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Does a towel become impure after being used to dry the limbs of someone performing ghusl or wudu, and is it permissible to use it again? And what about the purity of the water remaining on the body after cleansing?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

The water remaining on the body after ghusl (ritual bath) or wudu (ablution), or that which comes into contact with a towel after drying, is considered pure and does not lose its original state. This is based on the statement of Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) in the agreed-upon hadith: that when the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) returned from bathing, "his head was dripping," which indicates the purity of this water. The scholars have unanimously agreed that water used for ablution or ghusl is pure, because it has come into contact with a pure body. Furthermore, the body of one in a state of major ritual impurity (junub) is pure by consensus, and pure water, when it comes into contact with a pure place, does not become impure. Therefore, the towel used to dry the limbs after purification is pure, and it is permissible to use it multiple times.

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

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