Lady Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) says that when the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) intended to perform the ritual bath (ghusl) after major impurity, he would wash his hands three times. In one narration, it is mentioned: a vessel of water would be placed, and before putting his hands into the vessel, he (peace and blessings be upon him) would pour water over his hands and wash them. Then, taking water with his right hand, he would pour it over his left hand and wash his private parts until they were clean. Then he would wash his hand thoroughly. Then he would rinse his mouth three times and sniff water into his nose three times, wash his face three times, wash his arms three times, then pour water over his head three times, and then perform the bath. In one narration, it is mentioned: then he would wash the rest of his body. When he came out, he would wash his feet.

(Second chain) Sayyida says: When the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, performed the ritual bath of janabah, he would perform the ablution as for prayer, wash his private parts and his feet, and rub his hand against the wall. Then he would pour water over himself. It is as if I can see the mark of his hand on the wall.

(Third chain) Sayyida Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) was asked about the bath (ghusl) of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). She said: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) would begin with his hands, washing them. In one narration, it is mentioned: He would wash his palms three times, then perform ablution as for prayer, then insert his fingers among the roots of the hair on his head. When he was certain that the skin was wet, he would pour three handfuls of water, filled with both hands, over his head, then pour water over the rest of his body.

It is narrated from the wife of the Prophet, Sayyida Maymunah (may Allah be pleased with her), she says: I placed water for the bath for the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and he performed the ritual bath of janabah in this way: he poured water from the vessel onto his right hand with his left hand and washed his palms three times, then put his hand into the vessel and poured water over his private parts three times, then rubbed his hand on the wall or the ground, then rinsed his mouth and sniffed water into his nose three times each, then washed his face three times and his arms three times each, then poured water over his head three times and then poured water over the rest of his body, then moved from that place and washed his feet.

Mawla Ibn Abbas, Imam Shu’bah says: When Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) performed the ghusl of janabah, he would pour water from his right hand onto his left hand and wash it seven times before putting it into the vessel. Once, he forgot how many times he had poured water on his hand, so he asked me: How many times did I pour water? I said: I do not know. He said: May you be bereft of your mother, why do you not know? Then he performed the ablution for prayer, then poured water over his head and body, and said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) used to perform ghusl in this manner.

Ubaidullah bin Maqsim says: Hasan bin Muhammad asked Sayyiduna Jabir bin Abdullah (ra) about the ritual bath (ghusl) after major impurity. He said: Wet your hair and wash your skin. He asked: How did the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) perform ghusl? He said: He would pour water on his head three times and then let water flow over his skin. He said: My head has a lot of hair. He replied: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) had more hair on his head than you do, and it was purer.

Asim bin Amr Bajali narrates from the man who was among those who asked Sayyiduna Umar bin Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him): We have come to you to ask about three things: What is the ruling on a servant performing voluntary prayers in his house, what is the method of ghusl (ritual bath) after janabah (major impurity), and what is permissible for a husband regarding his menstruating wife. Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said: Are you people magicians? You have asked me such questions that, since I asked the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) about them, no one has asked me these questions. Nevertheless, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: A servant performing voluntary prayers in his house is light; he may illuminate his house as much as he wishes. Regarding ghusl after janabah, he said: The person in a state of janabah should wash his private parts, then perform wudu, and pour water over his head three times. And regarding the menstruating woman, he said: The part above her izar (waist-wrapper) is permissible for the husband.

Abu Zubair says: I asked Sayyiduna Jabir (RA) about ghusl (ritual bath), and he replied: The people of Banu Thaqif came to the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and said: Indeed, it gets cold in our region, so what do you command us regarding ghusl? The Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: I pour water over my head three times. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) did not say anything beyond this.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Jabir bin Mut’im (may Allah be pleased with him), he says: We mentioned the ritual bath of janabah in the presence of the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: My practice is that I take three handfuls of water with both palms and pour it over my head, and then I pour water over the rest of my body.

It is narrated from Sayyida Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) that when the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) performed the ritual bath of janabah, he would rinse his mouth and draw water into his nose.