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Is a make-up or an expiation obligatory for one who had a wet dream through thinking, then masturbated, assuming his fast had been broken?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

A Muslim must guard his limbs from what Allah has forbidden. Scholars differed regarding the invalidation of fasting by the emission of semen through contemplation. The Malikis invalidate it, while the majority of scholars do not, due to the absence of deliberate intent on the part of the servant, unless it was due to deliberate contemplation and indulgence with the intention of ejaculation. In this case, the majority invalidate the fast.

The Hanafis and Shafi'is hold that the emission of semen or pre-seminal fluid through looking and thinking does not invalidate the fast, whereas the Malikis and Hanbalis hold that the emission of semen through prolonged looking invalidates the fast. As for emission through contemplation, it invalidates the fast according to the Malikis, but not according to the Hanbalis.

If the fast is invalidated, then that day must be made up, and no expiation (kaffarah) is required, as it is only obligatory in the case of invalidation by intercourse. It is obligatory to repent from the act of masturbation and to make up that day.

Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026

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