Home » Hanafi Fiqh » Qibla.com » Purificatory bath- what is the ruling if one delays the ghusl

Purificatory bath- what is the ruling if one delays the ghusl

Answered as per Hanafi Fiqh by Qibla.com

Answered by Sidi Salman Younas

My question is that if one is due to perform an obligatory ghusl and they keep on delaying it for whtaever reason instead of taking the bath immediately, how big is this sin? Also does the person remain within the fold of Islam if they do this? Also if a person became impure a couple of times, is it ok to take a bath just once with the intention of purification or do they have to take a bath as many times as they experienced the impurity

Answer:
In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful

salamu `alaykum

 I pray you are well and in the best of health.

[1] Ibn `Abidin – the great authority of the Hanafi school – mentions in his Radd al Muhtar that it is best to hasten in performing ghusl as this was the general habit of the Prophet (Allah bless him and grant him peace). This is also in conformity with the general adab of the believer to always remain in a state of ritual impurity.

However, it is also established that the Prophet (Allah bless him and grant him peace) delayed performing ghusl on occasion, such as before sleep. In such a situation, he (May Allah bless him and grant him peace) would simply wash his private parts, perform ablution and then make ghusl on waking up – before the morning prayer.

It would only be sinful to delay ghusl if it causes one to miss his ritual acts of worship that are obligatory or necessary on him to perform – namely the prayer.
[2] Yes, one ghusl would suffice for all past occurrences.

Wasalam

Salman

Approved by Faraz Rabbani

This answer was indexed from Qibla.com, which used to have a repository of Islamic Q&A answered by various scholars. The website is no longer in existence. It has now been transformed into a learning portal with paid Islamic course offering under the brand of Kiflayn.