَ أَبُو عَبْدِ اللَّهِ -يَعْنِي جَعْفَرَ بْنَ مُحَمَّدٍ الصَّادِقَ- عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ عَنِ الرَّجُلِ إِذَا اغْتَسَلَ مِنْ جَنَابَتِهِ، أَوْ يَوْمَ جُمُعَةٍ، أَوْ يَوْمَ عِيدٍ، هَلْ عَلَيْهِ الْوُضُوءُ قَبْلَ ذَلِكَ أَوْ بَعْدَهُ؟ فَقَالَ: لَا، لَيْسَ عَلَيْهِ قَبْلُ وَلَا بَعْدُ، قَدْ أَجْزَأَهُ الْغُسْلُ، وَالْمَرْأَةُ مِثْلُ ذَلِكَ إِذَا اغْتَسَلَتْ مِنْ حَيْضٍ أَوْ غَيْرِ ذَلِكَ، فَلَيْسَ عَلَيْهَا الْوُضُوءُ لَا قَبْلُ وَلَا بَعْدُ، قَدْ أَجْزَأَهَا الْغُسْلُ»[6]; “They asked Abu Abdullah (al-Sadiq), peace be upon him, about a man who performs ghusl of janabah, or on Friday, or on the day of Eid, does he have to perform wudu before or after it? He said: No, he does not have to do so before or after it, ghusl is sufficient for him, and this is the case for a woman as well; whenever she performs ghusl of menstruation or anything else, she does not have to perform wudu, neither before nor after it, ghusl is sufficient for her”, and the narration of Sulayman ibn Khalid from Abu Ja‘far al-Baqir and the narration of Abdullah ibn Sulayman from Abu Abdullah al-Sadiq, peace be upon them, in which it has been said: «الْوُضُوءُ بَعْدَ الْغُسْلِ بِدْعَةٌ»[7]; “wudu after ghusl is an innovation”, and this is the saying of many companions and followers[8], and it is accepted for its compatibility with the Book of God; because the Book of God has considered ghusl as what removes the greater impurity, and therefore, a fortiori it removes the smaller impurity, and this is from the aspect of argumentum a fortiori, which is an intellectual ruling; considering that the intention of wudu is “purification in order to draw near to God”; as He has said: ﴿مَا يُرِيدُ اللَّهُ لِيَجْعَلَ عَلَيْكُمْ مِنْ حَرَجٍ وَلَكِنْ يُرِيدُ لِيُطَهِّرَكُمْ﴾[9]; “God does not want to lay upon you any hardship, but He wants to purify you”, and this intention is achieved by ghusl in the best way possible; as He has said: ﴿وَإِنْ كُنْتُمْ جُنُبًا فَاطَّهَّرُوا﴾[10]; “And if you are in a state of major impurity, purify yourselves”, that is, perform ghusl. Rather, it may be due to the emergence of the word in the corresponding concept; because considering ghusl of janabah sufficient for wudu indicates the meaning that ghusl is sufficient for wudu; in the sense that both of them remove impurity; especially considering that ghusl of janabah is not different from other ghusls; because the method of all of them is the same, and in all of them there is the intention of drawing near to God.
Yes, ghusls that do not have a religious reason are not without differences; because there is no obligatory or recommended command to perform them, and therefore, performing them is not considered an act of worship to God, nor is it following the Prophet or his rightly guided Caliphs; regardless of the fact that it is not unlikely that the word “ghusl” in Sharia refers to the conventional and well-known religious ghusls. Therefore, wudu must be performed before ghusls for which there is no reason in Sharia, even as a precaution; contrary to ghusls that Sharia has considered them obligatory or recommended, which are as follows:
1. Ghusl of janabah
2. Ghusl of menstruation
3. Ghusl of nifas
4. Ghusl of istihadah
5. Ghusl of touching a dead body
6. Ghusl of Friday
7. Ghusl of Eid al-Fitr
8. Ghusl of Eid al-Adha
9. Ghusl of Ihram for Hajj or Umrah
10. Ghusl of repentance of disbelief
11. Ghusl of the nineteenth, twenty-first and twenty-three nights of the month of Ramadan
12. Ghusl of the day of Arafah
13. Ghusl of entering Mecca and Medina
14. Ghusl of entering the Great Mosque of Mecca and the Mosque of the Prophet, peace and blessings of God be upon him and his family
15. Ghusl of solar eclipses and lunar eclipses in order to perform punctual or missed prayer of signs
16. Ghusl of asking God for rain
17. Ghusl of awakening from fainting
These are the ghusls about which there are authentic and well-known narrations in the sources of the two sects of Muslims, and therefore, one can consider them obligatory or recommended, and not perform wudu before them, and if there are other ghusls, there is nothing wrong with performing them in the hope that they are recommended; such as ghusl of the first and the seventeenth nights of Ramadan, ghusl of the eighth day of Dhul Hijjah, ghusl of istikhara, ghusl of mubahala, and ghusl of prayer of need, but it is better to perform wudu before them; as the obligatory precaution is to perform wudu before ghusls about which there is no narration, and performing them is not with the intention of obeying God or following the Prophet or his rightly guided Caliphs.