378. It is not necessary for the body to be ÔÁhir prior to performing a sequential ghusl, or one by immersion; rather, if immersing oneself in water or pouring water over one’s body—provided the water is muÞtaÒim—with the intention of performing ghusl, causes the body to become ÔÁhir, the ghusl will be valid. Mu‘taÒim water is water which does not become najis upon coming in contact with a najis thing, like rain water, kurr and flowing water.
379. If a person who enters the state of janÁbah by committing a forbidden act, performs ghusl with warm water, it will be valid even if he perspires. The recommended precaution though, is that he performs ghusl with cold water.
380. If a part of the body remains unwashed during ghusl, the ghusl will be invalid if it was performed by immersion. However, if it was a sequential ghusl, its ruling has been covered in article 371. It is also not necessary to wash parts of the body—like the inner areas of the ears and the nose—which are deemed to be the inner areas of the body in the common understanding.
381. If a person doubts whether a part of the body is an internal part of it or an external part, he should wash it if it was previously considered an external part. If it was not previously considered so, he does not have to wash it. In the event that the previous state is unknown, based on obligatory precaution, he should wash it.
382. If the hole pierced for an earring or a similar purpose is so wide that its inner surface is counted as an external part of the body, it too has to be washed. However, if it is not counted as an external part, it does not have to be washed, unless one doubts whether it counts as an external part or not, in which case it should be washed based on precaution.
383. Anything which prevents water from reaching the body should be removed. If a person performs ghusl by immersion before attaining certainty that the obstacle has been removed, he will have to repeat his ghusl. If he performed sequential ghusl, then he will be subject to the ruling elaborated in article 372.
384. If a person doubts while performing ghusl if a thing which prevents water from reaching the body is present on his body, or not, he should investigate until he attains satisfaction that such an obstacle is not present.
385. Short hairs which are considered a part of the body, must be washed while performing ghusl. However it is not obligatory to wash the long hairs. In fact, if a person pours water over his body in a manner that it reaches the skin but does not wet the long hairs, his ghusl will be valid. However if it is not possible to make water reach the skin without wetting the long hairs, he should wash them as well so that the water reaches the body.
386. All the conditions which were stipulated for the validity of wuÃÙ, such as the water being ÔÁhir and mubÁÎ, are also stipulated for the validity of ghusl. However, it is not necessary to wash the body starting from above and going downwards while performing ghusl. Similarly, in a sequential ghusl, it is not necessary to wash the subsequent parts immediately after washing a part. Hence, there is no harm in washing the head and neck, and then waiting for a while before washing the body. Similarly, there is no harm in washing the right side and then waiting for a while before washing the left side. However, if a person who suffers from urinal or fecal incontinence can control the release of urine or feces for a period that is just sufficient for performing ghusl and praying, he should complete his ghusl immediately and offer his prayers right away.
387. If someone intends not to pay the fees for using a public bath, or intends to use it on credit without being certain that the owner will agree to it, the ghusl he performs in that bath will be invalid, even if he is later able to convince the owner.
388. If the owner agrees to the use of the public bath on a credit basis, but the person performing ghusl does not intend to pay his credit off, his ghusl will be invalid. Similarly, if he plans to pay with money which is illegal according to the sharia, his ghusl will again be void.
389. If a person pays the owner of a public bath with money whose khums has not been paid, he will have performed a forbidden act, and his ghusl will also be invalid.
391. If a person doubts whether he performed ghusl or not, he should perform ghusl. However, if he doubts after performing ghusl whether he performed the ghusl properly or not, it will be valid as long as he speculates that he was not oblivious while performing ghusl.س
392. While performing ghusl, if a person commits an act that invalidates wuÃÙ, like urinating, based on obligatory precaution he should complete his ghusl, repeat it and perform wuÃÙ as well, unless he switches from sequential ghusl to ghusl by immersion.
393. If a person’s responsibility is to perform tayammum in place of ghusl due to the lack of time, and instead he performs ghusl, thinking that he has sufficient time for ghusl and prayers, his ghusl will be valid if he performs it with the intention of purifying himself from the state of janÁbah, reading the Qur’an or any similar act. If however, he performs it with the intention of offering that prayer, in the sense that had it not been for the prayer, he would not have intended to perform ghusl, his ghusl will be invalid.
394. If a person who had entered the state of janÁbah and offered prayers, later doubts whether he performed ghusl or not, his prayers will be valid if he considers it probable that he was not oblivious to it at the start of his prayers. He will however, have to perform ghusl for subsequent prayers. In the event that he commits an act which invalidates wuÃÙ after offering his prayers, he should also perform wuÃÙ and repeat the prayers that have been offered if their time has not yet elapsed, or offer their qaÃÁ if it has.
395. One who has to perform various obligatory ghusls can perform each of them separately. However, after performing the first ghusl, he should not perform the rest with the intention of an obligatory ghusl. He can also perform a single ghusl with the intention of performing all of them. In fact, if he makes the intention of any one particular ghusl from these ghusls, it will suffice in lieu of the rest.
396. If a verse of the Qur’an or the name of Allah, is written on a part of one’s body, and he wishes to perform sequential ghusl, he should cause water to reach that part in a manner that he avoids touching it. The same will apply if he wishes to perform sequential wuÃÙ and a verse of the Qur’an is written on one of the parts of wuÃÙ, and based on obligatory precaution if the name of the Lord, the All Exalted, is written on it. It is recommended to observe precaution with respect to the names of the prophets, the imams and lady FÁtimah while performing wuÃÙ or ghusl.
397. One who has performed the ghusl of janÁbah should not perform wuÃÙ for offering prayers. In fact, one can offer prayers without performing wuÃÙ after performing any of the obligatory ghusls—with the exception of the ghusl for istiÎÁÃah mutawassiÔah—or any of the recommended ghusls which are listed in article 650, albeit the recommended precaution is that he should perform wuÃÙ as well.
