Is Omitting the Sunna Actions of Wudu and/or Ghusl Disliked or Sinful?

Answered by Shaykh Yusuf Weltch

Question

Is it disliked or sinful to omit the Sunna actions of wudu and/or ghusl?

Answer

In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful and Compassionate.

Abandoning actions that are deemed emphasized sunna are prohibitively disliked if done habitually without excuse. [Ibn ‘Abidin, Radd al-Muhtar]

This applies to wudu, ghusl, prayer, etc…

However, it should be understood that leaving a necessary action (wajib) is greater in sin than leaving a Sunna.

Ibn ‘Abidin (Allah have mercy on him) mentions, “Likewise regarding…the sunna actions of wudu – if one suffices with only washing once – if it is habitual they are sinful, if not habitual they are not sinful. [Ibn ‘Abidin, Radd al-Muhtar]

Despite the reprehensibility of constantly leaving the Sunna, the validity of the ghusl and the wudu is not affected as long as the obligatory actions are met. [Shurunbulali, Maraqi al-Falah]

Hope this helps
Allah knows best
[Shaykh] Yusuf Weltch
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Shaykh Yusuf Weltch teaches Arabic, Islamic law, and spirituality. After accepting Islam in 2008, he completed four years at the Darul Uloom Seminary in New York, where he studied Arabic and the traditional sciences.

He then traveled to Tarim, Yemen, where he studied for three years in Dar al-Mustafa under some of the most outstanding scholars of our time, including Habib Umar Bin Hafiz, Habib Kadhim al-Saqqaf, and Shaykh Umar al-Khatib.

In Tarim, Shaykh Yusuf completed the memorization of the Quran and studied beliefs, legal methodology, hadith methodology, Quranic exegesis, Islamic history, and several texts on spirituality. He joined the SeekersGuidance faculty in the summer of 2019.