Assalaamu’ Alaikum
For this past year i have been struggling immensely with getting ghusl because of waswasa. Lately, Elhamdullah, i have been improving. The only problems im having right now is the rinsing of my mouth. Is it sufficient for me to just get a mouth full of water, swirl it around and gargle? I am hanifi meseb. Also, the main question is, do i have to make sure my teeth has no food scraps and stuff between them? Because i get so paranoid and brush/floss for close to an hour. Insallah you can help me.
Wa’alaykum as Salām wa raḥmatullāhi wa barakātuhu,
It is fine to just fill your mouth with water, swirl it around and gargle. If you have doubts, you should merely do this a maximum of seven times. Thereafter, if you doubt, you should just ignore it.
Likewise, it is incumbent that water reaches between the teeth when making ghusl. You should just floss a maximum of seven times and thereafter ignore all doubts.
وإن كان الرجل موسوسا فلا ينبغي أن يزيد على السبع لأن قطع الوسوسة واجب والسبع هو نهاية العدد الذي ورد الشرع به في الغسل في الجملة كما في حديث ولوغ الكلب (بدائع الصنائع – (1 / 21>)
Wassalaam,
Ismail Moosa (Mufti)
Iftaa Department,
Euro-Sunni & Islamic Research and Welfare Academy