Is Having a Regular Shower After an Intention Enough for Performing a Valid Ritual Bath According to the Shafi’i School?

Answered by Shaykh Abdurragmaan Khan

Question: Assalam alaykum,

Is having a regular shower after an intention enough for performing a valid ritual bath according to the Shafi’i school?

Answer: Wa alaykum salam

The Fard or compulsory ghusl have two integrals.

1. Intention
2. Washing the entire body including, hair, the scalp and nails, with unrestricted water (ma’ mutlaq).

In short unrestricted water refers to water in its original state, unchanged in its color, smell or taste. What this essentially means is that washing the body with soapy water will not suffice. The sequence you wish to follow is inconsequential as long as the above integrals are executed. Yes, the preferred method of the compulsory gusl, is as follows:

1. Recite bismiLlah and wash the hands
2. Wash the private parts and wherever najasah may be found.
3. Rinse the mouth and clean the nose (madmadah and istinshaq)
3. Perform a complete wudu (including the usage of miswak, rinsing the mouth and cleaning the nose) with the intention of removing minor impurity, even if he was not in a state of minor impurity, prior to his state of major impurity.
4. Pour water over the head
5. Pour water of the right front of the body and then the right back.
6. Pour water of the left front of the body and then the left back.

And Allah knows best

Wassalam
[Shaykh] Abdurragmaan Khan

Shaykh Abdurragmaan received ijazah ’ammah from various luminaries, including but not restricted to: Habib Umar ibn Hafiz—a personality who affected him greatly and who has changed his relationship with Allah, Maulana Yusuf Karaan—the former Mufti of Cape Town; Habib ‘Ali al-Mashhur—the current Mufti of Tarim; Habib ‘Umar al-Jaylani—the Shafi‘i Mufti of Makkah; Sayyid Ahmad bin Abi Bakr al-Hibshi; Habib Kadhim as-Saqqaf; Shaykh Mahmud Sa’id Mamduh; Maulana Abdul Hafiz al-Makki; Shaykh Ala ad-Din al-Afghani; Maulana Fazlur Rahman al-Azami and Shaykh Yahya al-Gawthani amongst others.