1 – In the first narration the washing of the hands is mentioned in general terms, whereas this report specifies that he washed them twice or three times.

2 – Here, after washing his hands he washed his private part and then wiped his hands on the ground two or three times. The scholars state that any remaining odour after rubbing them on the ground or cleansing them with another purifying agent is overlooked.

3 – When he begins by washing his private part he must intend the removal of janābah from the outset; otherwise he would have to wash it again.

4 – The first narration says that he performed ablution as for the prayer, which entails washing the feet. This narration, however, explicitly says that he washed his feet after washing the body. The best reconciliation is that in Maymunah’s report he performed a complete ablution, but then washed his feet a second time in another spot after finishing the ghusl because the place where he had bathed was soiled.

5 – In this narration Maymunah brought him a cloth with which to dry himself, but he refused it and merely shook the water off his hands.

6 – Rubbing the body during ghusl is not obligatory; like rubbing the limbs in ablution, it is a sunnah practice.

7 – After the limbs of ablution have been washed, they need not be washed again for janābah. Imām al-Nawawī judged that one washing suffices both for ablution and for removing janābah.

8 – Washing the body once is sufficient. Some extend it to three times by analogy with ablution, but analogy cannot override explicit evidence. This was the view chosen by Shaykh al-Islām Ibn Taymiyyah, by our teacher ʿAbd al-Raḥmān al-Saʿdī, and it is one of the two opinions in the Ḥanbalī school.

Ruling on sleeping while in a state of janābah

ʿAbdullāh ibn ʿUmar narrated that ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb, may Allah be pleased with him, asked, “O Messenger of Allah, may one of us go to sleep while he is in a state of major impurity?” He replied, “Yes. When any one of you has performed ablution, let him go to sleep.”

Overall meaning

Because they regarded janābah as a serious form of impurity, they were uncertain whether it was permissible to sleep before performing ghusl.