What Is Pre-Ejaculatory Fluid (Madhy)?

Answered by Shaykh Yusuf Weltch

Question

Since I learned what madhy is, I feel like shaytan has been playing with me. When it comes to ‘ibada, like during wudu and getting ready for salah, the most random, unnecessary, and disturbing thoughts come to my mind, and I get worried if I have emitted madhy or not. It disturbs me, and I try to push them away and distract myself.

I feel helpless as it happens so often. I don’t have khushu in my salah with this, and I check after every salah. And I can’t even tell if it is madhy or just wetness. Moreover, the moisture is usually inside the inner labia. It doesn’t appear on the visible area, so I don’t know if it invalidates wudu unless it is apparent and comes out onto outer space. I get worried about whether my worship is valid.

Answer

In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful and Compassionate

Pre-ejaculatory fluid (madhy) is a translucent, thin, slippery substance that exits when one is sexually aroused. It is impure, and when it comes forth to the external part of the body, it invalidates the ablution (wudu). [Ibn ‘Abidin, Radd al-Muhtar]

When is the Wudu Invalidated

For the female body, the inner labia is considered an internal part of the body, and the area that lies within the outer labia is considered external, even though it may not be visible without opening the outer labia. [Birgivi, Dhukhr al-Muta’ahhilin]

Anything that remains within the inner labia does not break the ablution (wudu). [Ibid.]

If a substance (in this case, pre-ejaculatory fluid) comes out to the outer labia the wudu is invalidated. [Ibid.]

An exception to this is any clear discharge that naturally comes from the vagina. This is pure and does not invalidate the ablution, even if it comes out and is a lot. [Ibid.]

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Doubts About Madhy

Anytime you feel a wetness (i.e., liquid discharge), the assumption is that it is a clear natural discharge by which the vagina maintains its Ph balance. This has the same ruling as sweat: it is pure and does not invalidate the ablution.

If you are sexually aroused and experience wetness, then you can assume the wetness is pre-sexual fluid.

Determining Arousal

Sexual arousal, although less evident in women than in men, can be determined by the following means:

• An emotional inclination (mail al-qalb)
• A desire for further intimate contact, like hugging, kissing, or intercourse (towards the object of desire) [Tahtawi/Shurunbulali, Hashiyat Maraqi al-Falah]

With these criteria, it isn’t very likely for a such desire to occur just by mere thoughts that are quickly diverted.

Preventing Sexual Thoughts

Many people with frequent thoughts of a sexual nature have them because they are frequently exposed to sexual images elsewhere. This may not be so in all cases, but it is something to be wary of.

The Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and give him peace) narrates that Allah Most High says, “Indeed the (lustful) glance is a poisonous arrow of Iblis. Whoever leaves it out of fear of Me, I give them in place of its faith the sweetness he will experience in his heart.” [Tabarani, al-M’ujam al-Kabir]

Additionally, by increasing in remembrance of Allah Most High and sending prayers to His beloved Prophet, Muhammad, such thoughts and images can be driven away, and one’s heart can be purified and enlightened.

Hope this helps
Allah knows best

[Shaykh] Yusuf Weltch
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Shaykh Yusuf Weltch is a teacher of Arabic, Islamic law, and spirituality. After accepting Islam in 2008, he then completed four years at the Darul Uloom seminary in New York where he studied Arabic and the traditional sciences. He then traveled to Tarim, Yemen, where he stayed for three years studying in Dar Al-Mustafa under some of the greatest scholars of our time, including Habib Umar Bin Hafiz, Habib Kadhim al-Saqqaf, and Shaykh Umar al-Khatib. In Tarim, Shaykh Yusuf completed the memorization of the Qur’an and studied beliefs, legal methodology, hadith methodology, Qur’anic exegesis, Islamic history, and a number of texts on spirituality. He joined the SeekersGuidance faculty in the summer of 2019.