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Female discharge and wudu    

Answered as per Shafi'i Fiqh by Qibla.com

Answered by Ustadha Shazia Ahmad

I have read on your site in the shafi answers that the clear discharge which comes out from the outer body i.e. the place that is exposed when squatting, is pure but does it mean that wudu won’t have to be renewed?

Answer:
In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful

First of all, you are correct when you say that you learned that one’s wudu breaks when something exits the private parts. This is essential to remember, not whether the substance is pure or impure. For example, if gas exits the private parts, it is pure but does invalidate the wudu. (The only exception to this is orgasmic sexual fluid; it is pure and does not invalidate the wudu.)

An important point to note is that exiting the private parts means to exit from the area that cannot be seen when one squats into the area that can be seen when one squats. It does not mean to exit onto the outer genital area that is exposed when standing. So, when discharge exits from the outer body, it is actually not exiting from her private parts, so she does not need to renew her wudu.

Her wudu will only be invalidated when discharge exits from inside the private parts. If she wants to block it from exiting to keep her wudu, she may insert a cotton ball or something similar inside her vagina. However, she should be sure to insert it inside completely, so that the wetness on the cotton ball does not appear on the outer body, because if it does, it is considered to have exited from her, thereby invalidating her wudu. If you decide to use a tampon to block the wetness from exiting, then the string should also be inserted inside the vagina, so that the wetness cannot descend onto the string, for it would have then exited from her, thereby invalidating her wudu.

Once you have completely inserted something inside of the vagina to block the discharge from descending to the outer body, it is not necessary for you to keep renewing your wudu. You only need to renew it when you take out the cotton ball to throw away, because the wetness would have exited.

A few things you might want to keep in mind.

a) If you are a virgin, you should avoid inserting anything inside of you. You may injure yourself and I was taught that it is not permissible in the Hanafi school for a virgin to insert anything inside of her vagina.

b) If you do insert something inside of you, don’t opt for cotton balls, because their fiber separates from them easily and could remain inside the vagina that might lead to health problems.

c) If, despite any of these measures, you are unable to keep your wudu for an extended period of time according to the Shafi`i school, it would be better for you to follow the Hanafi school for acts of worship such as reciting the Qur’an rather than give them up altogether. You can always remain Shafi`i for the obligatory prayer.

The following link will be of benefit to you, as well:

Chronic Discharge: A Further Clarification

And Allah knows best.

Shazia

This answer was indexed from Qibla.com, which used to have a repository of Islamic Q&A answered by various scholars. The website is no longer in existence. It has now been transformed into a learning portal with paid Islamic course offering under the brand of Kiflayn.

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