– Meaning to bathe
For: The Friday [prayer],
– If a person was to bathe due to being in a state of janabah and then performed the Friday prayer with this act of purification they will be regarded as gaining the reward for bathing.
Two Eid prayers,
– The Fitr and al-Adha.
Bathing [1] is recommended for the prayer according Abu Yusuf, similar to the case of the Friday prayer[2]. If the Eid and Jumah prayer fall on the same day then one bath is sufficient.
Ihram
– Meaning when wishing to enter it, whether it be for Umrah or Hajj. This bath is in order to attain cleanliness not purity. Therefore a woman bathes even if she is in her menstrual period or experiences post birth bleeding. Due to this one does not make tayammum for this bath in the absence of water as mentioned in Maraqi al-Falah.[3]
And
– And for the one performing Hajj in
Arafah
– Before the standing
Additional Rulings:
It is desirable for the following to bathe:
Someone who has embraced Islam, even if they are in a state of purity[4], a person who reaches maturity/puberty[5], one regaining sanity, after cupping, washing the deceased, the night of bara’ah[6], night of al-Qadr, standing in Muzdalifah, when entering Makkah and for the Tawaf al-Ziyarah, the Kusuf prayer, rain prayer, entering Madinah, one who wears a new garment, one repenting from a sin, returning from a journey and a woman experiencing irregular bleeding which ceases.
Ibn Majah and al-Tabarani report from Ibn Abbas that He (Peace and Blessing be Upon Him) ‘Would bathe on the day of the two Eids’.
[2] There is a difference over bathing for the Jumah prayer. Abu Yusuf was of the view that it was sunnah for the Jumah and Eid prayer. Muhammad bin al-Hasan al-Shaybani and al-Hasan bin Ziyad were of the view that it was sunnah to bathe for the day. This difference of views becomes evident in the following scenarios:
– A person bathes before Fajr and then offers the Jumah prayer from this bathing, then according to Abu Yusuf he will have gained reward, according to the other view this person would have not. This is because they condition the bathing to have occurred on the actual Friday itself.
-Likewise in the case that a person bathes but then nullifies their wudu, then performs wudu and offers the Jumah prayer, according to them both he will have gained reward, but not according to Abu Yusuf, as they both do not view an interruption (of a period of ritual impurity) between the bath and offering the prayer to be of consequence, as opposed to Abu Yusuf. See Al-Binayah (1/179).
Ibn Abidin supported this view in his Hashiyah (1/114) and added that in Miraj al-Dirayah it is mentioned even if a person was to bathe on Thursday or the night preceding Jumah they will have fulfilled the sunnah which is to remove any bad odours from the body.
[3] Maraqi al-Falah (p.63). Maraqi al-Falah Sharh Nur al-Idah is authored by Abu al-Ikhlas al-Hasan bin Ammar bin Ali bin Yusuf al-Shurunbulali, from the area called Sharablulah. He was born in the year 994 (AH) and passed away in year 1069 (AH). See Mujam al-Muallifin (3/265).
[4] It is fard (obligatory) on a person who enters Islam whilst junub, in a menstrual period or experiencing post birth bleeding to bathe.
[5] This applies to both male and female. The fatwa position is fifteen years for both of them if no signs of puberty are apparent. This therefore excludes them reaching maturity by the occurring of a wet dream, making a female pregnant in the case of a male. And in the case of a female the occurring of the menstrual cycle and pregnancy. In these cases a bath must be taken. See Hashiyah al-Tahtawi ala Maraqi al-Falah (p.63).
[6] Which is the middle night of the month of Shaban.