How Should One Go About Bathing and Dressing After Intercourse?

Answered by Ustadha Shazia Ahmad

Question

As a newlywed, can you detail how one is supposed to act after intercourse, i.e., the way one should dress in order to go perform ghusl while residing in a joint family.

Do the clothes we wear then become unclean? Should we wear clean clothes?

Answer

Thank you for your question. Your question is a very good one, may Allah reward you for your scrupulousness.

Filth

If the clothing that one was wearing before the intercourse became affected with filth, then naturally, one would have to wear clean clothes. However, if only the underclothing were affected, then one would only have to change the underclothing after one’s ritual bath. If one wanted to save on laundry, then the couple might make a point of keeping their clothes aside before they get affected with filth.

Joint Family

Living in a joint family can be tricky and a bit embarrassing as newlyweds. An elder neighbor of mine, back in Syria, was telling me that her daughter was always embarrassed living with her in-laws because whenever they were looking for her, she was in the shower.

However, this is not something wrong, and any family with tact and common sense would know that this is natural and not to be criticized. So, if one does end up changing one’s clothes more than once a day, or seems to always be in the shower, leniency and understanding should be shown and the couple should be given their space and privacy.

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 aqidah, 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.