Is Ghusl Obligatory on One Who Wakes Up To Find a Doubtful Stain on Their Pants?

Answered by Shaykh Yusuf Weltch

Question

I woke up today, and I don’t remember having any dream or feeling something wet during the night, but when there was a big stain on my jeans which was hardly visible, there was no impurity or wetness in my body or on the inside of the stain.

Still, it is giving me doubts. should I do a ghusl or can it be the stain from the previous and didn’t get away with a wash? Also, there’s a similar stain on the left side of my jeans too.

Answer

In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful and Compassionate

The general ruling is that if you find wetness, such as semen or pre-seminal fluid (madhy), on your clothing or body upon waking up, a ghusl is obligatory. This ruling applies whether or not one recalls seeing a dream. [‘Ala’ al-Din ‘Abidin, al-Hadiyya al-‘Ala’iyya]

If you slept in your jeans and discovered such stains after waking up, it is necessary to perform a ritual bath (ghusl). [‘Ala’ al-Din ‘Abidin, al-Hadiyya al-‘Ala’iyya]

However, this only applies if you are not reasonably sure that the stain occurred before your sleeping; or if you are reasonably certain that the stain is from other than bodily fluid. The existence of a similar stain elsewhere strengthens both these possibilities. [‘Ala’ al-Din ‘Abidin, al-Hadiyya al-‘Ala’iyya]

If you are reasonably sure the stain contains impurities, such as urine, semen, or pre-seminal fluid, wash them. Otherwise, ignore them. Doubts are irrelevant. Only base your decisions on reasonable surety or certainty.

Hope this helps
Allah knows best

[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.