Short answer
Ghusl is fard after sexual intercourse (even without ejaculation), after semen comes out with desire (awake or in a wet dream), at the end of a period, and at the end of postnatal bleeding. A non-Muslim who becomes Muslim while in one of these states must do ghusl too. The Shafi'i school also requires it for semen without desire.
Ghusl is fard for: discharge of mani that left its place with desire, entry of the head of the penis into the private part, the end of haid, and the end of nifas. Ghusl is sunnah for Jumuah, the two Eids, ihram and the day of Arafah.
Other madhhabs
- Shafi'i
- Any discharge of mani requires ghusl, even without desire, for example from illness or lifting something heavy.
Explanation
The Quran says that if you are in a state of janabah (major ritual impurity), you must purify yourselves. The sunnah explains what puts you in that state.
In the Hanafi school, ghusl is fard in four cases:
- Intercourse: once the head of the penis enters, ghusl is fard for both, whether or not anyone ejaculates. The Prophet ﷺ said that once a man sits between her four limbs and exerts himself, ghusl is obligatory.
- Ejaculation with desire: from intimacy, masturbation, or a wet dream. This applies to women's fluid too.
- End of a period (haid).
- End of postnatal bleeding (nifas).
What does not require ghusl: precum (madhy), wadi, normal discharge, a dream with no fluid, or kissing and touching without ejaculation. Semen that comes out without desire, for example after an injury, requires only wudu in the Hanafi school.
Ghusl is sunnah for Jumuah, Eid, before ihram, and on the day of Arafah, and recommended for a new Muslim who was not in janabah. People sometimes ask "what breaks ghusl": nothing undoes a ghusl once done. A new cause from the list above calls for a new ghusl, and the things that break wudu only require wudu. For the steps 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.
Makes ghusl fard for someone in a state of janabah.
Sahih al-Bukhari 291
Sahih... اذا جلس بين شعبها الاربع ثم جهدها فقد وجب الغسل ...
"When he sits between her four limbs and then exerts himself, ghusl becomes obligatory."
Intercourse requires ghusl even without ejaculation.
Where the ruling is recorded
- al-Hidaya, Kitab al-Taharat, chapter on ghusl. The causes that make ghusl fard and the sunnah ghusls.
- Nur al-Idah with Maraqi al-Falah, Chapter on what makes ghusl obligatory. Mani must leave its place with desire.
- Minhaj al-Talibin, Kitab al-Taharah, chapter on ghusl. The Shafi'i view that any discharge of mani requires ghusl.
This answer is pending review by the scholars on our team. 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.