Does a woman’s secretion nullify ablution and is it considered an impurity? – Ustadh Abdus Shakur Brooks

Answered by Ustadh Abdus Shakur Brooks

Question:

The maliki fiqh texts always talk about “the two passages” (sabeelayn) but in a woman’s case, she has three passages. Also, if a woman is healthy, she is never dry.  She constantly secretes vaginal fluid.  If she did not, she would actually be suffering from vaginal atrophy.  My question is this: Many scholars seem to say that such secretion would require her to make ablution again, but it seems maybe they are making an analogy with me because her situation is different because she secrets all the time.  Some women more, some less, but the point is, it’s a constant state, like saliva is for the mouth.

Answer:

In Mukhtasar Khalil it mentions in the chapter of impurities that  wetness of the vagina (which is what comes from secretion) is an impurity. This could be found in the commentaries of Khalil namely that of Shaykh Dardir (h.1201) and al-Hattab (h.954) both of which are two highly relied upon works in the Maliki mathab. Furthermore Al-Qadi Abd al-Wahab al-Baghdadi (h.422) mentions in his famous work al-Talqeen that everything that comes out of the vagina is an impurity. Researching the matter, I find that the scholars although they mention it as an impurity they never mention that it nullifies ablution. Furthermore, in the chapter concerning what nullifies ablution, wetness of the vagina is not one of those six things that come from a person’s mid section that nullify ablution, therefore it is not to be assumed that it nullifies ablution unless we find the scholars explicitly stating such. Lastly there is another matter to consider, there are women who secret almost all the time as you mentioned which means that they will always be in need of washing the mid section before every prayer which is difficult. In the Maliki mathab there is a general rule concerning the removal of impurities and that is “impurities that are difficult to avoid are excusable”. What that means is that a person is excused from having to remove it for the sake of prayer. This rule is mentioned in Mukhtasar Khalil briefly and its commentaries elaborate on the matter.

Source : http://mathabah.org/2009121289/maliki-purity-taharah/does-a-womans-secretion-nullify-ablution-and-is-it-considered-an-impurity.html

Here are some english books to learn your fard al ‘Ayn (Individual duty) according to the maliki school:

For those living in the USA:

For those living in the UK:

For those living in Canada:

For a complete list of the english books on maliki fiqh, please click on the links below:

List 1

List 2

Learn Maliki Fiqh, Aqida, Arabic, and more.

Begin Your Journey with Maliki Fiqh Studies, Aqida, and more. Equip yourself with foundational knowledge to build a strong foundation.