Ghusl for women: a guide for Muslim women

When a woman takes a ghusl

Three times above all.

• When her period ends, before she prays again (Quran 2:222).
• When the bleeding after childbirth (nifas) ends, at most forty days after the birth (Sunan Abi Dawud 311).
• After intimacy, the state the Quran calls janabah (Quran 5:6).

Many women also take a ghusl before Jummah and Eid, though it is not required for them.

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How to take a ghusl, for Muslim women

Intention, then water everywhere. Intend the ghusl, wash your hands and private parts, and make wudu. Pour water over your head three times so it reaches the roots of your hair, then over the whole body, right side first and then the left, as Aishah described it (Sahih al-Bukhari 248). You can leave your feet until the end, as Maymunah described (Sahih al-Bukhari 249).

Long hair and plaits

The roots must get wet; the plaits can stay. A woman need not undo her plaits for the ghusl after intimacy, as long as the water reaches the roots of her hair (Sahih Muslim 330). For the ghusl after a period, the Hanbali school recommends undoing them, and the other schools treat it the same as any ghusl.

After a period

A little care afterwards. When a woman asked how to wash after her period, the Prophet ﷺ taught her the ghusl and told her to use a piece of cotton with a little musk afterwards (Sahih Muslim 332). Today many women simply use a gentle, lightly scented wash.