Is It Mandatory To Sniff and Blow Out Water While Rinsing My Nose?

Answered by Ustadh Sufyan Qufi

Question

Is it mandatory to sniff and blow out water while rinsing the nose for both ghusl and wudu, or can I simply put water in my nose?

Answer

In the name of Allah, Most Compassionate, Most Merciful,

I pray this finds you in the best of states.

No, it is not obligatory to sniff and blow out water from the nose when washing it during your ritual purification.

The Obligatory

Washing the inside of the nose is only obligatory (fard) in the ritual bath (ghusl). What has to be washed is the soft part of the nostrils only. Not doing so would render this ghusl invalid.  Performing wudu without washing the inside of the nose is valid as it is not obligatory to do so.

The Sunna

Nonetheless, it remains an emphasized sunna to wash the inside of the nose in wudu.

Indeed the Prophet (peace and blessings upon him) used to do so three times during his wudu. [Tabarani, al-Mu’jam al-Kabir]

Thus making it a habit to leave it without excuse is sinful. It is sunna to wash above the soft part of the nostrils in both ghusl and wudu when one is not fasting.

The Etiquette

As for blowing the water inside the nose after washing it is from the etiquettes (adab) of wudu and ghusl. One is rewarded for doing so and not blamed for leaving it. [Shurunbulali, Maraqi al-Falah; Ibn Abidin, Radd al-Muhtar]

And Allah knows best.

[Ustadh] Sufyan Qufi
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Ustadh Sufyan Qufi is an advanced seeker of knowledge, originally from Algeria, who grew up in France. He began searching far and wide for answers to the fundamental questions of life and was disappointed at the answers he found.

Then he connected with various traditional teachers and gradually connected with SeekersGuidance. He embarked on his journey of learning through the various teachers at SeekersGuidance, including his mentor Shaykh Faraz Rabbani.

He studied numerous texts in Islamic Law, Theology, Hadith, and other areas with Shaykh Faraz Rabbani and other teachers, including Shaykh Abdurrahman al-Sha‘ar, Shaykh Ali Hani, and others.

He is an active instructor at SeekersGuidance and answers questions through the SeekersGuidance Answers Service.