—until he is certain that every part of his body is wet and that the water reaches the roots of his hair, whether the bather is a man or a woman. He must wash any braids and run his hands over his whole body; according to the well-known view in Mālik’s school nothing less will suffice.

Abū al-Faraj, may Allah have mercy on him, reported that Mālik held it acceptable for a person to immerse himself in water, provided he stays in long enough, or to pour water continuously over himself until it covers the entire body. He added that this substitutes for passing one’s hands over the skin, and that Mālik inclined to this position. The instruction to rub with the hands, he said, was only given because someone who omits it is unlikely to avoid the water skipping parts that must be washed.

Abū ʿUmar, may Allah have mercy on him, said: A number of Medinan jurists from the Successors allowed omitting rubbing during ghusl, relying on the straightforward wording of the ḥadiths of ʿĀʾishah and Maymūnah describing the Prophet’s bath, in which no rubbing is mentioned. Yet the prevalent opinion in Mālik’s school is that the ghusl is not valid unless one rubs, and—God willing—this is the correct view, by analogy with the washing of the face.

Whoever forgets to wash any part of his body, from the crown of his head down to the tip of his foot, must wash it as soon as he remembers and repeat any prayers he performed beforehand. If he leaves it out deliberately, he must repeat the entire ghusl.

The early scholars of Medina differed over performing the ghusl in stages: some of the predecessors allowed it, provided the washing was done with the intention of ghusl, while others forbade it—and this is the opinion adopted by Mālik and his followers.