Does One Have to Repeat Ghusl After Noticing that Sexual Fluid Exited?

Answered by Sidi Abdullah Anik Misra

Question

According to the Hanafi school, if a female has sexual intercourse with her husband and after her ghusl she notices a wetness/liquid exiting her female orifice and this may last for a number of hours after intercourse, does this necessitate the repetition of ghusl? Waiting for this to stop can sometimes cross prayer times. All related answers on other websites only refer to a man exiting semen post ghusl, not specifying the situation for a woman.

Answer

Thank you for your question.

It is not uncommon that for some time after intercourse, the male’s semen may continue to exit from the female, even long after she takes a ghusl (purification bath).

If it is a very short time after the intercourse, and she immediately takes a ghusl, then if her own fluid comes out, she will have to repeat her ghusl since the fluid could be exiting due to a lingering or subsiding sexual desire [even if sub-conscious].

If she immediately took a ghusl and only his sexual fluid came out, for sure, she would not have to retake the ghusl but rather only make wudhu.  If she wasn’t sure whether its semen or her own fluid, she still doesn’t have to retake a ghusl (rather only wudhu) since it can be assumed that the fluid is his only.  Still, it is more religiously scrupulous for her to retake the ghusl, though not required. [Ibn `Abidin, Radd al-Muhtar]

However, if she does some action that confirms that post-intercourse desires have waned and stopped, such as taking a walk, urinating, or sleeping [or less effectively, simply waiting a long time], then she will not have to re-take her ghusl, whether what comes out is hers, his or both. [Ibn Nujaym, Bahr al-Ra’iq]

Practically, she should try, after intercourse, to ensure as much sexual fluid as possible exits – urination, in her case, won’t “clear the passage” like with a male, but it definitely is the fastest option, as it relaxes the muscles and the sitting position allows for sexual fluid to exit easily.  Then, once she takes a ghusl, she is ritually pure.

In any of these cases, if she completed a prayer after her initial ghusl, whether she had to re-take her ghusl later or only re-make her wudhu, she would not have to repeat the prayer she prayed while she was in a state of purity.  Ibn ‘Abidin, in Radd al-Muhtar, mentions that the most apparent answer to him is that women take the same rulings as men here in terms of the exiting of their own sexual fluid.

And Allah knows best.

Wassalam,
[Shaykh] Abdullah Anik Misra
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Shaykh Abdullah Anik Misra was born in Toronto, Canada, in 1983. His family hails from India, and he was raised in the Hindu tradition. He embraced Islam in 2001 while at the University of Toronto, from where he completed a Bachelor of Business Administration. He then traveled overseas in 2005 to study the Arabic language and Islamic sciences in Tarim, Yemen, for some time, as well as Darul Uloom in Trinidad, West Indies. He spent 12 years in Amman, Jordan, where he focused on Islamic Law, Theology, Hadith Sciences, Prophetic Biography, and Islamic Spirituality while also working at the Qasid Arabic Institute as Director of Programs. He holds a BA in Islamic Studies (Alimiyya, Darul Uloom) and authorization in the six authentic books of Hadith and is currently pursuing specialized training in issuing Islamic legal verdicts (ifta’). He holds a certificate in Counselling and often works with new Muslims and those struggling with religious OCD. He is an instructor and researcher in Sacred Law and Theology with the SeekersGuidance The Global Islamic Seminary. Currently, He resides in the Greater Toronto Area with his wife and children. His personal interests include Indian history, comparative religion, English singing, and poetry.