Question
If a person wakes up from sleep and feels moisture on his clothes, is ghusl obligatory for him?
Answer
الحمد لله، والصلاة والسلام علىٰ رسول الله، أما بعد!
When a person wakes up from sleep and sees moisture on his clothes, three different cases are possible for him:
1. If he is certain that it is semen (mani):
◈ In this case, ghusl is obligatory.
◈ Whether or not he remembers a wet dream makes no difference, because ghusl becomes necessary upon the emission of semen.
2. If he is certain that it is not semen:
◈ In this case, ghusl is not obligatory.
◈ However, it is obligatory to wash the wet place, because this moisture is counted as having the ruling of urine.
3. If he doubts whether it is semen or not:
In this case, there is the following detail:
٭ If he remembers a wet dream:
◈ If he remembers a wet dream during sleep, this moisture will be considered semen and ghusl will be obligatory.
◈ The evidence for this is the hadith of Umm Salamah (may Allah be pleased with her). She asked the Prophet ﷺ:
“When a woman sees in her sleep the same thing that a man sees, is ghusl obligatory for her?”
He ﷺ said:
«نَعَمْ اِذَا رَأَتِ الْمَاءَ»
“Yes! When she sees the water.”
◈ This hadith makes clear that whoever has a wet dream and sees semen (water), ghusl is obligatory for him.
٭ If he sees nothing in the dream:
◈ If he saw nothing in the dream, but had thought about sexual intercourse before going to sleep, this moisture will be deemed madhi (prostatic fluid).
◈ The emission of madhi does not make ghusl obligatory; however, for legal purity it is necessary to wash the organ.
٭ If no such thought had come to him even before sleeping:
◈ In this case, there is a difference of opinion among the jurists:
➊ One opinion is that ghusl is obligatory as a precaution.
➋ The other opinion is that ghusl is not obligatory, and this is the preponderant (more correct) opinion.
◈ The reason for this is that the default is baraat al-dhimmah (being free of liability); unless there is a definitive proof, no ruling can be made binding.
ھذا ما عندي والله أعلم بالصواب
