PUBERTY

Written by

Ali Ijaz Almadni

‫علي إعجاز المدني‬

Darul Kutubil Bahsiya

‫دار الكتب البحثية‬

2
 ‫الحمد للہ وحده‬

‫والسلام علی من لا نبي بعده‬

‫وعلی آله وأصحابه الذين أوفوا عهده‬

‫أ ّما بعد فأعوذ باللہ من ا لشیطن الرجیم‬

‫بسم اللہ الرحمن ا لرحیم‬

‫‪3‬‬
Du'a for Reading Book

Please recite the following Du'a before you read

a book. This Du'a will help you remember what

you read, if the Almighty Allah wills.

ِ ‫َال ّل ُه ّم افْتحْ عل ْینا ِحكْمتك وان ْ ُش ْر عل ْینا ر ْحمتك يا ذا الْجل‬

ِ ‫وا ل ْ ِا ْكر‬
.‫ام‬

Translation: O Allah, open to us your wisdom

and spread your mercy upon us, O Possessor of

majesty and honor!

(Al-Mustaraf, vol. 1, pp. 40)

4
 Contents

 Why is Islam a complete way of life? 07

 What does the Hadith ( ‫(طلب العلم فريضة علی كل مسلم‬

‫ومسلمة‬ actually mean? 09

 What does ‫ جوامع الكلم‬refer to? 09

 What is puberty? 12

 When does a boy attain puberty? 13

 When does a girl reach puberty? 13

 The ways through which puberty can be

known. 14

 What rule does Islam lay down regarding

pubic hair? 15

5
 Why is a Muslim supposed to remove the

hair in the armpits and trim the nails? 18

 Can someone shave or trim his beard? 19

 What if a man keeps his hair long? 20

 Does Islam allow Masturbation? 21

6
Why is Islam referred to as the “Complete way

of Life”? This is because there is not a single

aspect of life that Islamic law has yet to navigate.

No one who abides by its teachings and then

seeks further guidance is ever left unquenched,

regardless of age. Every single problem ever

faced in Islam, so far, has already been solved. All

that is required of us is to seek and gain

knowledge regarding the solutions to these

matters; by asking the religious scholars and

Islamic theologians. However, in the current era,

such initiative-taking and seeking guidance is no

longer done; this has led to widespread ignorance,

7
further compounded by lack of awareness of this

very ignorance.

This booklet has been written for those parents

currently living in western countries, whose

children have been born and raised in such lands,

and are not aware of the Sharia rulings regarding

puberty. These parents are either themselves

ignorant regarding these matters and or feel

ashamed to talk about Islamic guidance on such

matters, even if informed regarding them.

However, with proper knowledge, one can

understand that these are not matters to be

ashamed of, but rather a common, natural part of

life.

8
The following are a set of frequently asked

questions and their answers:

Q#1: What does this blessed Hadith “ ‫ب الْ ِعل ِْم‬

‫ ”ف ِر ْيض ٌة علی ك ُ ِ ّل ُم ْسلِ ٍم و ُم ْسلِم ٍة‬mean, and what does it

refer to?

Ans: The Hadith mentioned above means

“Seeking knowledge is incumbent upon every

Muslim-male and female.” It could be counted as

one of the ‫ جوا ِم ُع الْكلِ ْم‬Ahadith. The term ‫جوا ِم ُع الْكلِ ْم‬

basically refers to those Ahadith which are short

but comprehensive. In other words, those Ahadith

which are concise yet packed with lots of

9
information / wisdom, this is known as ‫جوا ِم ُع الْكلِ ْم‬.

Before proceeding, I just want to remove a very

common misunderstanding regarding this Hadith.

It is commonly believed that this Hadith refers to

worldly education. As such, it is often cited to

promote worldly education; however this is an

erroneous interpretation. The correct

interpretation, based on traditional understanding

of Ulema meaning the Islamic theologians, May

Allah shower his mercy upon them, is that this

hadith only refers to the Islamic education. It is

for this reason that Hadhrat Umar, May Allah be

pleased with him, stated: “Only that person, who

has a thorough understanding of the obligatory

Islamic Law, is allowed to trade in our market.”

