Some scholars therefore held that rinsing the mouth and sniffing water into the nose are not obligatory in the major bath, while others judged them obligatory. Among those who did not require them are Mālik and al-Shāfiʿī; among those who did are Abū Ḥanīfah and his associates.
Reason for the disagreement
The point at issue is the apparent conflict between the ḥadīth of Umm Salamah and the reports that describe the Prophet’s wuḍū’ when performing the full bath. In every narration that details his ablution during ghusl, mouth-rinsing and nose-rinsing are mentioned; in Umm Salamah’s report, however, there is no command concerning either action.
Whoever regarded the ḥadiths of ʿĀ’ishah and Maymūnah as clarifying the concise wording of Umm Salamah’s report—and who also cited the Divine statement, “And if you are in a state of major ritual impurity, then purify yourselves” (Q 5:6)—made both mouth-rinsing and nose-rinsing compulsory. Whoever treated the two sets of reports as mutually opposed reconciled them by interpreting the narrations of ʿĀ’ishah and Maymūnah as recommended, and the wording of Umm Salamah as defining what is mandatory.
For this very same reason they also differed over whether running the fingers through the hair (takhlīl al-ra’s) is obligatory in the bath. Mālik held it to be recommended, while others held it obligatory, buttressing their view with the Prophet’s statement, “Under every single hair lies a state of janābah; therefore cleanse the skin and let the water reach the hair.”
Issue Four
The jurists further disagreed whether immediacy (performing the wash without undue delay) and maintaining the prescribed sequence are conditions for the validity of ghusl, just as they disagreed about these two matters in wuḍū’.
The source of their disagreement is whether the Prophet’s practice—peace and blessings be upon him—must be understood as obligatory or merely recommended. It is never reported that he performed ablution except in the prescribed order and without interruption. Some therefore argued that maintaining sequence in the major bath is even more evident than in wuḍū’, given the distinction between washing the head and the rest of the body. They cite his words to Umm Salamah: “It is enough for you to scoop water over your head three times, then pour water over your body,” for the particle thumma (“then”) unambiguously indicates succession, as all linguists agree.
[Second Section: Matters that invalidate this purification]
Foundational texts for this chapter are the Almighty’s words: “And if you are in a state of major ritual impurity, then purify yourselves” (Q 5:6), and His statement: “They ask you about menstruation. Say, ‘It is a hurt’” (Q 2:222).
The scholars concur that ghusl is obligatory in two situations. The first is the discharge of semen accompanied by pleasure, whether in sleep or wakefulness, from male or female alike—except for the lone report from Ibrāhīm al-Nakhaʿī, who held that a woman is not required to perform ghusl because of a nocturnal emission. The overwhelming majority, however,