Question # 282: If you get the discharge like the slimy fluid not sperm on your pants can you pray if it’s dry after few hours in same pants and also if some goes on your thighs etc. do you need take shower or can you pray if it’s dry after few hours like happened when you going to sleep and it’s dry when you wake up. Also, if you have problem it happens during day time and you’re heading for salah what can you do. JazakAllah khair
Bismi-llahi r-raḥmani r-raḥīm,
Assalamu ‘laikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh,
All praise and thanks are due to Allah (سبحانه و تعالى), and peace and blessings be upon His Messenger (صلى الله عليه و سلم).
Dear questioner,
First of all, we implore Allah (سبحانه و تعالى) to help us serve His cause and render our work for His sake.
Shorter Answer: It is important to know the difference between Maniy (semen/sperm), Madhiy (prostatic, pre-seminal, pre-ejaculation fluid) and Wadiy (white penile secretion), the emission of these are both common in men and women. Maniy is the fluid secreted at the time of orgasm. In case of men, it is a thick, white liquid, and in case of women, it is thin and yellow. The presence of any of these three features is classified as semen: a) its emission is accompanied by feelings of pleasure and is immediately followed by exhaustion; b) it smells like palm tree pollen; c) it gushes out in spurts. When it is emitted, a person must perform ghusl (ritual bath) to clean oneself from sexual impurity (janaabah). However, when the above three characteristics are not present, ghusl is not compulsory because sperm may be discharged due to illness or extreme cold. Nevertheless, Maniy is taahir (pure) and therefore, if it gets on a person’s clothes, it does not make them impure; however, it is better to rub it, but praying in them.
On the other hand, Madhiy it is a thin white sticky fluid which is discharged due to sexual stimulation, e.g. thinking about sexual acts, or kissing or the like. Its emission is not accompanied by feelings of pleasure, it does not gush out in spurts, and it is not followed by exhaustion. One is usually unaware of exactly when it is discharged. Wadiy (white penile secretion) is a thick white fluid that comes after urinating in the form of drops; it resembles maniy in its thickness, but differs from it in color, and it has no smell. It comes out following urination, when one is constipated, or when carrying something heavy.
Both Wadiy and Madhiy are ritually naajis (impure) and discharging them invalidates the wudoo’ (ablution). It is required to wash-off (istinja’) the traces with water of discharges from the person’s body and no ghusl is required. If Wadiy and Madhiy get on one’s clothes, it is sufficient to sprinkle water on it; one does not have to wash it.
Long Answer: From the purification point of view, it is very important to understand the meaning and implication of the following three conditions:
Maniy (semen/sperm): The word maniy is used to refer to the fluid secreted by either male or female at the time of orgasm. In case of men, it is a thick, white liquid, and in case of women, it is thin and yellow emitted as the result of sexual ejaculation.
The source for these descriptions of maniy come from the hadith of Umm Sulaym (رضي الله عنها), who asked the Prophet (صلى الله عليه و سلم) about a woman who sees a dream like a man sees (i.e., an erotic dream). The Messenger of Allah (صلى الله عليه و سلم) said: “If a woman sees that, she should do ghusl.” Umm Sulaym said: I felt shy when I heard that. She asked, “Is that possible?” The Prophet (صلى الله عليه و سلم) said: “How else would the child resemble his father or mother? The water of the man is thick and white, and the water of the woman is thin and yellow. Whichever of the two prevails or comes first decides which parent the child will resemble.” (Agreed upon; Saheeh Muslim)
In his commentary on Saheeh Muslim, Imam al-Nawawi said: “…The scholars said: when a man is healthy, his semen is white and thick, and gushes out in spurts accompanied by feelings of pleasure. After it has come out, it is followed immediately by a feeling of being drained and exhausted. Its smell is like that of palm tree pollen, which in turn resembles the smell of dough… (the color of semen may change for a number of reasons, including the following): … If a person is sick his semen may become thin and yellow, or his testicles may become slack or soft, with the result that the emission of semen is not accompanied by any feelings of pleasure. If a man engages in intercourse too frequently, his semen may become red …or may even contain blood. There are three distinguishing features of semen, the presence of any of which is sufficient for it to be classified as semen: firstly, its emission is accompanied by feelings of pleasure and is immediately followed by exhaustion; secondly, it smells like palm tree pollen, as stated above; and thirdly, it gushes out in spurts. Each one of these three characteristics is sufficient for it to be defined as semen; it is not necessary for all three features to be present. If none of them are present, the substance cannot be described as semen and in all likelihood, it is not. All of the above applies to the maniy of men; in the case of women, their maniy is thin and yellow, although it could become white if the woman is strong. It has two distinguishing characteristics, either of which is sufficient to class the substance as maniy: firstly, it smells like the maniy of men, and secondly, its emission is accompanied by feelings of pleasure and is immediately followed by exhaustion.”
