Maymunah said, "I brought the Messenger of Allah ﷺ water for his bath from major impurity. He washed his hands two or three times, then dipped his hand into the vessel and poured water over his private parts, washing them with his left hand. He then struck the ground with his left hand and rubbed it vigorously. After that he performed ablution as he would for prayer, then poured three handfuls of water over his head, filling his palm each time, and washed the rest of his body. He then moved away from where he had been standing and washed his feet. I brought him a towel, but he returned it."In another narration, the Prophet ﷺ was brought a towel but did not touch it, and he kept shaking off the water with his hand like this.In another narration, "I brought him a cloth, but he refused it and began shaking the water off with his hand."
أدنيت لرسول الله غسله من الجنابة، فغسل كفيه مرتين أو ثلاثا، ثم أدخل يده في الإناء، ثم أفرغ به على فرجه وغسله بشماله، ثم ضرب بشماله الأرض، فدلكها دلكا شديدا، ثم توضأ وضوءه للصلاة، ثم أفرغ على رأسه ثلاث حفنات ملء كفه، ثم غسل سائر جسده، ثم تنحي عن مقامه ذلك، فغسل رجليه، ثم أتيته بالمنديل، فرده. وفي رواية: أن النبي ﷺ أتى بمنديل فلم يمسه، وجعل يقول بالماء هكذا، يعني ينفضه. وفي رواية: فأتيته بخرقة فلم يردها، فجعل ينفض بيده.
Bukhari narrated it in ghusl (257, 259) and Muslim in menstruation (317), the wording being his, both through the route of Amash, from Salim bin Abu Jaad, from Kurayb, from Ibn Abbas, from his maternal aunt Maymuna, and he related the hadith.Nasai narrated it (253) in two ways, once from Ibn Abbas, from Maymuna his maternal aunt, just as the two sheikhs narrated it, and another time he narrated it from Ibn Abbas himself, placing it among his own narrations (number 254), relating it briefly with this wording, that the Prophet ﷺ performed ghusl, and a towel was brought to him, but he did not touch it, and he began gesturing at the water like this.His statement, "he began gesturing at the water like this," means he was wiping it off his body.