Rules Regarding Ghusl and Wet Dreams for Men and Women

Answered by Ustadha Shaista Maqbool

Question

I have learned that if a woman who has reached puberty has an erotic dream and sees some discharge afterward, she has to make ghusl. If she sees discharge alone without remembering a dream, she would also have to take a full bath (ghusl). But if she remembers only the dream without seeing discharge, she doesn’t have to take ghusl.

What if a woman constantly has discharge? How does she know when to take ghusl and when not?

Answer

With regard to wet dreams, men and women have similar rulings.

If a man or woman has a wet dream and he/she sees wetness/discharge, they are obliged to make ghusl, even if they are not certain the wetness is from an ejaculation/orgasm. In other words, even if he/she has constant discharge and suspects the wetness is not sexual discharge, ghusl is still obligatory if he/she recalls seeing a wet dream.

The only exception is for a man when he knows that this discharge is wady – a thick white fluid that exits after urinating or carrying something heavy, which is only present in men.

If one doesn’t remember a wet dream and sees discharge, there are two rulings:

1. He/she must do ghusl if he/she believes the discharge could be sexual fluid from an ejaculation/orgasm; i.e., the mere possibility of the discharge being sexual fluid is enough to make ghusl necessary.
2. If he/she knows that the fluid is madhy, i.e., that which exists when aroused (or a man knows it is wady), then he/she does not have to do ghusl.

If there is no discharge, even if one remembers a wet dream, he/she is not obliged to do ghusl.

Related Answers:
Waking Up with a Spot on Groin and Dealing with Baseless Misgivings (Waswasa)

And Allah knows best.

Wassalam,
[Ustadha] Shaista Maqbool
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani