How Does a Woman Discern Whether She Had a Wet Dream While Sleeping?
Shafi'i Fiqh
Answered by Ustadha Shazia Ahmad
Question
When a woman checks for a wet dream upon waking up, is she required to insert a tissue in her vagina to see if there is any wetness, and if she finds a small wet spot upon inserting the tissue does she have to do ghusl?
Answer
Thank you for your question.
Characteristics of Female Sexual Fluid
When a woman wakes up, she is not required at all to insert a tissue to check for female sexual fluid. If she really had a wet dream (a full orgasm while she was sleeping), then she should confirm it by assessing the fluid from the ruling below:
It says in the Reliance of the Traveller that male sperm and female sexual fluid are recognized by the fact that they:
- Come in spurts (by contractions);
- With sexual gratification;
- And when moist, smell like bread dough, and when dry, like egg-white.
When a substance from the genital orifice has anyone of the above characteristics, then it is sperm or sexual fluid and makes the purificatory bath obligatory. When not even one of the above characteristics is present, it is not sperm or sexual fluid. Being white or thick is not necessary for it to be considered male sperm, and being yellow or thin is not necessary for it to be considered female sexual fluid.
Madhy
From what you describe, I totally doubt that you had a wet dream. A small, wet spot on a tissue upon insertion doesn’t seem that any contractions occurred. You probably saw arousal fluid (madhy). All that is required of you is to wash the area, and the clothing, and obviously, you would have to make ablution because both sleeping and the exiting of madhy invalidates one’s ablution.
Please see these links:
What Do I Do If I’m Not Sure If I Had a Wet Dream?
The Possibility of Having to Make Ghusl
May Allah give you the best of this world and the next.
[Ustadha] Shazia Ahmad
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani
Ustadha Shazia Ahmad lived in Damascus, Syria for two years where she studied aqidah, fiqh, tajweed, tafsir, and Arabic. She then attended the University of Texas at Austin, where she completed her Masters in Arabic. Afterward, she moved to Amman, Jordan where she studied fiqh, Arabic, and other sciences. She later moved back to Mississauga, Canada, where she lives with her family.
