What Necessitates a Purificatory Bath (ghusl) for Males?

Answered by Shaykh Irshaad Sedick

Question 

Does entrance of other than the penis necessitate a purificatory bath (ghusl)? For example, does inserting a finger into a vagina or receiving a prostate exam necessitate a purificatory bath?

Answer

In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful and Compassionate. 

What Necessitates a Ghusl for Males?

The purification bath (ghusl) is only obligatory for a male when:

(1) sperm exits from him;

(2) or the head of his penis enters a vagina.

[Nawawi, Minhaj Al-Talibin]

[Shaykh] Irshaad Sedick

Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Shaykh Irshaad Sedick was raised in South Africa in a traditional Muslim family. He graduated from Dar al-Ulum al-Arabiyyah al-Islamiyyah in Strand, Western Cape, under the guidance of the late world-renowned scholar, Shaykh Taha Karaan. 

Shaykh Irshaad received Ijaza from many luminaries of the Islamic world, including Shaykh Taha Karaan, Mawlana Yusuf Karaan, and Mawlana Abdul Hafeez Makki, among others.

He is the author of the text “The Musnad of Ahmad ibn Hanbal: A Hujjah or not?” He has served as the Director of the Discover Islam Centre and Al Jeem Foundation. He served as the resident Imam of Masjid al-Munowar in Retreat, Cape Town, for several years.

Shaykh Irshaad has thirteen years of teaching experience at some of the leading Islamic institutes in Cape Town). He is currently building an Islamic online learning and media platform called ‘Isnad Academy’ and pursuing his Master’s degree in the study of Islam at the University of Johannesburg. He has a keen interest in healthy living and fitness.