Short answer
Janabah is the state of major impurity after sexual intercourse or ejaculation, lifted by ghusl. In the Hanafi school a person in janabah may not pray, do tawaf, touch the Quran, recite it, or enter a masjid. Dhikr, dua, eating, sleeping and going out are allowed. The Shafi'i and Hanbali schools let a person in janabah pass through a masjid.
In janabah it is haram to pray, perform the sajdah of recitation, do tawaf, touch a mushaf, recite the Quran (even less than an ayah) with the intention of recitation, and enter a masjid except in necessity. Dhikr, dua, salawat and reciting Quranic duas with the intention of dua are permitted.
Other madhhabs
- Shafi'i
- A person in janabah may pass through a masjid without staying, reading 'except those passing through' in 4:43 that way.
- Hanbali
- May pass through a masjid, and may stay in it after making wudu.
- Maliki
- May recite a few verses for protection or ruqyah, but may not pass through a masjid.
Explanation
Janabah is the state a person enters after intercourse, even without ejaculation, or after semen comes out with desire, including in a wet dream. The person is called junub. Ghusl janabat (in Urdu, ghusl-e-janabat) is simply the ghusl that lifts this state.
Not allowed in janabah (Hanafi):
- Salah of any kind, including janazah, and the sajdah of recitation
- Tawaf of the Kaaba
- Touching a mushaf or a page of Quranic text (see touching the Quran)
- Reciting the Quran, even part of an ayah, with the intention of recitation
- Entering or staying in a masjid, unless there is real necessity
Allowed in janabah:
- Dhikr, dua, istighfar and salawat on the Prophet ﷺ
- Quranic duas such as Rabbana atina said as a dua, and bismillah before eating
- Eating, drinking and sleeping, though it is better to make wudu first, or at least wash your hands and mouth
- Going out, working, and greeting and touching people. Abu Hurayrah once slipped away to bathe rather than sit with him while junub, and was told that a believer does not become impure.
- Fasting: a fast is valid if you wake up in janabah
Your sweat, saliva and body are not impure in janabah; it is a legal state, not dirt. But do not delay ghusl past the next prayer time (see delaying ghusl).
The evidence
Quran, Surah An-Nisaa 4:43
يَٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ لَا تَقْرَبُوا۟ ٱلصَّلَوٰةَ وَأَنتُمْ سُكَٰرَىٰ حَتَّىٰ تَعْلَمُوا۟ مَا تَقُولُونَ وَلَا جُنُبًا إِلَّا عَابِرِى سَبِيلٍ حَتَّىٰ تَغْتَسِلُوا۟ ۚ وَإِن كُنتُم مَّرْضَىٰٓ أَوْ عَلَىٰ سَفَرٍ أَوْ جَآءَ أَحَدٌۭ مِّنكُم مِّنَ ٱلْغَآئِطِ أَوْ لَٰمَسْتُمُ ٱلنِّسَآءَ فَلَمْ تَجِدُوا۟ مَآءًۭ فَتَيَمَّمُوا۟ صَعِيدًۭا طَيِّبًۭا فَٱمْسَحُوا۟ بِوُجُوهِكُمْ وَأَيْدِيكُمْ ۗ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ كَانَ عَفُوًّا غَفُورًا ﴿٤٣﴾
O you who have believed, do not approach prayer while you are intoxicated until you know what you are saying or in a state of janabah, except those passing through [a place of prayer], until you have washed [your whole body]. And 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 find no water, then seek clean earth and wipe over your faces and your hands [with it]. Indeed, Allah is ever Pardoning and Forgiving.
Forbids approaching prayer in janabah until ghusl; the schools differ on whether passing through means through a masjid.
Sahih al-Bukhari 283
Sahih... سبحان الله إن المؤمن لا ينجس ...
"Glory be to Allah, a believer does not become impure."
Janabah is a legal state; the person's body is not filthy.
Where the ruling is recorded
- al-Hidaya, Kitab al-Taharat, chapter on menstruation and istihadah. Recitation, entering the masjid, tawaf and touching the mushaf are forbidden to the junub.
- Radd al-Muhtar (Ibn Abidin), Kitab al-Taharah, chapter on ghusl. Reciting less than an ayah with the intention of recitation, and Quranic words with the intention of dua.
- al-Mughni (Ibn Qudama), Kitab al-Taharah, chapter on ghusl. The Hanbali view on passing through the masjid and staying after wudu.
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.