Answered by Shaykh Hamza Karamali, SunniPath Academy Teacher
No matter how much i read on this issue and no matter how many questions and answers i read related to ghusl and baseless misgivings i still cant have a ghusl within 5 minutes, it actually takes me 45 minutes for a ghusl and my quickest is 30 minutes. What I need is a detailed explanation of what to do from the moment i step in the shower, because when i go for a ghusl i keep washing the same parts of my body several times and i take time with my limbs for example i wash each side of my arms and legs separately (3 times each), please could you explain to me exactly how ghusl should be done in detail. I have a similar problem with my wudhu but its not as bad with wudhu. I sometimes feel that if i dont do my ghusl properly then i will still be in a state of impurity and this also causes me to waste a lot of time.
In the Name of Allah, Most Merciful and Compassionate
assalamu `alaykum wa rahmatullah wa barakatuh
A detailed explanation isn’t really necessary. Ghusl is simple: make an intention and then wash everything. The key point to remember is that you are not required to have certainty that you have washed everything. The fuqaha explicitly state that as long as you think that “most likely I washed everything,” you have fulfilled your obligation before Allah Most High, even if, in actual fact, you missed a tiny portion of your body. The question you should be asking when making wudu and ghusl is not “am I really certain that I completely washing that part?” but “did I most likely completely wash that part?” If the answer to the latter question is “yes”, then you should simply ignore your doubts and get out of the shower.
And Allah Most High knows best.
Hamza.