Step 10 of 11
The Recommended Ghusls
Some baths are not required but are part of the sunnah. The best known is the ghusl for the Friday prayer (Jumu'ah). The Prophet ﷺ said: "Whoever of you comes to the Jumu'ah, let him bathe", and in another hadith he called it a duty (wajib) on every adult.
The four schools hold that the Jumu'ah ghusl is a strongly recommended sunnah, not an obligation, citing the hadith of Samurah: "Whoever makes wudu on Friday, that is good, and whoever bathes, bathing is better", graded hasan by al-Albani. A minority of scholars, including some of the early generations, held it to be obligatory, so it is best not to leave it.
It is also a sunnah to bathe for the two Eids and before entering ihram for Hajj or 'Umrah; Zayd ibn Thabit saw the Prophet ﷺ undress for his ihram and bathe. For the Eids, scholars rely on the practice of Companions such as Ibn 'Umar, since the hadith in Ibn Majah attributing it to the Prophet ﷺ is graded very weak.
All four schools agree on this step.
- Sahih al-Bukhari 877 Sahih · in the two Sahihs
- Sahih Muslim 844Sahih · in the two Sahihs
- Sahih al-Bukhari 879 Sahih · in the two Sahihs
- Sahih Muslim 846Sahih · in the two Sahihs
- Sunan Abi Dawud 354Graded by Al-Albani: Hasan · Muhammad Muhyi Al-Din Abdul Hamid: Hasan · Shuaib Al Arnaut: Hasan Lighairihi · Zubair Ali Zai: HasanHasan
- Jami' al-Tirmidhi 497Graded by Ahmad Muhammad Shakir: Sahih · Al-Albani: Sahih · Bashar Awad Maarouf: Hasan · Zubair Ali Zai: Isnaad HasanSahih
- Sunan al-Nasa'i 1380Graded by Abu Ghuddah: Sahih · Al-Albani: Sahih · Zubair Ali Zai: HasanSahih
- Jami' al-Tirmidhi 830Graded by Ahmad Muhammad Shakir: Sahih · Al-Albani: Sahih · Bashar Awad Maarouf: Hasan · Zubair Ali Zai: Isnaad HasanSahih
- Sunan Ibn Majah 1315Graded by Al-Albani: Very Daif · Muhammad Fouad Abd al-Baqi: Very Daif · Zubair Ali Zai: DaifVery weak
What the hadith grades mean
- Sahih (authentic): an unbroken chain of trustworthy, precise narrators, free of hidden flaws or contradiction. It is acted upon.
- Hasan (good): like sahih, but a narrator's precision is slightly lighter. It is also accepted and acted upon. "Hasan sahih" means it reaches sahih by its routes.
- Da'if (weak): a break in the chain or a narrator who is not reliable enough. It is not used to establish beliefs or rulings.
- Very weak (munkar, matruk): a seriously flawed chain or a narrator accused of lying. It is not relied on at all.
- Mawdu' (fabricated): falsely attributed to the Prophet ﷺ. It may not be narrated as his words except to warn against it.
- The two Sahihs: every hadith with a full chain in Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim is accepted as sahih by the scholars of hadith.
- Historical report: biographies and histories (Ibn Ishaq, Ibn Sa'd, al-Tabari) record events with chains that are often incomplete. They are used for the story, not for rulings.
- Hadith scholars grade a narration; the four madhhabs do not. Where a hadith carries a ruling, the page shows which schools act on it.
The positions of the four schools are summarised from their standard references and are pending review by a qualified scholar. Follow the school you were taught, and for your own situation, ask a scholar.
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