5. Washing both feet together with the ankles.

6. Observing this very order. If someone who is in a state of minor ritual impurity performs a full bath, the sounder opinion is that the ghusl counts as ablution provided an order can reasonably be presumed—for example, by plunging into the water and remaining there. If no such order can be imagined, it is not valid.

I say: the sounder position is that it remains valid even without lingering; Allah knows best.

Its sunnah elements include:
• Using the siwak cross-wise with any coarse implement, not with one’s finger, according to the sounder view. It is recommended at the time of prayer and whenever the mouth’s odor changes, and is disliked only for a fasting person after the sun has passed the meridian.
• Saying bismillah at the beginning; if omitted, then during the ablution.
• Washing the hands first; if one is unsure of their cleanliness, it is disliked to dip them into the vessel before washing them.
• Rinsing the mouth and inhaling water into the nose. The preponderant opinion is that separating them is better: the sounder view is to rinse the mouth three times with one handful, then inhale water three times with another, exaggerating in both except when fasting.

I say: the clearer preference is to combine them, using three handfuls—rinsing the mouth and inhaling water from each; Allah knows best.

• Washing and wiping each limb three times.
• Acting on certainty whenever doubt arises.
• Wiping the entire head, then the ears; if removing a turban is difficult, one completes the wiping over it.
• Running the fingers through a thick beard and between the fingers.
• Giving precedence to the right side.
• Extending the washed area of the face (ghurra) and of the arms and legs (tahjil).
• Maintaining continuity between the acts; Imam al-Shāfiʿī’s “old” view makes this obligatory.
• Refraining from taking assistance.
• Flicking off excess water, and likewise avoiding towel-drying according to the sounder view.

After finishing, he says: “I bear witness that there is no deity but Allah alone with no partner, and I bear witness that Muhammad is His servant and Messenger. O Allah, make me among those who repent and among those who purify themselves. Glory be to You, O Allah, and with Your praise; I bear witness that there is no deity but You. I seek Your forgiveness and turn to You in repentance.”

I have omitted the individual supplications for each limb, for they have no sound basis.