Search In Fatwa

Sprinkling water over Mathy for purification

Question

Assalaam alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakaatuh. I have understood that if madhiy which is impure (that which may be emitted when thinking of sexual things, not sperm.) gets on one's clothes, it is sufficient to sprinkle water on it and one does not have to wash it. As far as i know that fluid can be pretty thick and it can be hard to remove even when washing because it's so slimy. If i only sprinkle water on it, the madhiy may not be removed and it remains on my cloth. If i now put the cloth on and the madhiy spreads on my skin from my cloth, what should i do? Did sprinkling water on it make it pure and it does not matter anymore if it spreads on my skin or other parts of my clothes? Jazakumullahu khayran.

Answer

All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad  sallallaahu  `alayhi  wa  sallam ( may  Allaah exalt his mention ) is His slave and Messenger.

According to the view that it is permissible to simply sprinkle water over Mathy (pre-ejaculatory fluid) without washing it as underlined in Fatwa 85947, there is no difference in this regard between whether the Mathy soils the clothing or the body; so one should sprinkle water over the part of the body that is stained with it and it is not obligatory to wash it, just as one sprinkles water over the clothes that come into contact with it.

The Fataawa of the Permanent Committee reads: “As regards Mathy, it is an obligation to wash one’s penis and testicles [after its emission], and one must perform ablution for the prayer [after having emitted Mathy] and sprinkle water over the parts of the body or clothes that are soiled with it.

The Fataawa of the Permanent Committee also reads: “Mathy is impure so if one has such emissions he must wash his entire penis as well as his testicles and sprinkle water over the parts of the body or clothes that came into contact with it because the Prophet  sallallaahu  `alayhi  wa  sallam ( may  Allaah exalt his mention ) ordered ‘Ali to wash his penis and testicles and perform ablution due to Mathy, and he ordered him to sprinkle water over the parts of the clothes that were stained with it."

Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen  may  Allaah  have  mercy  upon  him said about Mathy: “One must wash his penis and testicles [after emitting Mathy], and sprinkle water over the parts of the body or clothes that are soiled with it.”

He also said: “Mathy is impure but its impurity is less significant; it is enough to sprinkle water without washing or rubbing; sprinkling means pouring water over the entire area.”

There is no doubt that "sprinkling water does not remove the impurity," as Ibn Qudaamah  may  Allaah  have  mercy  upon  him said, but some scholars are anyway of the view that it is sufficient to sprinkle water over it in order not to cause hardship and embarrassment, pursuant to the Ahaadeeth that provide that sprinkling water is enough, like the Hadeeth: “….what about that clothes it touches? and the Prophet  sallallaahu  `alayhi  wa  sallam ( may  Allaah exalt his mention ) replied: It is enough for you to take a handful of water and splash it over the part of your clothes that you see it has touched.” [Abu Daawood] And the Hadeeth narrated by ’Ali  may  Allaah  be  pleased  with  him about Mathy which reads: "… and splash water over your genitals."

However, the majority of scholars have interpreted the Arabic word 'Nadhh' ('splashing') in the Hadeeth to mean 'washing' and not just 'sprinkling'; An-Nawawi  may  Allaah  have  mercy  upon  him said in his commentary on Saheeh Muslim: “The saying of the Prophet  sallallaahu  `alayhi  wa  sallam ( may  Allaah exalt his mention ): "…and splash water over your genitals" means wash it, as the Arabic word 'Nadhh' can mean either to wash or to sprinkle. Another narration reads “he should wash his penis”. So splashing with water can be interpreted as 'to wash'.

There is no doubt that washing the Mathy from the body and clothing is better in order to be on the safe side and it is also cleaner. Therefore, dear Brother, you should be keen on washing Mathy and not just sprinkling water on it, but if you just sprinkle water over it then you would still be acting in accordance the view of some scholars. For more benefit, please refer to Fatwa 91596.

Allaah Knows best.

Related Fatwa