Ihtilam
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Iḥtilām (Arabic: إحتلام) refers to discharge of semen in sleep which is considered as a sign of puberty of men in Islam. Those who experience ihtilam are called Muhtalim (مُحتَلِم). They are obligated to perform Ghusl (ritual bath) before performing religious rituals including saying prayers and observing fast. If a person is fasting and experience ihtilam, his fasting is not invalid.
Definition
Ihtilam is as an Arabic term derived from the term ḥulm (dream) which means semen discharge in sleep.[1] Faqihs believe ihtilam means "semen discharge in sleep" or "ejaculation of semen".[2] Those who experience ihtilam are called muhtalim.
Ihtilam is pointed out in the Holy Qur'an in Sura al-Nur verses 58 and 59. In addition al-Kulayni dedicated a chapter of his book al-Kafi to "ihtilam al-rijal wa al-mar'a" (ihtilam of Men and Women) and he cited seven hadiths in this chapter.[3]
Jurisprudential Rules
In Tawdih al-masa'il there is no chapter or section dedicated to ihtam and its rules but they are cited specifically in sections of hajj and fasting.
According to Shia jurists in Islam Ihtilam is regarded as one of the signs of puberty of men,[4] and their conclusions are all based on hadiths narrated by Yusuf al-Bahrani who described them as mutakathir (abundant).[5]
Those who experience Ihtilam are required to perform ghusl (ritual bath) before performing religious rituals including saying prayers and observing fast or entering mosques, reading Qur'anic verses with obligatory sajda (prostrating).[6]
If there are doubts on whether it was a semen discharge or not, the rule is that if discharge occurred with the specified signs -in the manuals of Islamic law- such as orgasm, ghusl (full ablution) is required, otherwise it is not.[7]
If a person intended to fast and he experience ihtilam before the time of dawn prayers, ghusl is required before dawn prayers' time. However if he experience ihtilam during the day, his fasting is valid.[8]
If ihtilam occurs during ihram in hajj, ihram is not invalid.
Some jurists believe if ihtilam occurs in Masjid al-Haram or al-Masjid al-Nabawi it is required to perform tayammum before leaving the mosque.[9]
Sexual intercourse is regarded disliked for muhtalims, and performing wudu (partial ablution) is required.[10]
Ihtilam of Women
Ihtilam is not only assigned to men, and it occurs to women as well.[11] A number of jurists believed ghusl is not required for muhtalim women[12] which is ascribed in al-Muqni' by Al-Shaykh al-Saduq.[13] However most of jurists believe that if a woman experiences ihtilam she is required to perform ghusl. Also al-Shaykh al-Saduq has mentioned a narration on the mentioned rule.[14]
Supplications to Avoid Ihtilam
A supplication has been narrated from Imam al-Sadiq (a) that if a person is worried about ihtilam in sleep, he should read this supplication before going to bed:
- اللَّهُمَّ إِنِّی أَعُوذُ بِكَ مِنَ الِاحْتِلَامِ وَ مِنْ سُوءِ الْأَحْلَامِ وَ مِنْ أَنْ یتَلَاعَبَ بیالشَّیطَانُ فِی الْیقَظَةِ وَ الْمَنَامِ
- (Oh God, rescue me from bad dreams and ihtilam, and rescue me from wickedness of Satan in deceiving me in my sleep and awareness).[15]
Notes
- ↑ Ibn Manẓūr, Lisān al-ʿarab, under the word «حلم».
- ↑ Hāshimī Shāhrūdī, Farhang-i fiqh, vol. 1, p. 294.
- ↑ Kulaynī, al-Kāfī, vol. 3, p. 48.
- ↑ Hāshimī Shāhrūdī, Farhang-i fiqh, vol. 1, p. 294.
- ↑ Baḥrānī, al-Ḥadāʾiq al-nāẓira, vol. 20, p. 345.
- ↑ Yazdī, al-ʿUrwa al-wuthqā, vol. 1, p. 285-287.
- ↑ Yazdī, al-ʿUrwa al-wuthqā, vol. 1, p. 497.
- ↑ Yazdī, al-ʿUrwa al-wuthqā, vol. 1, p. 547.
- ↑ Yazdī, al-ʿUrwa al-wuthqā, vol. 1, p. 510.
- ↑ Hāshimī Shāhrūdī, Farhang-i fiqh, vol. 1, p. 294.
- ↑ Hāshimī Shāhrūdī, Farhang-i fiqh, vol. 1, p. 294.
- ↑ Hāshimī Shāhrūdī, Farhang-i fiqh, vol. 1, p. 294.
- ↑ Ṣadūq, al-Muqniʿ, p. 42.
- ↑ Ṣadūq, al-Muqniʿ, p. 42.
- ↑ Ṣadūq, Man lā yaḥḍuruh al-faqīh, vol. 1, p. 471.
References
- Baḥrānī, Yūsuf b. Aḥmad al-. Al-Ḥadāʾiq al-nāẓira, vol. 20, p. 345.
- Hāshimī Shāhrūdī, Sayyid Maḥmūd. Farhang-i fiqh. Qom: Muʾassisat Dāʾirat al-Maʿārif Fiqh al-Islāmī, 1390 Sh.
- Kulaynī, Muḥammad b. Yaʿqūb al-. Al-Kāfī. Translated by Muḥamamd Bāqir Kamaraʾī. Qom: Uswa, 1375 Sh.
- Ṣadūq, Muḥammad b. ʿAlī al-. Al-Muqniʿ. Qom: Muʾassisat Imām al-Hādī, 1415 AH.
- Ṣadūq, Muḥammad b. ʿAlī al-. Man lā yaḥḍuruh al-faqīh. Edited by ʿAlī Akbar Ghaffārī. Qom: Daftar-i Intishārāt-i Islāmī, [n.d].
- Yazdī, Sayyid Muḥamamd Kāẓim al-. Al-ʿUrwa al-wuthqā. Beirut: Muʾassisat al-Aʿlamī li-l-Maṭbūʿāt, 1409 AH.