Short answer
Yes. Ghusl only needs water to reach the whole body, with the mouth and nose rinsed in the Hanafi school, so a bucket and jug, a bath, a pool, the sea or heavy rain all work. Getting into water (ghusl by immersion) counts too. A shower is just the easiest modern way.
Any method that gets pure water over the entire outer body, together with rinsing the mouth and nose, is a valid ghusl, whether by pouring or immersion. Rubbing and order are sunnah, and soap is not needed.
Other madhhabs
- Maliki
- Rubbing the body (dalk) is fard, so standing in rain or diving in is not enough without passing the hands over the body.
- Shafi'i
- Intention is fard, so an unintended dip or shower does not count; rinsing the mouth and nose is sunnah.
- Hanbali
- Intention is fard, and rinsing the mouth and nose is part of the ghusl.
Explanation
Aisha reported that she and the Prophet ﷺ would do ghusl from a single container. He had no shower, so a shower is not a condition. What matters is the result: no part of the body left dry, the mouth rinsed, and water drawn into the nose.
Ways that count:
- Bucket and jug: the traditional way, and it uses little water.
- Bath: sit or lie in the water so it covers you, rinse your mouth and nose, and make sure the hair and every crease are wet. Wash off any impurity before you get in, and rinsing with clean water at the end is better.
- Swimming pool, lake or sea: counts if your whole body is wet and you rinse your mouth and nose.
- Standing in heavy rain: counts if the water reaches everywhere.
Is an ordinary shower ghusl? If you rinsed your mouth, got water into your nose and washed every part of your body, then yes, even without intention in the Hanafi school, though the reward of worship comes with intention. If you skipped the mouth or nose, rinse them now to complete it (see does a shower count).
If you have no water, or using it would harm you, make tayammum instead: see how to make tayammum. For the sunnah method, see how to do ghusl.
The evidence
Quran, Surah Al-Maaida 5:6
يَٰٓأَيُّهَا 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 لَٰمَسْتُمُ ٱلنِّسَآءَ فَلَمْ تَجِدُوا۟ مَآءًۭ فَتَيَمَّمُوا۟ صَعِيدًۭا طَيِّبًۭا فَٱمْسَحُوا۟ بِوُجُوهِكُمْ وَأَيْدِيكُم مِّنْهُ ۚ مَا يُرِيدُ ٱللَّهُ لِيَجْعَلَ عَلَيْكُم مِّنْ حَرَجٍۢ وَلَٰكِن يُرِيدُ لِيُطَهِّرَكُمْ وَلِيُتِمَّ نِعْمَتَهُۥ عَلَيْكُمْ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَشْكُرُونَ ﴿٦﴾
O you who have believed, when you rise to [perform] prayer, wash your faces and your forearms to the elbows and wipe over your heads and wash your feet to the ankles. And if you are in a state of janabah, then purify yourselves. But if you are ill or on a journey or one of you comes from the place of relieving himself or you have contacted women and do not find water, then seek clean earth and wipe over your faces and hands with it. Allah does not intend to make difficulty for you, but He intends to purify you and complete His favor upon you that you may be grateful.
The command is to purify the body, without fixing a method.
Sahih al-Bukhari 250
Sahih... كنت أغتسل أنا والنبي صلى الله عليه وسلم من إناء واحد ...
"The Prophet and I used to do ghusl from a single container."
Ghusl was done by pouring from a vessel; no particular method is required.
Where the ruling is recorded
- Radd al-Muhtar (Ibn Abidin), Kitab al-Taharah, chapter on ghusl. Immersion in water counts as ghusl, and intention is sunnah.
- Mukhtasar Khalil with al-Sharh al-Kabir, Kitab al-Taharah, chapter on ghusl. The Maliki requirement of rubbing the body.
Checked by our team. For a more accurate answer to your own situation, consult a scholar. Quran translation by Sahih International. Hadith Arabic from the standard editions of the six books and the Muwatta, with gradings as recorded there; the English is our own rendering. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.