Edward Plaisance Jr Jul 4, 2013:

No problem in using "ghusl" but if this is for the general public, you should put a footnote to explain what it is. I would bet that 98% of the native speaking English world do not know the word.

My comment was that there is no problem in using vocabulary like "ablution" in English, since most of the time it is used in reference to Islamic practices and does not make one think of Christian practices.

Mohsen Askary Jul 4, 2013:

Frequency of Ghusl You can also see how frequent the word "Ghusl" is, whether in Google or that Corpus you mentioned in your discussion entry.

Mohsen Askary Jul 4, 2013:

Dear Edward as far as I get "ablution" can refer to any religious washing like Wudhu, etc. But "Ghusl" which is also some kind of ablution refers to the specific act of washing the whole body for religious reasons.
I also think that "Ghusl" here would be a better choice because it is a totally Islamic word with Islamic background and that this word completely conveys the concept of this specific religious act.

Edward Plaisance Jr Jul 4, 2013:

On the contrary, these terms are most often related to Islamic practices. See http://corpus2.byu.edu/glowbe/ and type in "ablution" and you will see the most common occurrences are related to Islamic practices.

Mohsen Askary Jul 2, 2013:

Words like "Ceremonial Washing" and "ablution" recall Christianity. And if the text is Islamic it would be better to avoid such words.