When Should a Woman Perform a Ritual Bath upon Waking Up and Finding Wetness?
Hanafi Fiqh
Answered by Ustadh Sufyan Qufi
Question
I found an answer that states that if you notice wetness upon waking up, you must perform a ghusl regardless of whether you remember a wet dream. But what if, as a woman, it is merely regular discharge? Does that mean if a woman always has discharge upon waking up, she must do the ghusl as often?
Answer
In the name of Allah, Most Compassionate, Most Merciful,
I pray this finds you in the best of states.
Not all discharges found upon waking up entail a ritual bath to be performed when it comes to women. [Ibn ‘Abidin, Radd al-Muhtar]
Dreams that would render a ritual bath (ghusl) to be obligatory upon waking up while seeing pre-ejaculate (madhi) or ejaculate (mani) are dreams in which what was seen was mainly intercourse. [Ibn ‘Abidin, Radd al-Muhtar – quoting al-Nahr al-Fa’iq]
“Madhi” when it comes to women is the wetness found while being aroused before reaching an orgasm. After an orgasm, the wetness is called “mani.”
Finding “madhi” upon waking up only requires a ritual bath if a wet dream is remembered.
If one cannot remember a wet dream upon waking up after only finding “madhi,” then no ritual bath is due.
Finding “mani” upon waking up requires a ritual bath, even if a wet dream is not remembered.
As for clear (or white) vaginal discharge, it does not invalidate ritual ablution (wudu’) as it is legally considered to be akin to a form of sweating. Thus, finding it upon waking up is of no legal consequence. Even if a wet dream is remembered, no ritual bath is due. [Ibn ‘Abidin, Radd al-Muhtar]
The reason for these rulings is to exert caution in matters of worship.
Allah, Most High, has said: “Indeed only those of God’s servants who have knowledge fear Him. Truly God is Mighty, Forgiving.” [Quran, 35:28]
To distinguish between all these discharges, you simply exert your judgment without falling into baseless misgivings (waswas).
And Allah knows best.
Wassalam
[Ustadh] Sufyan Qufi
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani
Ustadh Sufyan Qufi is an advanced seeker of knowledge, originally from Algeria, who grew up in France. He began searching far and wide for answers to the fundamental questions of life and was disappointed at the answers he found. Then he connected with various traditional teachers and gradually connected with SeekersGuidance. He embarked on his journey of learning through the various teachers at SeekersGuidance, including his mentor Shaykh Faraz Rabbani. He studied numerous texts in Islamic Law, Theology, Hadith, and other areas with Shaykh Faraz Rabbani and other teachers, including Shaykh Abdurrahman al-Sha‘ar, Shaykh Ali Hani, and others. He is an active instructor at SeekersGuidance and answers questions through the SeekersGuidance Answers Service.
