I heard a fatwa from you stating that a woman must perform wudu for every prayer if she notices moisture in her private parts, which has caused some women distress. I hope you will clarify this.
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The questioner : Your Eminence, I heard a fatwa from you stating that a woman must perform wudu for every prayer if she notices moisture in her private parts. This has led some women to insert cotton to check for moisture, and has caused some of them to doubt their purity. I hope you will clarify this, may Allah guide you.
The Shaykh : The reality is that the moisture that occurs in women is one of the most difficult issues in Islamic jurisprudence, because the general rule conflicts with the apparent state of the women of the Companions. The general rule among scholars is that anything exiting from the two passages breaks the wudu, whether it is pure or impure, and whether it has substance like urine and feces, or lacks substance like wind. Anything exiting from the two passages breaks the wudu.
This rule applies to the water that exits from a woman, which women call "purity."
This rule may conflict with the apparent state of the women of the Companions, because this issue is widespread and affects many women, and the Sunnah did not address it in detail. Therefore, one might say: The obligatory course is to treat matters according to their appearance, because if this issue had broken the wudu or if what it touched had been impure, the Sunnah would have clarified it in a way that leaves no doubt, since this is a widespread issue and there is ample motivation to transmit it. Since none of that occurred, the obligatory course is to leave matters as they are.
I wish I had seen clear words from the scholars of the Salaf regarding this.
The most I have seen—and my knowledge is limited—is a statement by Ibn Hazm saying: "This issue does not break the wudu and does not make what it touches impure". However, I did not find a precedent from the Salaf that it does not break the wudu. If any of you has come across something, please help us with it, may Allah reward you with good, because we are truly in great difficulty regarding this, as questions about it are frequent, and causing distress to women by applying the rule is difficult for the soul, and being lenient in this without a basis to rely on is also difficult for the soul.
- Rest, and write down what you have if you have anything. -
So I—may Allah reward you with good—ask you to help me with this issue. If any of you sees a text from the Salaf, transmitted from the Salaf, stating that this issue does not break the wudu and does not make clothes impure, please help us with it, and we will be grateful to you for what you have guided us to.
The issue is water that exits from a woman's private parts, which women call "purity." It is present in many women, and it involves difficulty and hardship. But what has become clear to me now regarding its ruling is that, with respect to breaking the wudu, it breaks the wudu, unless it exits from the woman continuously, in which case it is given the ruling of incontinence, meaning the woman does not perform wudu for prayer until the time for it enters, and she takes precautions and prays. If something exits from her after that, it does not harm her and does not break her wudu.
As for impurity, it is not impure, because the moisture of a woman's private parts is pure, not impure, according to the most correct opinion of the scholars. Therefore, a man is not required to wash his organ after having intercourse with his wife. If this issue had been impure, he would have been required to wash his organ after intercourse before touching his clothes.
In any case, it is pure in terms of purity.
But one might say: How do you say it is pure and also say it breaks the wudu?
I say: There is nothing strange about this, for this wind is pure and it breaks the wudu.
In any case, the ruling I see now, and I am eager for Allah the Exalted to guide me through one of His servants to a ruling I am more at ease with, is:
1- This issue is pure and does not make clothes or the body impure.
2- This issue breaks the wudu, unless it is continuous, in which case it does not break the wudu because it is difficult to guard against it. In that case, the woman performs wudu when the time for prayer enters, she performs wudu for prayer after the time enters, and she binds herself, meaning she takes precautions with something to be more secure against what exits, then she prays as much as she wishes of obligatory and voluntary prayers, tawaf, and so on.
This is the furthest point my independent legal reasoning has reached in this issue, and I ask Allah to grant success in what is good and right.
The Shaykh : The reality is that the moisture that occurs in women is one of the most difficult issues in Islamic jurisprudence, because the general rule conflicts with the apparent state of the women of the Companions. The general rule among scholars is that anything exiting from the two passages breaks the wudu, whether it is pure or impure, and whether it has substance like urine and feces, or lacks substance like wind. Anything exiting from the two passages breaks the wudu.
This rule applies to the water that exits from a woman, which women call "purity."
This rule may conflict with the apparent state of the women of the Companions, because this issue is widespread and affects many women, and the Sunnah did not address it in detail. Therefore, one might say: The obligatory course is to treat matters according to their appearance, because if this issue had broken the wudu or if what it touched had been impure, the Sunnah would have clarified it in a way that leaves no doubt, since this is a widespread issue and there is ample motivation to transmit it. Since none of that occurred, the obligatory course is to leave matters as they are.
I wish I had seen clear words from the scholars of the Salaf regarding this.
The most I have seen—and my knowledge is limited—is a statement by Ibn Hazm saying: "This issue does not break the wudu and does not make what it touches impure". However, I did not find a precedent from the Salaf that it does not break the wudu. If any of you has come across something, please help us with it, may Allah reward you with good, because we are truly in great difficulty regarding this, as questions about it are frequent, and causing distress to women by applying the rule is difficult for the soul, and being lenient in this without a basis to rely on is also difficult for the soul.
- Rest, and write down what you have if you have anything. -
So I—may Allah reward you with good—ask you to help me with this issue. If any of you sees a text from the Salaf, transmitted from the Salaf, stating that this issue does not break the wudu and does not make clothes impure, please help us with it, and we will be grateful to you for what you have guided us to.
The issue is water that exits from a woman's private parts, which women call "purity." It is present in many women, and it involves difficulty and hardship. But what has become clear to me now regarding its ruling is that, with respect to breaking the wudu, it breaks the wudu, unless it exits from the woman continuously, in which case it is given the ruling of incontinence, meaning the woman does not perform wudu for prayer until the time for it enters, and she takes precautions and prays. If something exits from her after that, it does not harm her and does not break her wudu.
As for impurity, it is not impure, because the moisture of a woman's private parts is pure, not impure, according to the most correct opinion of the scholars. Therefore, a man is not required to wash his organ after having intercourse with his wife. If this issue had been impure, he would have been required to wash his organ after intercourse before touching his clothes.
In any case, it is pure in terms of purity.
But one might say: How do you say it is pure and also say it breaks the wudu?
I say: There is nothing strange about this, for this wind is pure and it breaks the wudu.
In any case, the ruling I see now, and I am eager for Allah the Exalted to guide me through one of His servants to a ruling I am more at ease with, is:
1- This issue is pure and does not make clothes or the body impure.
2- This issue breaks the wudu, unless it is continuous, in which case it does not break the wudu because it is difficult to guard against it. In that case, the woman performs wudu when the time for prayer enters, she performs wudu for prayer after the time enters, and she binds herself, meaning she takes precautions with something to be more secure against what exits, then she prays as much as she wishes of obligatory and voluntary prayers, tawaf, and so on.
This is the furthest point my independent legal reasoning has reached in this issue, and I ask Allah to grant success in what is good and right.