The Description of the Full Ritual Bath for Major Ritual Impurity

Question:
The sender, Mahmoud Sayyid Abu Zayd, asks: Is the ablution at the beginning of the full ritual bath for major ritual impurity obligatory and necessary, or is it not?
We ask for a detailed explanation of the full ritual bath, and may Allah guide you.

Answer:
In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
Praise be to Allah, and may peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah, and upon his family and his Companions, and upon whoever follows his guidance. After that:
The recommended practice is to begin by cleaning oneself after relieving oneself, washing the private parts and the area around them, then performing the ablution for prayer. This is the recommended practice, as the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) used to do. He would perform the ablution for prayer after cleaning himself, then take the full ritual bath. He would take water and put it in the roots of the hair on his head, then pour water over his head three times, then let the water flow over the rest of his body, starting with the right side, then the left, and then complete the bath. This is the recommended practice narrated by Aisha and Maymunah (may Allah be pleased with them both) from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him).
If he takes the full ritual bath without performing the ablution, and water covers his entire body with the intention of removing major ritual impurity, that is sufficient, and he becomes pure by it. If water covers his body from his head to his feet with the intention of the full ritual bath for major ritual impurity, that is sufficient. However, the better course is that he begins with the prescribed ablution. This is the better course; it is not obligatory, but rather recommended. If he performs the ablution after the bath and did not perform it before, there is nothing wrong with that, but leaving the recommended practice is leaving the Sunnah. The Sunnah is to begin by cleaning oneself, washing the private parts and the area around them, then performing the ablution for prayer, then taking water and putting it in the roots of the hair, then pouring water over his head three times, then washing the rest of his body, washing the right side, then the left, then completing the rest of the bath. This is the better course, and this is the perfection.
As for sufficiency, it is sufficient if water covers his entire body. If water covers his entire body, whether he begins with his head, his feet, his belly, or his back, there is no difference. Whenever water covers his entire body, that suffices for him. However, the better course is to do as the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) did.
And if he intends with the bath to remove both states of impurity, intending with his bath to remove both the major and minor states of impurity, that suffices for him according to the correct view. However, the better course is that he begins with the ablution, then completes the bath. This is the better course, this is the Sunnah. Yes.

The presenter: He also asked for a detailed explanation of the full ritual bath?

The Shaykh: This is our explanation for it: First, he cleans himself, then performs the ablution for prayer, then takes water and puts it in the roots of the hair, the roots of the hair on his head, then pours it over his head three times with his hands, three times, three handfuls, then washes his body with water, beginning with the right side, then the left. This is how Aisha described it from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and this is how Maymunah described the meaning of that in her narration of the Prophet’s (peace and blessings be upon him) bath. Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) said: “The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) liked to begin with the right side in putting on his sandals, combing his hair, performing his purification, and in all his affairs.” May Allah send blessings and peace upon him.