Short answer
In the Hanafi school ghusl has three fard acts: rinsing the whole mouth, getting water into the soft part of the nose, and washing every part of the body, including all hair and the skin under it. Order, soap and a spoken intention are not fard. The Shafi'i and Maliki schools treat the mouth and nose as sunnah but make intention fard.
The fard of ghusl are three: madmadah (rinsing the whole mouth), istinshaq (water into the nostrils up to the soft bone), and washing the entire outer body once so that no dry spot remains. Intention, order, rubbing and making wudu first are sunnah.
Other madhhabs
- Shafi'i
- Intention and washing the whole body are fard. Rinsing the mouth and nose are sunnah.
- Maliki
- Intention, washing the whole body, rubbing (dalk) and continuity are fard. Rinsing the mouth and nose are sunnah.
- Hanbali
- Intention and washing the whole body are fard, and rinsing the mouth and nose is fard as in the Hanafi school.
Explanation
The Quran says that if you are in a state of janabah (major impurity), you must purify yourselves, using an emphatic form of the verb. Hanafi scholars take this to mean washing everything water can reach without harm, which includes the inside of the mouth and nose. So a Hanafi ghusl without rinsing the mouth or nose is not complete.
Places people often miss:
- the navel, behind the ears, the creases of the body and between the buttocks
- the roots of the hair and the skin of the scalp
- earring holes, if they are open
- under a tight ring, which should be moved
- anything that blocks water, such as paint, glue, wax or nail polish, which must be removed first
What is not fard: washing in a particular order, washing three times, using soap or shampoo, and saying an intention aloud. Water reaching every part once is enough. A woman with braids only needs water to reach the roots of her hair (see braids in ghusl). Hanafi scholars say food between the teeth and ordinary dirt under the nails do not spoil a ghusl, because water usually seeps around them.
If you remember after ghusl that you missed a part, such as forgetting to rinse your mouth, you only wash that part; you do not repeat the whole ghusl. Any prayer you prayed before fixing it must be repeated. For the full 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 to purify the whole body, which Hanafi scholars read as including the mouth and nose.
Sahih Muslim 330
Sahih... إنما يكفيك أن تحثي على رأسك ثلاث حثيات ثم تفيضين عليك الماء فتطهرين ...
"It is enough for you to pour three handfuls of water over your head, then pour water over yourself, and you are purified."
The minimum of ghusl is water over the whole body; the detailed method is sunnah.
Where the ruling is recorded
- al-Hidaya, Kitab al-Taharat, chapter on ghusl. The fard of ghusl are rinsing the mouth, the nose and washing the whole body.
- Nur al-Idah with Maraqi al-Falah, Kitab al-Taharah, section on the fard of ghusl. Lists the fard and the places water must reach.
- al-Majmu' (Nawawi), Kitab al-Taharah, chapter on ghusl. The Shafi'i view that the mouth and nose are sunnah and intention is fard.
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.