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When Ghusl Is Due: Janabah
Ghusl becomes obligatory after sexual intercourse, even if there is no emission. The Prophet ﷺ said that when a man sits between a woman's four limbs and exerts himself, ghusl becomes obligatory, and in Muslim's narration: "even if he does not ejaculate".
It is also obligatory after an emission of sexual fluid (maniy), whether awake or in a dream, for men and women alike. When Umm Sulaym asked whether a woman must bathe after a wet dream, he said: "Yes, if she sees the fluid."
If you wake and find traces of emission, bathe even if you do not remember a dream; if you remember a dream but find nothing, no ghusl is due. A hadith of 'A'ishah says this, graded hasan by al-Albani.
The four schools differ on some details. Show them
Each school's ruling, with the schools that share it named together.
Does an emission of maniy while awake require ghusl if it came without desire, for example from illness or strain?
3 of 4 schools agree. Differing: Shafi'i.
Show each school
- Only if with desireHanafi · Maliki · Hanbali
- Obligatory in every caseShafi'i
- Hanafi
- Ghusl is due only when the fluid leaves its place with desire; a discharge without desire breaks wudu but does not require ghusl.
- Maliki
- Ghusl is due when the emission comes with normal pleasure; one that comes without pleasure, as from illness, requires wudu only.
- Shafi'i
- Any emission of maniy requires ghusl, with or without desire, because the hadith ties ghusl to the fluid itself.
- Hanbali
- For one who is awake, ghusl is due when the fluid comes out gushing with pleasure; without pleasure it requires wudu only.
- Qur'an 5:6
- Sahih al-Bukhari 291 Sahih · in the two Sahihs
- Sahih Muslim 348Sahih · in the two Sahihs
- Sahih al-Bukhari 282 Sahih · in the two Sahihs
- Sahih Muslim 313Sahih · in the two Sahihs
- Sunan Abi Dawud 236Graded by Al-Albani: Hasan · Muhammad Muhyi Al-Din Abdul Hamid: Hasan · Shuaib Al Arnaut: Hasan Lighairihi · Zubair Ali Zai: DaifHasan
What the hadith grades mean
- Sahih (authentic): an unbroken chain of trustworthy, precise narrators, free of hidden flaws or contradiction. It is acted upon.
- Hasan (good): like sahih, but a narrator's precision is slightly lighter. It is also accepted and acted upon. "Hasan sahih" means it reaches sahih by its routes.
- Da'if (weak): a break in the chain or a narrator who is not reliable enough. It is not used to establish beliefs or rulings.
- Very weak (munkar, matruk): a seriously flawed chain or a narrator accused of lying. It is not relied on at all.
- Mawdu' (fabricated): falsely attributed to the Prophet ﷺ. It may not be narrated as his words except to warn against it.
- The two Sahihs: every hadith with a full chain in Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim is accepted as sahih by the scholars of hadith.
- Historical report: biographies and histories (Ibn Ishaq, Ibn Sa'd, al-Tabari) record events with chains that are often incomplete. They are used for the story, not for rulings.
- Hadith scholars grade a narration; the four madhhabs do not. Where a hadith carries a ruling, the page shows which schools act on it.
The positions of the four schools are summarised from their standard references and are pending review by a qualified scholar. Follow the school you were taught, and for your own situation, ask a scholar.
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