Does a woman who has had a wet dream have to make ghusl? What are the conditions for a woman to be considered to have had a wet dream? Does the leakage coming after ghusl invalidate ghusl?

Dear Brother / Sister,

Ghusl and ightisal mean being washed. In religious terminology, ghusl means washing the whole body. It is called taharah al-kubra (big cleanliness). The condition that requires such a cleaning is being junub. It is also the end of menstruation and puerperium for women. The state of being junub, as will be explained below, is caused by the ejaculation of semen through lust and sexual intercourse.

If semen leaves its place with lust and is expelled with lust, ghusl becomes necessary. If the semen leaves its place with lust and is expelled after the lust has subsided, ghusl becomes necessary according to Imam Abu Hanifa and Imam Muhammad. However, according to Imam Abu Yusuf, ghusl is not necessary.

In the case of semen that leaves its place with lust in a dream, it is easier for a guest or someone who is in a cold place to hold his penis in order to allow the semen to come out after lust has subsided by choosing the opinion of Imam Abu Yusuf. There are some scholars who regard it appropriate to choose this opinion.

It is also necessary to make ghusl for semen that comes with lust due to looking or touching.

In the case of sexual intercourse, the penetration of the place of the circumcision (head of the penis), or a part of it, necessitates ghusl for both men and women who have reached the age of puberty. It does not matter whether semen comes out or not. If only one of them has reached the age of puberty, ghusl becomes necessary only for that one and not for the other. However, if he/she is close to the age of puberty, he/she is not allowed to perform prayers without making ghusl. In order to continue praying, it is necessary to be cautious about taharah. In the case above and other cases, the cautious way is to avoid suspicion by making ghusl.

If a person wakes up from sleep and sees wetness on his bed, his clothes or his body, he has to make ghusl if he remembers having sexual intercourse in his dream. It does not matter if he doubts whether the wetness is semen or not. However, if he does not remember having a wet dream, the nature of the wetness does not matter and he does not have to make ghusl. This is because it is not known that the discharge was caused by lust. That is the view of Imam Abu Yusuf; according to Imam Abu Hanifa and Imam Muhammad, if he knows that the discharge is mazi, he does not have to make ghusl. However, if he knows or suspects that it is semen, he has to make ghusl. That is more appropriate in terms of caution. Therefore, fatwa is according to the latter view.

If a person wakes up from his bed and remembers having a wet dream and sees a wet spot on his penis, he has to make ghusl. If a person sleeping by standing or sitting wakes up and sees some wetness on his penis, he has to make ghusl if he is convinced that it is semen, or if his organ was inactive before falling asleep. However, if he does not have such a conviction and if his penis was awake before falling asleep, he does not have to make ghusl. It is decreed that the wetness is mazi because the fact that the organ is awake causes mazi to come out.

If a person who is drunk or unconscious wakes up and finds semen on him, he has to make ghusl. If he finds mazi, he does not have to make ghusl.

If semen comes out while a person is urinating and his penis is awake, he has to make ghusl. If the organ is not awake, ghusl is not necessary because wakefulness is a sign of lust.

If a man or a woman has a wet dream, but semen has not come out, ghusl is not necessary. According to Imam Muhammad, such a woman should make ghusl as a precaution because there is a possibility that any fluid that comes out of her may have returned to her.

If a person who has a wet dream or who has had sexual intercourse makes ghusl without urinating or walking a lot or lying down and sleeping, and if some of the semen comes out of him, he has to make ghusl a second time. However, semen that comes out without lust after he has urinated or walked a lot or slept, he does not have to make ghusl. This is because the semen has left its place without lust. Similarly, if her husband’s semen comes out of her after she has made ghusl, she does not have to make ghusl again.

If two people sleeping in the same bed do not remember that they have had a wet dream when they wake up and if they see some wetness like semen or dried semen on the bed, they both have to make ghusl as a precaution even if another person slept in the bed before them if they do not know whose semen it is.

No ghusl is required for semen that is not caused by lust, but by being beaten, lifting a heavy load, or falling from a high place. (According to Imam Shafii, ghusl is necessary in those cases as well.)

No ghusl is necessary for the semen that leaves its place by lust, unless it comes outside the body or to a place that is considered external.

In the case of intercourse that does not destroy the virginity of a girl, ghusl is not necessary if no semen comes out because the virginity has prevented the penetration of the penis inside.

If a non-Muslim woman or a non-Muslim man converts to Islam while he/she is junub or in a state of menstruation or puerperium, ghusl becomes fard. If her menses or puerperium has ended but she has not washed, ghusl is still fard. However, if a non-Muslim man or woman who has had a bath, or who has not yet fallen into the state of being junub, menstruation or puerperium, converts to Islam, it is mandub (recommended) for her/him to make ghusl.

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