Puberty and its signs.

The Shaykh : The third point is puberty, and its opposite is childhood. What are the signs of puberty? Puberty is established by one of three things for a male, and by one of four things for a female. The first is reaching the age of fifteen. The second is the growth of pubic hair. The third is the emission of semen with desire, whether through a wet dream or while awake. If any one of these three things occurs, the person is considered an adult, whether male or female. The female has a fourth sign added: menstruation. If she menstruates, she is an adult, even if she menstruates at the age of ten; she is an adult and fasting is obligatory for her. I pause here to point out this issue, which is hidden from many people. Some people think that if a woman reaches puberty while still young, she is not obligated to perform acts of worship because of her young age. This is a mistake. If she menstruates at the age of ten, she is obligated to do what is required of a woman who is thirty years old. Some women reach puberty at a young age and hide the matter from their families out of modesty and shyness, and they either leave off fasting or fast during the days of menstruation. What is our position toward such a woman? Our position is to obligate her to make up the fasting she left off, and to obligate her to repeat the fasting she performed during the days of menstruation. Good.