Can I Intend to Purify from Menses and Janaba with One Bath?

Answered by Ustadha Shazia Ahmad

Question

Before menses, I was junub, so I did ghusl. I believe I committed kufr in the ghusl because of a misunderstanding, so my ghusl was invalid. I decided to do a ghusl again, and then I looked close and found a few drops of yellow, and it smelled like maniy.

I didn’t remember a wet dream and wasn’t sure if it was leftover discharge from the first junub, so I did ghusl again, intending to purify myself from the first junub and the second junub. Secondly, when my menses end, I intend to purify myself from the current janaba, the menses, and those two junubs. Will this purify me, and can I pray?

Answer

May Allah make it easy for you to see clearly what you need to do and not make this matter more difficult than it should be.

One Ghusl

It says in the Reliance of the Traveller:

“e11.4 When a woman who is obliged to both lift a state of major ritual impurity (janaba) and purify after menstruation performs the purificatory bath for either of these, it suffices for both.”

Secondly, if you see a drop of discharge, and you don’t remember a wet dream, don’t assume that it is left over from the previous janaba. This can lead to unending cases of waswasa (baseless misgivings). Assume that it is normal discharge, and just wash it off and make ablution (wudu).

Please see these links as well:
What are the Requirements of an Obligatory Purificatory Bath?
How Should I Deal with Baseless Misgivings about Purity?

May Allah give you the best of this world and the next.

[Ustadha] Shazia Ahmad
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani 

Ustadha Shazia Ahmad lived in Damascus, Syria for two years where she studied aqida, fiqh, tajweed, tafsir, and Arabic. She then attended the University of Texas at Austin, where she completed her Masters in Arabic. Afterward, she moved to Amman, Jordan where she studied fiqh, Arabic, and other sciences. She later moved back to Mississauga, Canada, where she lives with her family.