A well-known Hadith records a conversation between the Prophet Muhammad and Umm Sulaim regarding women and nocturnal emissions.
In Sahih Muslim 311 and Sahih al-Bukhari 130, Anas ibn Malik reports that Umm Sulaim asked the Messenger of Allah about a woman who sees in a dream what a man sees (i.e., a sexual dream). The Prophet replied that if a woman experiences this, she must perform ghusl (ritual bath). When Umm Sulaim expressed embarrassment and asked whether women actually experience such emissions, the Prophet confirmed: “Yes, otherwise how could a child resemble her? The man’s discharge is thick and white, while the woman’s discharge is thin and yellow. Resemblance comes from whichever of the two prevails.”
Umm Sulaim appears to have questioned the idea that women experience wet dreams in the same way men do, but the Prophet maintained his position.
This Hadith contains several claims that conflict with modern biology and reproductive science:
- Confusion between fluids Madhi (pre-ejaculate) is a clear or whitish fluid distinct from mani (semen). Semen containing sperm is released only during orgasm and in significant quantity. Women do not release any fluid containing eggs (female gametes) during orgasm or arousal. The fluid produced by women during sexual arousal is clear or whitish lubrication, never yellow, and never contains reproductive cells.
- Nature of male wet dreams In adolescent and adult males, erotic dreams can trigger orgasm and the release of actual semen in quantities large enough to wet clothing. This is a well-documented physiological event.
- Female nocturnal emissions Women can experience sexual arousal or even orgasm during sleep, but the resulting fluid is ordinary vaginal lubrication (similar to arousal fluid produced while awake). The amount is typically small and rarely sufficient to dampen clothing in the manner of a male wet dream. Islamic rulings treat ordinary female arousal fluid as madhi and do not require ghusl for it when it occurs in a waking state. Yet the Hadith treats a woman’s dream emission as equivalent to male semen and makes ghusl obligatory.
- Color of the fluid No physiological process causes a woman’s vagina to produce yellow fluid during arousal, orgasm, or dreams—regardless of intensity or frequency.
- Mechanism of hereditary resemblance The Hadith attributes a child’s resemblance to the dominance of either the man’s white fluid or the woman’s yellow fluid. Modern genetics has completely discarded this theory. Resemblance is determined by the combination of the mother’s egg (ovum) and the father’s sperm. In-vitro fertilization has demonstrated that a child can be conceived using only the egg and sperm, without any of the fluids mentioned in the Hadith.
According to Islamic doctrine, revelation is considered perfect and free from error. A single demonstrable scientific mistake therefore poses a serious theological problem, because the system does not allow for partial fallibility.
Some modern Muslim apologists have attempted to salvage the Hadith by claiming that the “yellow fluid” refers to the fluid of the Graafian follicle. This explanation fails on multiple grounds:
- The Graafian follicle is located in the ovary, not the vagina.
- It releases fluid only once per menstrual cycle during ovulation, unrelated to sexual arousal, orgasm, or dreams.
- The fluid remains inside the body and never exits through the vagina.
- It is never produced as a response to nocturnal emissions.
Historical context further clarifies the origin of the idea. The Greek physician Galen (2nd century CE) held a similar theory. He argued that women produce semen, that this semen can be discharged during sleep (wetting clothing), and that the mixture of male and female semen determines resemblance. Galen’s writings contain descriptions that closely parallel the language of the Hadith. It appears the Prophet transmitted a version of the prevailing medical theory of his time rather than independent, accurate biological knowledge.
Despite centuries of discussion, the Hadith remains difficult for many Muslims to reconcile with contemporary science. Attempts to reinterpret the yellow fluid as something other than what the text clearly describes have not resolved the contradictions.
