Ghusl and Tingz
Jummah Mubarak sis! In the the Holy Qur’an (23:18) it says “… And we send water down from the sky, in measure, and allocate it on Earth, and lo! We are also able to withdraw it.” Water is such a unique natural resource. With the reality of the convenience in our lives, it’s easy to take water for granted. Allah swt gave us water to use for so many things, nourishment and purification being two important things. We use water to nourish not only our physical bodies, but our souls through spiritual purification (wudu and ghusl). Alhamdulliah for all the ways we have to gain closeness with our creator. Hope to see you at our Ghusl Workshop on Sunday, we’ll chat more about the virtues!
Al-Ma'idah -5:6 (The Table)
يَـٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوٓا۟ إِذَا قُمْتُمْ إِلَى ٱلصَّلَوٰةِ فَٱغْسِلُوا۟ وُجُوهَكُمْ وَأَيْدِيَكُمْ إِلَى ٱلْمَرَافِقِ وَٱمْسَحُوا۟ بِرُءُوسِكُمْ وَأَرْجُلَكُمْ إِلَى ٱلْكَعْبَيْنِ ۚ وَإِن كُنتُمْ جُنُبًۭا فَٱطَّهَّرُوا۟ ۚ وَإِن كُنتُم مَّرْضَىٰٓ أَوْ عَلَىٰ سَفَرٍ أَوْ جَآءَ أَحَدٌۭ مِّنكُم مِّنَ ٱلْغَآئِطِ أَوْ لَـٰمَسْتُمُ ٱلنِّسَآءَ فَلَمْ تَجِدُوا۟ مَآءًۭ فَتَيَمَّمُوا۟ صَعِيدًۭا طَيِّبًۭا فَٱمْسَحُوا۟ بِوُجُوهِكُمْ وَأَيْدِيكُم مِّنْهُ ۚ مَا يُرِيدُ ٱللَّهُ لِيَجْعَلَ عَلَيْكُم مِّنْ حَرَجٍۢ وَلَـٰكِن يُرِيدُ لِيُطَهِّرَكُمْ وَلِيُتِمَّ نِعْمَتَهُۥ عَلَيْكُمْ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَشْكُرُونَ
“O believers! When you rise up for prayer, wash your faces and your hands up to the elbows, wipe your heads, and wash your feet to the ankles. And if you are in a state of ˹full˺ impurity,1 then take a full bath. But if you are ill, on a journey, or have relieved yourselves, or have been intimate with your wives and cannot find water, then purify yourselves with clean earth by wiping your faces and hands. It is not Allah’s Will to burden you, but to purify you and complete His favour upon you, so perhaps you will be grateful.”
There are many connections that can be drawn from simply using water to cleanse your skin. Wudu and ghusl starts with the spiritual cleansing of our hands then our faces, etc. Physically, washing our hands prevents many infectious diseases and illnesses and washing our face helps remove sebum (oily lipids) from our skin. Spiritually, there are blessings from performing ghusl such as a the removal of our sins, providing light on our body parts on the day of judgement, and it’s the key to Salah...which is the key to our connection with our Creator. It prepares us for those spiritual acts of worship. Allah swt protected the ummah with a gift of purification physically and spiritually. Subhanallah
Ghusl Mayyit is a Big Deal
There are different types of ghusl, but we should know how to do all of them. The one performed on a deceased Muslim is called Ghusl Mayyit. It’s a way to cleanse the body for the one who has transitioned, with the intention of asking Allah swt to forgive their sins.
This act of worship is usually carried out by family members who are the same sex as the person who has died. It involves washing all parts of the body with soap and water in a specific way while maintaining privacy and dignity. You need at least 3-4 people to perform ghusl on the dead, but preferably 6.
But why should you know how to perform it?
