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Does Unexpected Pre-Seminal Release Break My Fast?

30 March, 2023
Q What is the ruling on a person who discharges semen or pre-seminal fluid (madhi) as a result of playing with his wife while observing an expiatory fasting?

Answer

In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful. 

All praise and thanks are due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon His Messenger.


In this fatwa:

Madhi (pre-seminal fluid) does not break one’s fasting according to the preferred opinion of jurists. 


Answering your question, Sheikh Ibn `Uthaymeen (may Allah bless his soul) states: 

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Madhi does not break one’s fasting according to the preferred opinion of jurists. That is because one can hardly restrain it.

It is also stated in the Kuwaiti Encyclopedia of Fiqh:

“If someone releases madhi due to a lustful look, the preferred opinion is that of Imam Ahmad that it does not invalidate the fast since there is no proof for that. The saying that it takes the ruling of mani by virtue of qiyas (analogical deduction) is unsubstantiated because there is a difference between the ruling of madhi and mani.”

Sheikh Hamed Al-`Ali , Instructor of Islamic Heritage at the Faculty of Education, Kuwait and Imam of Dahiat As-Sabahiyya Mosque, adds: 

The view believed to be the most correct amongst scholars is that madhi does not break the fast, and there is no proof that it does break the fast, whether in Ramadan or in fasting expiation. As for the wadi, it has nothing to do with sexual excitement as it comes after urine and it has the same ruling like urine; therefore it does not invalidate the fast.

In his book Fiqh-us-Sunnah, the late Sheikh Sayyed Sabiq (may Allah bless his soul) states: 

Ejaculation of mani voids the fast even if it was just due to kissing, hugging, or masturbation, and the day must be made up. If the ejaculation relates to looking at or thinking about something, then it is like having a wet dream during the day and it, therefore, does not void the fast nor is there any requirement on the person. Similarly, ejaculation of madhi does not harm the fast in any way.

Almighty Allah knows best.

Editor’s note: This fatwa is from Ask the Scholar’s archive and was originally published at an earlier date.