Can Specific Parts of the Ghusl Be Performed at Different Times?

Answered by Shaykh Yusuf Weltch

Question

Can specific parts of the Ghusl be performed at different times or must they be performed all in one instance?

Answer

In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful and Compassionate

Doing all the actions of Ghusl consecutively is not an obligation but rather an emphasized sunna. [Shurunbulali, Maraqi al -Falah]

For example, if one were to wash their mouth, then one hour later their nose, then one hour later the rest of the body – their ghusl is valid and complete once all the obligations of the ghusl are met.  

However if anywhere in between the commencement and the finishing of the ghusl something that necessitates ghusl occurs – whatever actions previously performed are now void. [Shurunbulali, Maraqi al -Falah]

The same applies to wudu.

Do Morsels of Food Between the Teeth Prevent the Validity of Ghusl?

Food stuck between the teeth or in a cavity of a tooth does not prevent the validity of the Ghusl since water is a very thin substance and normally reaches such small crevices. 

[Ibn ‘Abidin, Radd al-Muhtar] 

Hope this helps

Allah knows best

[Shaykh] Yusuf Weltch
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Shaykh Yusuf Weltch is a teacher of 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 stayed for three years studying in Dar Al-Mustafa under some of the greatest 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 Qur’an and studied beliefs, legal methodology, hadith methodology, Qur’anic exegesis, Islamic history, and several texts on spirituality. He joined the SeekersGuidance faculty in the summer of 2019.