Semen (mani): its ritual effects, purity and fasting

Mani is the thick, gushing fluid of a man or a woman that comes out at the height of desire. The jurists separate it from madhy, which comes out without gushing, and from wadi, which comes out without desire after urine. ¹

The Malikis and Shafi'is hold it forbidden, with discretionary punishment. The Hanafis count it a prohibited act without excuse, obligatory when it is the only escape from fornication; the Hanbalis count it forbidden without need. Using a wife's hand is allowed by all. ²

The Hanafis, Malikis, a Shafi'i view and a Hanbali view hold mani impure; the sounder Shafi'i view and another Hanbali view hold it pure. The evidence includes the report of 'A'isha washing and scraping it from the Prophet ﷺ's garment and Ibn 'Abbas comparing it to phlegm. ^{2 3 4}

Most jurists hold that its emission breaks ablution, the Shafi'is hold that it does not. All agree that its emission from a man or a woman requires the full bath, on the report of Umm Sulaym. ^{4 5}

A fasting person who kisses without ejaculating is not invalidated; if he ejaculates from the kiss, most jurists hold his fast invalid. Self-stimulation that brings ejaculation invalidates the fast; emission without desire does not. ⁶

The Hanafis and Shafi'is hold that emission from thought or a gaze does not break the fast; the Malikis require the makeup and expiation when the gaze or thought is deliberately prolonged; the Hanbalis separate repeated gaze with emission, which breaks the fast, from thought, which does not. ^{6 7}

The Hanafis require the wet mani to be washed, and allow scraping it when dry. ⁷

The Hanafis and Shafi'is hold that castration is not a defect giving a wife the right to separate while the husband can still have intercourse; the Malikis and Hanbalis count it a defect, and the Malikis exclude one who still emits. Loss of the power to emit by a blow to the spine requires the full blood money. ⁸