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Is it obligatory for water to reach the throat during rinsing the mouth (madmadah), sniffing water into the nose (istinshaq), and expelling water from the nose (istinthaar) during Wudu and Ghusl?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

Rinsing the mouth (madhmadah) is obligatory during ablution (wudu’). It is recommended to perform it thoroughly by vigorously moving the water to reach all parts of the mouth, unless one is fasting, based on the Prophet’s (peace be upon him) saying: “Perform istinshaaq (sniffing water into the nose) thoroughly, unless you are fasting.” This thoroughness is recommended, not obligatory. For the obligatory part, it is sufficient to merely move the water inside the mouth; it is not necessary to pass it down to the throat.

Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026

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