As for the traditional Islamic knowledge, it is

required for every Muslim. This means, acquiring

Islamic knowledge is mandatory prior to any

situation a person intends to engage in. For

example, if someone wants to be a trader, then he

is obligated to first attain the in-depth

understanding of the Islamic laws surrounding

trade. Likewise, if a boy and a girl are going to tie

the knot, then it is required for both of them to

learn about Nikah and its rulings. Otherwise, they

will be considered sinful even though the Nikah

is valid. This is the same case for the one who

11
reaches puberty. It is incumbent upon him / her to

seek out the Sharia rulings regarding what has

become compulsory upon him or her. For

example: the correct method of a taking shower

and its rulings, the method of doing Wudu and its

rulings, Salah and its rulings, and the recitation of

a few Verses from the Holy Quran, which are

required to make Salah valid.

Q#2: What is puberty according to Shariah?

Ans: Puberty refers to a certain age at which a

human becomes ‫ ُمكل ّ ْف‬. The term "Mukallaf "is

used to refer to someone who is obligated to

follow Islamic Law and abide by its rules; for

example, offering the Salah five times a day,

performing Hajj, assuming all other necessary

conditions for each of these actions is met.

Having reached puberty, if someone doesn’t

abide by the rules of Islam, he will be considered

sinful and will be severely punished on the Day

of Reckoning.

Q#3: At what age, does a boy attain puberty?

Ans: He attains puberty between the age of 12

and 15.

Q#4: At what age, does a girl attain puberty?

Ans: She reaches puberty between the age of 9

and 15.

13
Q#5: How does a boy know that he has reached

puberty?

Ans: There are three ways by which he can know:

nocturnal emission, ejaculation, and being able to

impregnate. However, the most common way of

knowing is nocturnal emission.

Q#6: How does a girl come to know that she has

reached puberty?

Ans: Through either one of four ways: nocturnal

emission, menstrual bleeding, developing the

ability to become pregnant, and ejaculation.

Q#7: What if one does not experience any of the

physiological situations or any of three ways

mentioned above?

14
Ans: Such a case is very rare. In this situation, the

one is considered ‫ با لِ ْغ‬/ ‫ با لِغ ْة‬when he / she turns 15

years old.

Q#8: What rule does Islam lay down regarding

pubic hair?

Ans: These hairs should not be left to grow

rather, they should be removed within 40 days.

Not removing them is considered as a sin in

Islam1.

Q#9: Can the hair in the armpits be left to grow?

Ans: These hairs have the same ruling, the pubic

hairs have; meaning they should also be removed

.176:‫ص‬،9:‫ج‬،‫ فصل في البیع‬،‫کتاب الحظر والإباحۃ‬،''‫''الدرالمختار‬

15
within 40 days. To let them grow beyond this is a

sin. The same ruling is about trimming nails. It is

recorded in Sahih Muslim that Hadhrat Abu

Huraira, May Allah be pleased with him,

narrated: The last and final prophet, May peace

be upon him, stated: 4 things are from the nature

meaning these are exactly what previous

prophets, May blessings be on them, would do;

(1) circumcision, (2) removing the hairs under the

arms, (3) trimming the moustache, and (4)

removing the pubic hairs2. Another Hadith

recorded by Hadhrat Abu Huraira, May Allah be

2
‫باب خصال‬،‫کتاب الطھارۃ‬،''‫صحیح المسلم‬
.601:‫ص‬،)707(‫۔‬05:‫الحدیث‬،‫الفطرۃ‬
16
pleased with him, is that Prophet, May peace and

blessings be on him, stated: The one who does not

remove the pubic hair, trim nails, and

moustaches3 is not from amongst us. Hadhrat

Anas, May Allah be pleased with him, told that

we are instructed to cut the hairs (pubic, under

arms, and moustaches) off within 40 days, so they

must not be left more than that4.

