How Could I Discern Sperm from Urine?
Answered by Shaykh Irshaad Sedick
Question
I often find moisture in bed. How could I discern sperm from urine? Is stickiness the only requirement, or are there other factors?
Answer
In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful and Compassionate. May Allah alleviate our difficulties and guide us to that which is pleasing to Him. Amin.
Male sperm and female sexual fluid are recognized by the fact that they:
- come in spurts (by contractions);
- with sexual gratification;
- and when moist, smell like bread dough, and when dry, like egg white.
When a substance from the genital orifice has any of the above characteristics, it is sperm or sexual fluid, making the purificatory bath obligatory. When not even one of the above characteristics is present, it is sperm or sexual fluid. Being white or thick is not necessary for it to be considered male sperm, and being yellow or thin is not necessary for it to be considered female sexual fluid. [Keller, Reliance of the Traveler]
I pray this is of benefit and that Allah guides us all.
[Shaykh] Irshaad Sedick
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani
Shaykh Irshaad Sedick was raised in South Africa in a traditional Muslim family. He graduated from Dar al-Ulum al-Arabiyyah al-Islamiyyah in Strand, Western Cape, under the guidance of the late world-renowned scholar, Shaykh Taha Karaan.
Shaykh Irshaad received Ijaza from many luminaries of the Islamic world, including Shaykh Taha Karaan, Mawlana Yusuf Karaan, and Mawlana Abdul Hafeez Makki, among others.
He is the author of the text “The Musnad of Ahmad ibn Hanbal: A Hujjah or not?” He has served as the Director of the Discover Islam Centre and Al Jeem Foundation. For the last five years till present, he has served as the Khatib of Masjid Ar-Rashideen, Mowbray, Cape Town.
Shaykh Irshaad has thirteen years of teaching experience at some of the leading Islamic institutes in Cape Town). He is currently building an Islamic online learning and media platform called ‘Isnad Academy’ and has completed his Master’s degree in the study of Islam at the University of Johannesburg. He has a keen interest in healthy living and fitness.
