Fath al-Rabbani

Benefits: … The main point of all the ahadith in this chapter is that when the circumcised parts of the husband and wife meet, the ritual bath (ghusl) of major impurity (janabah) becomes obligatory, whether ejaculation occurs or not. We know what change occurs in the male private part due to circumcision. Similarly, female circumcision was known among the Arabs, but in our region, the need for female circumcision is not felt. In any case, the ritual bath does not become obligatory merely by the contact of the two private parts; rather, this bath becomes obligatory when the place of the man’s circumcision enters inside the woman’s private part. As for what is meant by the woman’s “four branches,” there are various opinions, for example: (1) both hands and both legs, (2) both legs and both thighs, (3) both shins and both thighs, (4) both thighs and the two sides of the private part, etc. Whatever meaning is taken of these words, this is an incidental restriction; the ritual bath becomes obligatory when the two circumcised parts meet and penetration occurs. Further clarification of this is provided in the next hadith.