Was My Ritual Bath Valid If I Didn’t Use My Fingers to Wash My Nose?

Answered by Ustadh Sufyan Qufi

Question

I forgot to insert my finger into my nose during the obligatory ghusl. I just sniffed water and blew out. But didn’t insert a finger, neither did I ensure that there is a barrier in the nose mistakenly. It has been many days. Is my ghusl valid?

Answer

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

I pray this finds you in the best of states.

Yes, you can assume that your ritual bath (ghusl) was valid for several reasons.

1. What is obligatory for a valid ritual bath is to wash with water the soft part of the nose. [Shurunbulali, Nur al-Idah]
   This has been accomplished. No fingers are needed for doing so. Allah, Most High, says: “And if you are in a state of ˹full˺ impurity, then take a full bath.” [Quran, 5:6]
2. Only the presence of dry mucus inside your nostrils can prevent the validity of your ritual bath. [Ibn Abidin, Radd al-Muhtar] The presence of dry mucus is something possible but is not the norm.

Thus, when in doubt, we can assume its absence by applying the following fiqh principle:
“The basis for contingent matters is absence.” [Majalla]

This principle is based on the following fiqh principle:
“Certainty is not lifted by a doubt.” [Majalla]

that in turn is based on the following verse of the Quran:
“Most of them follow nothing but conjectures. Surely, conjectures are of no avail in the matter of truth at all.” [Quran, 10:36]

And Allah knows best.

Wassalam,
[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.