Q: I am 18 years old. Due to my ignorance I am unsure of when I became baaligh. And, therefore I am unsure of how to calculate my missed Salaah and missed fasts. I used to masturbate from a young age, and hence did not have a wet dream after I was the age of 15. I have now given up this act and have seeked for forgiveness in Allah. I feel more confident that I became baaligh due to masturbation, during or past the age of 13. I have come to this conclusion by reflecting on my personal memories, and researched into my internet history by finding the videos/websites I ashamed of viewing to give a better approximation to the time of year I would have became baaligh, which indicates towards me being 13. Therefore, I have more reason to believe that I would have become baaligh during or past the age of 13, but I am unsure if I am being lenient / biased to myself. My only reservation is that I have a vague memory of what I think is think is the discharge of ‘mazi’ (through masturbation), I am unsure if it was mazi as it was a thin fluid which was discharged in small drops, which did not compare to what I can more vividly remember of mani past the age of 13. Also, because I cannot recall this memory in it’s entirety I do not know whether this was between the age of 12-13. And, therefore do not know if should calculate my missed Salaah and fasts from age 12 or not. Do I ignore this doubt and continue to calculate my missed Salaah and fasts from the age of 13? Also, as I am a student, I do not have a lot of money that I can give to charity, and thus I am also wondering what righteous deeds I can perform along side my repentance? Due to me committing these major sins.
A: If you have been experiencing this after masturbation then you rather calculate it from the time you started masturbating.
Be kind to people, keep your heart clean from any type of malice and jealousy towards anybody and make du`aa for Muslims in particular and people in general.
And Allah Ta’ala (الله تعالى) knows best.
Answered by:
Mufti Zakaria Makada
Checked & Approved:
Mufti Ebrahim Salejee (Isipingo Beach)