Bilal Assad – Every Muslim must know this

A question has come to me asking about

the process of Rusul.

What is this term Rusul in Islam?

The definition of Rusul

is basically showering or bathing.

That's all it really is.

However,

we use the term Rusul in Islam to

refer to a specific process after a particular

activity or practice.

And there are 2 main activities and practices.

Number 1,

the,

when a person has

engaged in *,

if they're married,

or

a person has woken up, usually men have

this, they've woken up with a *,

or after a menstrual cycle has ended for

a woman.

Then you do a process called

rusl, which means showering or bathing,

before you will be allowed to

recommence

praying sadaat.

Rusl

has to have the right intention.

So when a person is going to

wash themselves in in a bathing,

process or showering,

they've got to have the intention of why

they're doing it.

Someone asked me if it's just merely showering,

but without the intention does that suffice?

According to the majority of scholars, no it

does not suffice and it is safer to

go with the intention. But the intention is

really nothing, It's merely an intention in the

heart, that you're going to wash yourself

in order to,

become,

spiritually,

clean,

in order to go back and pray your

salat and so on, other acts of worship

which otherwise you couldn't have done.

So for the men and women, it's the

same process,

or the same,

method

with slightly

differing views here and there, which I'm going

to mention. First of all, it suffices to

just let the if you're under the shower

for example, sprinkler, to let the water drop

all over your body from head down to

your toes. And that the water has to

reach every part of your body,

including the roots of your hair.

Once that has

is is done then your hustle is over.

I know some teenagers when I was a

teacher,

students asked me what can I do when

I am rushing to school and I've had

a * and then I can't have

a shower And then when it comes time

to prayer, they kind of hide or they

don't want to pray? And some of them

even pray without

having,

done their rusl from this state which is

called

another term called janaba.

So we had to rush to answer that

question and say listen, it's very easy. All

you have to do is just jump in

the shower, let the sprinkler go all over

your body,

one minute job and it's done.

So it's that simple for both men and

women.

Otherwise if a person has made a mistake

and gone out to school or work and

hasn't done their rusu, then they have to

make up their prayer of course in something

called Qada' but this cannot continue this way

and of course Allah pardons people for their

ignorance. Now I come to the sunnah way,

the recommended way that the prophet peace be

upon him taught us to do the rusul,

which will give you more hasanat

just for following

the way of the prophet peace be upon

him. Obviously to us, rusul is a form

of worship because we do it for the

acts of worship,

when we, pray and so on. The way

the prophet peace be upon him used to

do it, and I want you to imagine

with me in those days they used to

have a bucket and a little utensil through

which they took the water out and spilled

on themselves. So the way the prophet, peace

be upon him, used to do it, according

to authentic hadith of course, is that he

would,

crouch in his place and then he would

spill water and the first thing that the

sunnah says is to wash with your left

hand the private

areas, the private parts.

After you've washed the private parts with your

left hand, then to make wudu, say bismillah

and make udoo. Now some people might be

asking, hold on, can I say Bismillah when

I'm naked? Can I say Bismillah if I'm

in the toilet or bathroom? I say to

you, yes, you can say Bismillah, but it

is better to say Bismillah before you take

your clothes off or before you enter and

that would suffice inshaAllah. And if you don't

feel comfortable saying you don't have to say

Bismillah. The point is make wudur per normal.

The prophet peace be upon him is to

make wudur and leave his feet to the

end.

Why? Because of where he is standing and

where the water ends up spilling because there

will be dirty water around his feet and

he would leave it to the end. But

for us,

just under the shower, the sun has to

make wudu fully and then wash your head

along with your hair to the roots of

your scalp 3 times.

Now if you've got hair which you've tied

up especially with women because generally we know

that women have long hair and sometimes very

hard for them and they don't want to

untie it.

They probably have braids for example.

Then the scholars are agreed that,

she there's no evidence to say that she

has to unbraid her hair or untie her

hair. So long as the water gets,

covers her main scalp and covers the majority

of her scalp after Janaba, which is,

after *, then that is okay. And some

scholars said if it's after menstruals, the menstrual

cycle, she'll try her best to get the

water into the roots in the scalp, but

there is no real evidence to say,

that specifically. So both men and women to

try and get the water,

into the scalp. Soak the Let their hair

be soaked and the water get to the

majority of the scalp and that inshallah

will suffice. After that, to wash the right

side of your body 3 times and then

the left side of your body 3 times

and leave your feet to the end. Now

as I said, the reason the feet were

left to the end was because in the

olden times they would be sitting or standing,

crouching in one place, so the prophet peace

would find him to lift his feet to

the end in order to wash off all

the, residual and the water that had spilt

down. But for us, I think you understand

for those of you who have showers and

sprinklers,

just having the water drop on you is

enough. Now last question, do you have to

make Wudu,

in Rusl, or does Rusl,

suffice and cover your wudu as well? Is

it a package or, altogether, or do you

have to do them separate? The correct view,

brothers and sisters, is, and the safest one,

is to also make wudu.

So make the intention for wudu in your

heart, and then the intention for wudu while

you're in the shower, and Insha'Allah you can

pray,

straight after it. I hope that answers your

question. Wasalaam Alaikum Warahmatullah.