I was a man of frequent discharge of Madhi (pre-seminal fluid) and I was too shy to ask the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) about it given his daughter's status. So, I asked Al-Miqdād ibn al-Aswad to ask him and he did. Thereupon, the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: 'Let him wash his penis and perform ablution

Arabic text

عَنْ عَلِيٍّ رضي الله عنه قَالَ: كُنْتُ رَجُلًا مَذَّاءً وَكُنْتُ أَسْتَحْيِي أَنْ أَسْأَلَ النَّبِيَّ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ لِمَكَانِ ابْنَتِهِ فَأَمَرْتُ الْمِقْدَادَ بْنَ الْأَسْوَدِ فَسَأَلَهُ فَقَالَ: «يَغْسِلُ ذَكَرَهُ وَيَتَوَضَّأُ». وَلِلبُخَاريِّ: فَقَالَ: «تَوَضَّأْ وَاغْسِلْ ذَكَرَكَ».

Translation

‘Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: "I was a man of frequent discharge of Madhi (pre-seminal fluid) and I was too shy to ask the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) about it given his daughter's status. So, I asked Al-Miqdād ibn al-Aswad to ask him and he did. Thereupon, the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: 'Let him wash his penis and perform ablution.'" A narration of Al-Bukhāri reads: Thereupon, he (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Perform ablution and wash your penis."

Explanation

‘Ali ibn Abi Tālib (may Allah be pleased with him) stated that he would frequently experience the discharge of Madhi, which is a thin and sticky whitish fluid that seeps out of the penis upon sexual arousal or before sexual intercourse. He did not know what he should do about it and was too shy to ask the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) because he was the husband of Fātimah, daughter of the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him). So, he asked Al-Miqdād ibn al-Aswad to ask the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) about it. The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) replied: He should wash his penis, then, perform ablution.

Benefits

• The merit of ‘Ali ibn Abi Tālib (may Allah be pleased with him) who was not prevented by shyness from posing the question through an intermediary.
• Permissibility of delegating someone to seek Fatwa on one's behalf.
• Permissibility of revealing something personal, about which one feels embarrassed, for the sake of some interest.
• Madhi is impure and must be washed off the body and the clothes.
• The discharge of Madhi is among the invalidators of ablution.
• It is obligatory to wash the penis and the testicles based on another Hadīth.

Topics

• Jurisprudence and Juristic Principles
• Jurisprudence of Acts of Worship
• Purification
• Removing Impurities