What Should I Do If I Touch My Private Parts While Performing a Ritual Bath? (Shafi’I)

Answered by Shaykh Abdurragmaan Khan

Question: Assalam alaykum,

Under Shafi’i fiqh, for the validity of ghusl from janaba, please could you clarify the following condition: “That one does not do anything during the ghusl that would normally nullify wudu”. Does this mean that touching the private parts would nullify ghusl? If so then how can we ensure that water reaches all the hard to reach places around the private parts such creasing or uncircumcised foreskin?

Answer: Wa alaykum al-Salam

Shukran for your question.

The condition you quoted renders the wudu and not the gusl invalid. Imam al-Nawawi stated in his Rawdah:

“Should he enter a state of minor impurity while performing a ghusl, it’s permissible for him to complete (continue) his ghusl. (Minor) impurity will not render the ghusl invalid. However, he may only pray after performing wudu.”

Thus, the touching of one’s private parts would not invalidate the ghusl, but it would necessitate wudu for one intending to pray. Lastly, if one was to use a cloth when washing the private, he would be able to avoid this situation from the start.

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.