Waking Up with a Spot on Groin and Dealing with Baseless Misgivings (Waswasa)

Answered by Shaykh Faraz A. Khan

Question: (1) I wanted to ask what if someone wakes up in the morning with a small dried white spot [no more then this => ( )] on groin. Don’t really know what it is and I am not certain if its a wet dream or not. There are no spots on my underwear too… So does it makes ghusl obligatory?..

(2) I’m confused and can’t even do ghusl again cause i swore to God [qasam in urdu] i wont make ghusl due to this reason cause i am not sure.

(3) I have so much waswasa about my prayers not being valid..

Answer: Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullah,

I pray this finds you in the best of health and states.

(1) You would not need to perform the ritual bath (ghusl) in that situation, since you don’t recall a wet dream. You could simply wash your organ and then make ablution (wudu) and then pray.

(2) With regards to the oath, you should break it so that you may perform ghusl when needed. You would need to do the requisite expiation for breaking the oath.

Expiation is to to feed ten poor persons (2 meals each), or to clothe them (1 garment each), or to give them the equivalent monetary value. If you are unable to do that, you must fast three consecutive days. [Maydani/Quduri, Lubab fi Sharh al-Kitab]

(3) With respect to obsessive misgivings (waswasa), keep in mind that the default assumption of all acts of worship is soundness and validity, and this default is at the level of certainty. Certainty is not lifted by doubts or misgivings, but rather only by another certainty or very high likelihood.

Learn sacred knowledge under qualified instructors, as that is one of the most potent weapons to combat such misgivings. I would suggest the following course, for example:

Absolute Essentials of Islam: Beliefs & Worship

Lastly, please see the following link for more information regarding dealing with waswasa:

A Reader on Waswasa (Baseless Misgivings)

And Allah knows best.
wassalam
Faraz

Checked & Approved by Faraz Rabbani