When maniy is emitted, a person must perform ghusl to clean himself from sexual impurity (janaabah), whether this happened during intercourse or otherwise, whether he was awake or it happened because of an erotic dream. [Hence,] when the above [three] characteristics are not present, Ghusl (a ritual bath) is not compulsory for ritual purity. Another case where Ghusl is not compulsory is when the sperm is discharged due to illness or extreme cold or the like. It is narrated in a Prophetic Hadith that Ghusl is only obligatory if one discharges (sperm) with orgasm. However, if sperm discharge happens unwillingly and without pleasure, then one does not have to perform Ghusl. The Kuwaiti Encyclopedia of Fiqh says, “Scholars unanimously agreed that the emission of semen necessitates ghusl if it is discharged with lust and comes out gushing. However, if it is discharged without lust and without gushing, then it does not necessitate ghusl according to the majority of scholars…”
[As for the liquid itself,] Maniy is taahir (pure) according to the most correct opinion among the scholars. The evidence for this is the report of ‘Aa’ishah (رضي الله عنها) who said: “The Messenger of Allah (صلى الله عليه و سلم) used to wash the maniy (from his clothes) then go out to pray wearing the same clothes, and I could see the spot where he had washed it.” (Agreed upon). According to a report narrated by Muslim: “I used to rub it (semen) thoroughly from the garment of the Messenger of Allah (صلى الله عليه و سلم), then he would pray in it.” According to another version: “I would scratch it from his garment with my nail when it had become dry.” It is proven that the Prophet (صلى الله عليه و سلم) used to leave it without washing it when it was wet; it was sufficient just to wipe it with ‘oud (a kind of aromatic wood) or something similar, as was reported by Imam Ahmad in his Musnad from ‘Aa’ishah (رضي الله عنها), who said: “The Messenger of Allah (صلى الله عليه و سلم) used to remove maniy from his garment with a twig of adhkhar (a kind of tree), then pray in that garment, and he would rub it from his garment once it was dry, and would pray in the same garment.” Ibn Khuzaymah reported it in his Saheeh, and Shaykh al-Albaani classed it as hasan in al-Irwa’.
As maniy is deemed to be taahir, if it gets on a person’s clothes it does not make them impure, and if he prays in those clothes there is nothing wrong with that. Ibn Qudamah said in al-Mughni: “Even though we say it is taahir, it is better to rub it, but if one prays (in those clothes) without rubbing it, this is acceptable.”
Madhiy (prostatic, pre-seminal, pre-ejaculation fluid): it is a thin white sticky fluid which is discharged due to sexual stimulation, e.g. thinking about sexual acts, or kissing or the like. Its emission is not accompanied by feelings of pleasure, it does not gush out in spurts, and it is not followed by exhaustion. One is usually unaware of exactly when it is discharged. It emits from both the male and female.
Madhiy, on the other hand, means that a person only needs to do wudoo’ (ablution). The evidence for this is the report of ‘Ali ibn Abi Taalib (رضي الله عنه) who said: “I was a man who used to experience a lot of urethral discharge, so I told Miqdaad to ask the Messenger of Allah (صلى الله عليه و سلم) about it. So, he asked him, and he said: ‘It requires wudoo’.’” (Agreed upon; this version was narrated by al-Bukhari). Ibn Qudaamah said in al-Mughni, “Ibn al-Mundhir said: ‘The scholars agree that passing stools or urine, the emission of madhiy or passing wind are all things that invalidate taharah (purity) [i.e. they mean that wudoo’ must be renewed]’.”
[As for the liquid itself,] Madhiy is naajis (impure), because of the hadith of ‘Ali quoted above, in some versions of which it is reported that the Prophet (صلى الله عليه و سلم) commanded him to wash his penis and testicles [(istinja’)] and do wudoo’, as was reported by Abu ‘Awaanah in al-Mustakhraj. Ibn Hajar said in al-Talkhees: “There is nothing at fault in this isnad.” So madhiy is naajis and the penis and testicles must be washed, as it nullifies tahaarah.
In the case of madhiy, it is sufficient to sprinkle water on it, because of the difficulty of doing otherwise. The evidence for this is the hadith narrated by Abu Dawud in his Sunan from Sahl ibn Haneef, who said: “I used to experience a lot of urethral discharge, and I used to do ghusl a lot. I asked the Messenger of Allah (صلى الله عليه و سلم) about it and he said: ‘It is sufficient for you to do wudoo’ (to purify yourself) from that.’ I said, ‘O Messenger of Allah, what about when it gets on my clothes?’ He said: ‘It is sufficient for you to take a handful of water and sprinkle it on your clothes wherever you think (the madhiy) is.’” (Reported by al-Tirmidhi. He said: This is a sahih hasan hadith, and the only other hadith about madhiy that we know is the hadith of Muhammad ibn Ishaaq). The author of Tuhfat al-Ahwadhi said: “This may be taken to prove that if madhiy gets on one’s clothes, it is sufficient to sprinkle water on it; one does not have to wash it.”
Wadiy (white penile secretion): it is a thick white fluid that comes after urinating in the form of drops as against madhiy which comes out following provocation of desire. It is also considered impure. Ibn ‘Abbas (رضي الله عنه) said: “Maniy discharge requires Ghusl. However, Madhiy and Wadiy only require performing wudoo’ and cleaning the private parts and part of the clothes it touched”.
An-Nawawi (may Allah have mercy on him) said: “…wadiy, it is a thick, darkish fluid that resembles maniy in its thickness, but differs from it in color, and it has no smell. It comes out following urination, when one is constipated, or when carrying something heavy, and it comes out in the form of one or two drops and the like. The scholars are unanimously agreed that it is not required to do ghusl when madhiy and wadiy are emitted. (al-Majmoo‘)
It should be noted that Wadiy is not particular to men; women discharge Wadi as well. The author of Haashiyat Al-‘Adawi ‘ala Sharh Al-Kharashi Al-Maaliki said, “Know that women also discharge Wadiy after discharging urine.”
Lastly, since the madhiy and wadiy are impure, the basic principle requires to purify the body and clothes from it before performing prayer, because ritual purity is one of the requirements for the prayer’s validity and the non-fulfillment of any of those requirements renders the prayer invalid.
(Most part of the above reply is based on various answers provided by Islamweb.net, a web site belonging to the Ministry of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs in the State of Qatar and various answers by Shaykh Muhammad Saalih al-Munajjid on the topic)
Allahu A’lam (Allah (سبحانه و تعالى) knows best) and all Perfections belong to Allah, and all mistakes belong to me alone. May Allah (سبحانه و تعالى) forgive me, Ameen.
Wassalaam
