It is narrated from Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) that two men from the people of Iraq came to him and asked him about the ritual bath (ghusl) on Friday: is it obligatory? Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) said to them: Whoever takes a bath, that is better and purer. And I will tell you why the ritual bath (and the emphasis on it) began. In the time of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), the people were needy; they wore woollen clothes and watered the date palms by carrying water on their backs. The mosque was narrow and its roof was low. Once the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) came out for Friday on an extremely hot summer day. His (peace and blessings be upon him) pulpit was small, having only three steps. He (peace and blessings be upon him) addressed the people, and the people sweated in their woollen clothes, so the smell of sweat and wool rose from their bodies until it began to harm one another, and the smell reached the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) while he was on the pulpit. So he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "O people, when this day comes, take a ritual bath, and let each of you apply the best of whatever perfume or oil he can find." This hadith is sahih (authentic) on the condition of Imam Bukhari, but they did not record it.