Issue 218: A person enters the state of Janabah in any of these two ways:

1- Sexual intercourse

2- Discharge of semen while sleeping or when awake, little or much, lustfully or with no lust, voluntarily or involuntarily.

One in the state of Janabah, who is referred to as Junub, must perform Ghusl for saying prayers and performing other things for which purity is obligatory.

Issue 219: When semen moves from its place (where it is synthesized and accumulated), but it is not discharged, the state is not considered as Janabah.

Issue 220: One who knows that they have discharged semen or knows what they have discharged is semen, they are Junub, i.e., in the state of Janabah and they must perform Ghusl.

Issue 221: If a healthy man discharges some moisture, but he is not certain whether it is semen, urine or something else, it is considered semen if:

1- It spouts, that is, it is discharged with force.

2- It is discharged lustfully.

3- Body becomes languid after the discharge.

But it is not accounted semen if it has none or lacks some of these signs. In the case of an ill person, if the moisture is discharged lustfully, it is considered semen and languor is not a necessary condition, but the other two are.

Q222: What is the verdict on the moisture which a man discharges while playing with and touching his wife without having sexual intercourse? Is it pure or impure?

A: If he is certain that the moisture is semen, performing Ghusl will be obligatory; otherwise, it must indicate all the three signs mentioned above, so that one ascertains that it is semen and needs a Ghusl. In case of doubt about the presence of some of these signs or if the moisture certainly lacks some of them, it is not considered semen, and therefore it is not the state of Janabah. So, the moisture is pure. As for a woman, if it is not certain that the moisture is semen, then it is not semen and she is not Junub.

Q223: One of the contraceptive devices used in family planning is condom (a thin rubber bag) which men wear to prevent a woman having a baby. Hence, after the sexual intercourse semen is discharged into the condom and not into the woman's vagina. Will Ghusl be obligatory for the woman in this case?

A: Yes. Ghusl will be obligatory for both, the man and the woman, and Janabah caused by sexual intercourse is not conditional on ejaculation, nor is it conditional on not wearing a condom or the like, that is, sexual intercourse leads to Janabah by itself.

Q224: Sometimes one becomes Junub while playing with and touching their wife's body without having sexual intercourse. Is this legally forbidden? If so, what must they do if they have done such a thing?

A: It is not forbidden, because playing with one's wife is permissible, and it is not a case of masturbation which is illegal. In case of ejaculation, Ghusl will be obligatory, and all rules of a legal Janabah will be applicable to it.

Q225: Regarding the fact that women's sex organs basically lack any semen synthesizing section, what do you mean by women's discharge of semen? If by this, you mean the vaginal secretion which lubricates the vagina and thus facilitates the intercourse, it must be said that neither its chemical composition nor the way it is discharged resemble those of semen, and if by this you mean the alternative orgasmic movements of the vaginal muscles, no particular liquid has been approved to be discharged from women’s sex organs.

A: Mere sexual intercourse causes women to be Junub and so does a woman’s certainty about her discharge of semen whereas such certainty does not usually occur.

Issue 226: It is recommended to urinate after the discharge of semen and if one does not do so, in case they discharge any moisture after Ghusl, of which they are not certain whether it is semen or some other moisture, it is considered semen.

Q227: What is the verdict on the worships (prayers and fasts) offered by one who did not know that they should have performed Ghusl after masturbation (he masturbated for two years and did not perform Ghusl unless he was Junub, i.e., ejaculated)?

A: If masturbation leads to ejaculation, one must perform Ghusl, and if they did not know this for a while and they were Junub, they must offer Quadha prayers (compensatory prayers), because purity is a necessary condition for prayers, but as for the fasts, they are valid and correct, because they were not Junub intentionally and since they performed Ghusl, they have been pure and not Junub and that would suffice.