Praise be to Allaah.
Firstly:
Your ghusl in the manner described is valid and acceptable,
praise be to Allaah. But you have missed out some of the sunnahs, which does
not affect the validity of your ghusl.
The reason for that is that ghusl is of two types: acceptable
and complete. In the case of acceptable ghusl, it is sufficient to do the
obligatory parts of ghusl only, without doing any of the mustahabb or Sunnah
actions. He should intend to purify himself, then make water reach every
part of his body, using any means whether that is standing beneath a shower
or immersing oneself in the sea or in a swimming pool and the like, as well
as rinsing the mouth and nose.
Complete ghusl means doing what the Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) did it, with all the sunnahs of ghusl.
Shaykh Muhammad ibn ‘Uthaymeen was asked about how ghusl is
done.
He replied: Ghusl may be done in two ways:
1 – By doing the obligatory parts of ghusl only, which is
making water reach all parts of the body, and includes rinsing the mouth and
nose. If a person makes the water reach all parts of his body, by whatever
means, then he has removed the major impurity and purified himself properly,
because Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
“If you are in a state of Janaaba (i.e. after a sexual
discharge), purify yourselves (bathe your whole body)”
[al-Maa'idah 5:6]
2 – The complete way, which is doing ghusl as the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) did it. When he wanted to
do ghusl in the case of janaabah, he would wash his hands, then wash his
private part and anywhere else that the impurity had reached, then he would
do complete wudoo’, then he would wash his head three times with water, then
he would wash the rest of his body. This is how complete ghusl is done.
End quote from Fataawa Arkaan al-Islam, p. 248.
Secondly:
There is no difference between ghusl in the case of janaabah
and ghusl following menses except that it is more mustahabb to rub the hair
in the case of ghusl following menses than in the case of ghusl following
janaabah. It is also mustahabb for the woman to apply perfume to the site of
bleeding, to remove any unpleasant smell.
Muslim (332) narrated from ‘Aa’ishah (may Allaah be pleased
with her) that Asma’ asked the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah
be upon him) about ghusl following menses. He said: “Let one of you take her
water and lotus leaves and clean herself well, then let her pour water over
her head and rub it vigorously so that it will reach the roots of her hair.
Then let her pour the water over herself, then take a piece of cloth scented
with musk and purify herself.” Asma’ said: How should she purify herself? He
said: “Subhaan-Allaah! Purify yourself with it.” ‘Aa’ishah said – as if she
whispered it to her – Follow the traces of blood. And she asked him about
ghusl in the case of janaabah. He said: “Let her take water and clean
herself well – or clean herself thoroughly – then let her pour water over
her head and rub it so that it reaches the roots of the hair, then let her
pour water over herself.” ‘Aa’ishah said: How good the woman of the Ansaar
were! They did not let shyness prevent them from understanding their
religion properly.
So the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him) differentiated between ghusl following menses and ghusl following
janaabah, with regard to rubbing the hair and applying perfume.
Thirdly:
Saying Bismillah when doing ghusl and wudoo’ is mustahabb
according to the majority of fuqaha’, and the Hanbalis said that it is
obligatory.
Shaykh ibn ‘Uthaymeen (may Allaah have mercy on him) said:
Saying Bismillaah is obligatory according to our madhhab, as in the case of
wudoo’. There is no text concerning that but they said: It is obligatory in
the case of wudoo’ so it is more so in the case of ghusl, because that is a
greater purification.
But the correct view is that it is not obligatory in the case
of either wudoo’ or ghusl. End quote from al-Sharh al-Mumti’.
Fourthly:
Rinsing the mouth and nose is essential in ghusl, as is the
view of the Hanafis and Hanbalis.
Al-Nawawi said, discussing the difference of opinion on this
point: the views of the scholars on rinsing the mouth and nose are four:
1-
That these actions are two of
the sunnahs of wudoo’ and ghusl. This is our view (Shaafa’i).
2-
That they are obligatory in
both wudoo’ and ghusl and are conditions of them being valid. This is the
well known view of Ahmad.
3-
That they are obligatory in
ghusl but not in wudoo’. This is the view of Abu Haneefah and his
companions.
4-
That rinsing the nose, but not
the mouth, is obligatory in wudoo’ and ghusl. This was narrated from Ahmad,
and Ibn al-Mundhir said: This is my view.
End quote from al-Majmoo’ (1/400).
The correct view is the second one, which is that rinsing the
mouth and nose is obligatory in ghusl, and that is a condition of it being
valid.
Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen (may Allaah have mercy on him) said:
Among the scholars are some who say that ghusl is not valid without them
(i.e., rinsing the mouth and nose), as is the case with wudoo’.
And it was said that it is valid without them.
The correct view is the former, because Allaah says
(interpretation of the meaning): “purify yourselves (bathe your whole
body)” [al-Maa'idah 5:6],and this includes the entire body. The inside
of the nose and mouth are part of the body which must be purified. Hence the
Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) enjoined that in
wudoo’ because they are included in the words of Allaah (interpretation of
the meaning): “wash your faces”
[al-Maa’idah 5:6]. As they are included in washing the face and are
included in that which must be purified in wudoo’, they are also included in
ghusl, because purification in that case is even more important. End quote
from al-Sharh al-Mumti’.
Fifthly:
If in the past you did not rinse your mouth and nose when
doing ghusl because you did not know the ruling on that or because you were
following the opinion of someone who does not regard that as obligatory,
then your ghusl is valid and your prayers offered following that ghusl are
also valid, and you do not have to repeat them, because of the strong
difference of opinion among the scholars concerning the ruling on rinsing
the mouth and nose, as stated above.
May Allaah help us all to do that which He loves and which
pleases him.
And Allaah knows best.