How Do I Clean Pre-Sexual Fluid That Is on the Floor? (Shafi’i)

Answered by Shaykh Jamir Meah

Question: Assalamu alaykum

How do I clean pre-sexual fluid that is on the floor (Shafi’i)?

Answer: Assalam ‘alaykum. Thank you for your question.

Pre-sexual fluid, madhy, is considered a medium impurity (najasa mutawassita). The way a medium impurity is cleaned depends on what is present of the impurity.

The Three Types of Impurities

Impurities are of three types:

1. Heavy impurities (najasa mughalladha): This is moist contact from a dog or a pig.

2. Light impurities (najasa mukhaffafa): This is the urine of an infant less than two year old, with conditions.

3. Medium impurities (najasa mutawassita): This is all other impurities, such as madhy, alcohol, urine etc.

Cleaning Medium Impurities

When cleaning medium impurities one first observes what is present of the impurity. In this regards there are also two types of impurities:

1. Perceptible Impurity (najasa ‘ainiyya): This is that which has a body, or has the qualities of taste, or smell, or colour (some or all).

2. Imperceptible Impurity (najasa hukmiyya): This is that which there is no body of filth, and there is no taste, smell, or colour to it. For example, the impurity may have dried and become undetectable.

To wash perceptible impurity, one must first remove any body of the filth. If all of its qualities (smell, taste, and colour) have been removed as well, then one simply pours clean water over the area.

If the smell, colour, or taste remains, then ones must keep washing with water. If water alone is not enough one must use soap or similar substances if one expects it will remove the filth. After removing the body and qualities of filth, one removes any soap used either by wiping (with tissue or a cloth for example) or washing and draining it away, and then one pours clean water over the area. It is not obligatory to wring out the area, but it is recommended.

To wash imperceptible impurity, it suffices to simply pour water over the area, such that the water runs over the area, even if one does this just once.

[Bushra al Karim, Nail al Raja]

In conclusion, determine the area in which the madhy is and observe whether it falls under the category of perceptible impurity or imperceptible impurity, and then wash accordingly.

May Allah purify our limbs and hearts from all forms of impurities.

Warmest salams,
[Shaykh] Jamir Meah

Shaykh Jamir Meah grew up in Hampstead, London. In 2007, he traveled to Tarim, Yemen, where he spent nine years studying the Islamic sciences on a one-to-one basis under the foremost scholars of the Ribaat, Tarim, with a main specialization and focus on Shafi’i fiqh. In early 2016, he moved to Amman, Jordan, where he continues advanced studies in a range of Islamic sciences, as well as teaching. Jamir is a qualified homeopath.