Are Traces of Sperm Remaining After Washing My Underwear Excused?


Hanafi Fiqh

Answered by Ustadh Sufyan Qufi

Question

I want to ask about the stain of sperm. Sometimes the sperm gets dried in the underwear and then it is washed in the washing machine and then with water. My question is today, when I was wearing my washed underwear, I saw a stain(only like a white color) and something dried white in color as I scratch that dried thing it gets removed.

My question is as my underwear is washed with the washing machine and then again with water. Does that dried thing count as sperm or do I consider it as something else which is pure?

Answer

In the name of Allah, Most Compassionate, Most Merciful,

Underwear affected with dry sperm can be purified by washing it using water or by scraping it. After this removal, whether it was through washing or scraping, the remaining traces of dry sperm are excused. [Ibn ‘Abidin, Radd al-Muhtar]

Thus you can consider your underwear pure despite the presence of traces of sperm after using one of the two methods described above to remove it.

Allah, Most High, says: “Allah intends for you ease and does not intend for you hardship.” [Quran, 2:185]

Important Note

Scraping dry sperm will only render the affected item pure if the person affected by it was using water to clean his private part. If it were not the case, then only water would purify this item. [Ibn ‘Abidin, Radd al-Muhtar]

And Allah knows best.

[Ustadh] Sufyan Qufi
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Ustadh Sufyan Qufi is an advanced seeker of knowledge, originally from Algeria, who grew up in France. He began searching far and wide for answers to the fundamental questions of life and was disappointed at the answers he found.

Then he connected with various traditional teachers and gradually connected with SeekersGuidance. He embarked on his journey of learning through the various teachers at SeekersGuidance, including his mentor Shaykh Faraz Rabbani.

He studied numerous texts in Islamic Law, Theology, Hadith, and other areas with Shaykh Faraz Rabbani and other teachers, including Shaykh Abdurrahman al-Sha‘ar, Shaykh Ali Hani, and others.

He is an active instructor at SeekersGuidance and answers questions through the SeekersGuidance Answers Service.