How to Deal with Dried-Up Substance on the Private Part and When Does Ghusl Become Fard?

Answered by Shaykh Yusuf Weltch

Question

I am a young man struggling with frequent urination. I underwent treatment that the doctors saw helped with a particular flow issue, but I was told that I had to undergo an operation that the doctor didn’t recommend for someone my age.

Now I have this issue where sometimes if I sit for an extended time or walk around, some liquid will build up, but I won’t know when, around my private organ. I have some questions regarding this:

I recognize that I have this issue at a particular time on the day that I attend a class. So when I go to the bathroom, I see something has dried up at the tip; I used to get a tissue and squeeze the liquid out. Still, I found that after doing this, if I went to do wudu and pray, then very quickly that liquid would come up again, yet if I were to urinate, then this liquid wouldn’t come up, and I could remain seated for a couple of hours. Nothing would have come up in this scenario if I saw something dried up on the tip. What should I do? Shall I stick to my habit of simply going to the bathroom to ensure nothing comes up again? Theoretically, if I saw this thing dried up and left it without tissue or going to the bathroom, could I make a wudu, or is that risky?

Because I don’t know when this liquid could come out, it has some uncertainty, so when I make wudu, I will read the current prayer, but if I were to wait for the following prayer, I would check to see if anything was there, and came after the prayer at times but I realized that I have a specific pattern that liquid won’t come out at a certain period, i.e. when I make wudu for dhuhr then till Asr there wouldn’t be anything and most likely Maghrib, but because the gap could be long around Maghrib time I would check to see.

I may also check when I sit down for some time to ensure nothing has come out. In general, things may not, but when I am in class, then I am very sure that it would happen as it’s very regular, but here and there, sitting down could result in something coming out.

What threw me off once was that I had gone to the bathroom once, and sometime later, 30-60mins I went to male wudu for Jumma, and when I came back, I saw something that would hold the ‘hole’ of my private organ together. When squeezed out, I found it was liquid, but this is very rare, so I think I’m on edge about checking.

Regarding istibraa, I know that you have to ensure no traces of urine are left. I’ve had this change to the way urine comes out during the period I was ill; I would be able to walk back and forward for around 10 mins, and then eventually the urine traces would stop, but then it seemed walking wasn’t efficient because hardly something came out but when I ‘squatted’ then the liquid would come out, but the issue is that my knees began to hurt and it felt challenging but it seemed the only way, I am trying now to do what I can just be sitting on the toilet and then minimizing any squats, yet it would take close to 10 mins to ensure no more liquid

I went to sleep one time for a sort of nap for about 2 hours or so. I woke up and saw something keeping the ‘hole’ together, and when I squeezed out, there was some drop of wetness. I felt that this would be more urine rather than requiring a ghusl. Thus, I didn’t make ghusl. Was I correct in doing so and in thinking it was not liquid requiring ghusl as there was no dream and not liquid spread out on the top but just a thing holding some of the ‘hole’ together

Regarding ghusl, how does one ensure ghusl is required? If you don’t see liquid apparent but then you ‘open the tip’ or squeeze, the liquid can be seen. What would you do? Would ghusl be required?

In short,

How do I deal with a dried-up substance on the tip of the penis?
If I find this substance, when do I assume it came out?
Must I check for the substance before each prayer?
How must I make Istibraa?
Was I right not to have performed ghusl from dried-up wetness found after a nap?
When does ghusl become required?

Answer

In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful and Compassionate

I am sorry to hear of your difficulty and pray that Allah Most High gives you ease.

Checking for Impurities

There are a few principles that you should keep in mind. It is not necessary for you to constantly check your private part. Nor is it essential for you to squeeze out the impurity.

When is Impurity Considered to Have Occurred

If you find that something came out, you can assume impurity from the moment you noticed it. No need to re-pray any prayers or consider it came out much earlier.

Istibraa’ 

In regards to Istibraa’, I would advise that after urinating, you should walk 40 steps. After walking 40 degrees, you can assume that no urine remains and perform wudu.

If you are still concerned about the possibility of urine, sprinkle some water on the inside of your underwear. Anytime after that, your mind thinks of impurities coming out, ascribe it to the wetness of the water you sprinkled, and do not be bothered by it.

Exercising Judgment and Not Acting on Doubts

You were right not to have made ghusl. You exercised your judgment, felt that it was but urine, and acted on your decision. This is all that is your responsibility to do.

I would advise abandoning any such misgivings. Only act on certainty or near certainty if you are not 90% sure or more significant than leave any doubts.  [Ibn ‘Abidin, Radd al-Muhtar; Mula Khusru, Durar al-Hukkam]

Hope this helps

Allah A’lam

[Shaykh] Yusuf Weltch
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Shaykh Yusuf Weltch is a teacher of Arabic, Islamic law, and spirituality. After accepting Islam in 2008, he then completed four years at the Darul Uloom seminary in New York where he studied Arabic and the traditional sciences. He then traveled to Tarim, Yemen, where he stayed for three years studying in Dar Al-Mustafa under some of the greatest scholars of our time, including Habib Umar Bin Hafiz, Habib Kadhim al-Saqqaf, and Shaykh Umar al-Khatib. In Tarim, Shaykh Yusuf completed the memorization of the Qur’an and studied beliefs, legal methodology, hadith methodology, Qur’anic exegesis, Islamic history, and a number of texts on spirituality. He joined the SeekersGuidance faculty in the summer of 2019.