Source: Fatāwā Shaykh al-Ḥadīth Mubārakpūrī, Vol. 1, p. 179
Is a boy of ten years considered bāligh (mature) or still nā-bāligh (immature)?
Al-ḥamdu lillāh, waṣ-ṣalātu wa-s-salāmu ʿalā Rasūlillāh, ammā baʿd!
❀ Before fifteen years of age:
If a boy experiences iḥtilām (ejaculation of semen, whether in sleep or wakefulness, through intercourse or otherwise) before reaching 15 years, then he is considered bāligh in Sharīʿah.
❀ At fifteen years of age:
If by the age of 15 years no such sign has appeared, then upon completion of the age, he is considered bāligh purely by age.
Imām al-Ḥāfiẓ Ibn Ḥajar (رحمه الله) said:
“The scholars are unanimously agreed that when men or women experience iḥtilām (ejaculation of semen), the obligations of worship, penal laws, and all rulings apply. This applies whether the emission occurred due to intercourse or otherwise, in wakefulness or in sleep. They are also unanimously agreed that mere intercourse in a dream without emission has no effect.”
(Fatḥ al-Bārī, Vol. 5, p. 277)
ʿAbdullāh ibn ʿUmar (RA) said:
“I was presented before the Prophet ﷺ on the Day of Khandaq (Battle of the Trench), and he did not permit me to fight, for he did not consider me to have reached bulūgh.”
(ʿAbd al-Razzāq, Abū ʿAwanah, Ibn Ḥibbān – quoted in Fatḥ al-Bārī, Vol. 5, p. 278)
Ibn Ḥajar (رحمه الله) commented:
“The story of Ibn ʿUmar is used as evidence that whoever completes fifteen years is treated as bāligh, even if he has not experienced iḥtilām, and thus he becomes legally responsible for ʿibādāt and ḥudūd.”
(Fatḥ al-Bārī, Vol. 5, pp. 278–279)
❀ In warmer regions, some boys may reach puberty as early as ten or eleven years due to iḥtilām.
❀ In Tahdhīb al-Tahdhīb (Vol. 5, p. 337), it is mentioned regarding ʿAbdullāh ibn ʿAmr ibn al-ʿĀṣ (RA):
“There was only eleven years difference in age between him and his father.”
This indicates that puberty at ten years of age is possible.
❀ al-Sirāj al-Munīr states:
“Ten years is an age where puberty through iḥtilām is possible.”
✔ A ten-year-old boy may be considered bāligh if the Sharʿī sign of iḥtilām appears.
✔ If such a sign does not appear, then upon reaching the age of fifteen years, he will be considered bāligh by default.
ھذا ما عندي والله أعلم بالصواب
(al-Muḥaddith, Vol. 9, Issue 8, Dhū al-Qaʿdah 1360H / Dec. 1941)
Question:
Is a boy of ten years considered bāligh (mature) or still nā-bāligh (immature)?
Answer:
Al-ḥamdu lillāh, waṣ-ṣalātu wa-s-salāmu ʿalā Rasūlillāh, ammā baʿd!
Sharʿī Signs of Puberty (Bulūgh)
❀ Before fifteen years of age:
If a boy experiences iḥtilām (ejaculation of semen, whether in sleep or wakefulness, through intercourse or otherwise) before reaching 15 years, then he is considered bāligh in Sharīʿah.
❀ At fifteen years of age:
If by the age of 15 years no such sign has appeared, then upon completion of the age, he is considered bāligh purely by age.
Scholarly Consensus
Imām al-Ḥāfiẓ Ibn Ḥajar (رحمه الله) said:
“The scholars are unanimously agreed that when men or women experience iḥtilām (ejaculation of semen), the obligations of worship, penal laws, and all rulings apply. This applies whether the emission occurred due to intercourse or otherwise, in wakefulness or in sleep. They are also unanimously agreed that mere intercourse in a dream without emission has no effect.”
(Fatḥ al-Bārī, Vol. 5, p. 277)
Example from Ibn ʿUmar (RA)
ʿAbdullāh ibn ʿUmar (RA) said:
“I was presented before the Prophet ﷺ on the Day of Khandaq (Battle of the Trench), and he did not permit me to fight, for he did not consider me to have reached bulūgh.”
(ʿAbd al-Razzāq, Abū ʿAwanah, Ibn Ḥibbān – quoted in Fatḥ al-Bārī, Vol. 5, p. 278)
Ibn Ḥajar (رحمه الله) commented:
“The story of Ibn ʿUmar is used as evidence that whoever completes fifteen years is treated as bāligh, even if he has not experienced iḥtilām, and thus he becomes legally responsible for ʿibādāt and ḥudūd.”
(Fatḥ al-Bārī, Vol. 5, pp. 278–279)
Puberty in Hot Climates
❀ In warmer regions, some boys may reach puberty as early as ten or eleven years due to iḥtilām.
❀ In Tahdhīb al-Tahdhīb (Vol. 5, p. 337), it is mentioned regarding ʿAbdullāh ibn ʿAmr ibn al-ʿĀṣ (RA):
“There was only eleven years difference in age between him and his father.”
This indicates that puberty at ten years of age is possible.
❀ al-Sirāj al-Munīr states:
“Ten years is an age where puberty through iḥtilām is possible.”
Conclusion
✔ A ten-year-old boy may be considered bāligh if the Sharʿī sign of iḥtilām appears.
✔ If such a sign does not appear, then upon reaching the age of fifteen years, he will be considered bāligh by default.
ھذا ما عندي والله أعلم بالصواب
(al-Muḥaddith, Vol. 9, Issue 8, Dhū al-Qaʿdah 1360H / Dec. 1941)
