Mu' meneen Brothers and Sisters,

As Salaam Aleikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh.  (May Allah's Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon all of you)

One of our brothers has asked this question:

 i've asked this question from a Mufti but i didn't got the proper answer( or the answer i wanted for my question), i know a description of a Ghusl .Please, i repeat my question again, could you please tell me, is it complusory to wash the head ( whole head ) in the normal days ?or does this hadith apply on only for married couple? does this hadith apply on unmarried too?

One of our brothers had asked a similar question on the forum:

Question Dear Brother You know i Read in A Hadith it is Compulsory for Men & women to take a (Gusal) Take a bath on Friday. I just found it, few days Back cannot belive it till i saw it my self in the Sahih Hadith i.e Bismillah Walhamdulillah Was Salaatu Was Salaam 'ala Rasulillah As-Salaam Alaikum Wa-Rahmatullahi Wa-Barakatuhu Narrated by Abu Said Al Khudri (Radhiallaho anho): Allah's Messenger (sallallaahu 'alaihi wasallam) said, "Ghusl (taking a bath) on Friday is compulsory for every Muslim reaching the age of puberty." Sahih Al-Bukhari Vol. 1 : No. 817 i wanted to ask that is it compulsory to wash the head to, because i have very long hairs. its really difficult for me to wash them & wait till my hairs dry, it takes me a Whole day to dry my hairs. So is it compulsory, to wash the head too ?

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Answer:

Gusl

In the name of Allah, We praise Him, seek His help and ask for His  forgiveness. Whoever Allah guides none can misguide, and whoever He allows to fall astray, none can guide them aright. We bear witness that there is no one (no idol, no person, no grave, no prophet, no imam, no dai, nobody!) worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness that Muhammad (saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.

Please note that it is the unanimous opinion of all the schools of thought in Islam, that the Ghusl on Friday is ‘mustahib’ (recommended) and not ‘wajib’ (compulsory), unless it is the only ‘ghusl’ of the week.

The motive behind the hadith should be taken in context at a time when hot water or even water was not available as it is in todays times. Thus the spirit behind the recommendation is that a muslim must have a bath at least once a week, and if that is the case, then the recommended day is a Friday.

Sahih Al Bukhari Volume 2 hadith no. 898:

Narrated Abu Hurairah that the Prophet (saws) said: “It is Allah’s Right on every Muslim that he should take a bath (at least) once in seven days.”

Now to your specific questions:

Q1: , could you please tell me, is it complusory to wash the head ( whole head ) in the normal days ?

No, it is not compulsory. It is compulsory during the ‘Ghusl’ only after a ‘jananba’ or sexual intercouse. At all other times, washing the whole head is recommended, but not compulsory. But it is compulsory to wash the head and the hair at least once a week.

Your question: or does this hadith apply on only for married couple? does this hadith apply on unmarried too?

If one (married or unmarried) is going to take a ‘ghusl’ only once a week, then it would be better to make that ‘ghusl’ on a Friday. But if one takes a ‘ghusl’ on any other day, washing the head and every other part of the body, it would satisfy the criteria of having taken a bath at least once a week. But in today’s times, a person normally takes a ‘ghusl’ just about every day, so not washing the hair and the head every Friday, if one does not wish to, is fine.

But the head, and the hair, and every part of the body must be washed in the ‘ghusl’ after janaba or sexual intercourse.

Why should drying of your hari after a head/hair wash take a whole day! The hair dryer will solve this problem within a couple of minutes.

And Allah Alone Knows Best and He is the Only Source of Strength.

Whatever written of Truth and benefit is only due to Allah’s Assistance and Guidance, and whatever of error is of me. Allah Alone Knows Best and He is the Only Source of Strength.

May Allah guide you and us all to the Siraat al-Mustaqeem

Your brother and well wisher in Islam,

Burhan