Note: Keep in mind these hairs should be

removed or shaved so trimming is not

permissible. After removing, bury them or release

3
‫ حدیث رجل من بنی غفار رضی اللہ‬،‫''المسند'' للإمام أحمد بن حنبل‬
.670:‫ص‬،9:‫ج‬،71019:‫الحدیث‬،‫عنہ‬
4
‫باب خصال‬،‫کتاب الطھارۃ‬،''‫''صحیح المسلم‬
.601:‫ص‬،)702(‫۔‬06:‫الحدیث‬،‫الفطرۃ‬
17
them in flowing water so that others don’t lay

their eyes on it. As for the nails, don’t bite them

with the teeth as some people are used to doing,

because this is Makrooh (not liked) and may

cause leprosy5.

Q#10: Why is a Muslim supposed to remove the

hair in the armpits and trim the nails?

Ans: Because Islam encourages every Muslim to

be clean and pure so that you will realize that

removing these hairs and trimming nails is a way

to attain cleanliness.

5
‫ الباب التاسع عشر في‬،‫کتاب الکراھیۃ‬،''‫''الفتاوی الھندیۃ‬
.102:‫ص‬،0:‫ج‬،‫الختان‬
18
Q#11: What if someone shaves or trims his

beard?

Ans: Shaving the beard or trimming it when it is

already shorter than handful, is Makrooh

Tehrimi6 meaning prohibited because our

Prophet, May peace and blessings be on him, has

stated a hadith, whose summary is: Don’t take

from the beard meaning don’t shave it or trim7.

Similarly, letting the beard grow up to the extent

that the beard seems long and strange, or keeping

6
.176:‫ص‬،9:‫ج‬،‫ فصل في البیع‬،‫کتاب الحظر والإباحۃ‬،''‫''الدرالمختار‬
7
‫باب تقلیم‬،‫کتاب اللباس‬،''‫''صحیح البخاري‬
.70:‫ص‬،4:‫ج‬،0297:‫الحدیث‬،‫الأظفار‬
19
stylish beard as Non-Muslims have and our

Muslims prefer to follow them is not allowed8.

Q#12: What if a man keeps his hair long?

Ans: He may, but a man should be at either of

three ways; (1) the length of it should be up to the

half of ears, (2) it should be up to the earlobes, or

if it is longer than the earlobes in length, then it

must be up to the shoulders, longer than that is not

allowed because by doing this, he would have

resemblance with women and the men are not

supposed to resemble them in Sharia; the Prophet

Muhammad, May peace be upon him, said: The

8
Bahar e Shariat, V: 16, P: 586, Publication: Maktaba tul
Madina Dawateislami.
20
man who makes his appearance like a woman and

the woman who loves to look like a man, is

cursed and they should be kicked out9. So the men

who have braids, or keep long hair then use

headbands, ribbons, or tie up their hair, they must

take a lesson from the above Hadith because all

of it is exactly what the women do / these are all

considered feminine.

Q#13: What is "Masturbation"?

Ans: "Masturbation" is stimulate one’s private

part to gain sensual pleasure. Some people use

their hand or the other objects like pillows,

9
Sahih Bukhari, V: 07, P: 159, Publication: Daru Touqinajat.
21
vibrators, sex toys or streams of water to

masturbate.

Q#14: Is this permissible in Islam?

Ans: "Masturbation" is strictly prohibited in

Islam. Let’s see one Hadith which clearly states

its impermissibility. That’s 10

means ''the one who masturbates is cursed by

Allah''. Alahadhrat Imam Ahmad Raza Khan,

May Allah’s mercy be upon him, mentions in his

book (Fatawa Rizvia) that this action

10
.796:‫ ص‬، 7:‫ ج‬،‫حرف النون‬، ‫كشف الخفاء‬
22
(Masturbation) is strictly forbidden, Allah, the

Exalted curses11 the doer12.

11
Meaning that he will not be able to become a beloved
bondsman of Allah, the Almighty.
12
Fatawa Rizvia, V: 22, P: 202.
23