❖ Scholarly Disagreement on the Purity or Impurity of Semen (Mani) ❖
📚 Source: Fatāwā ʿIlmiyyah, Vol. 1, Kitāb al-ʿAqāʾid, p. 210
❖ Question
Is semen (mani) considered pure or impure in Islam? Some people accuse Ahl al-Ḥadīth scholars of claiming that mani is pure. What is the correct understanding in light of Islamic scholarship?
❖ Answer
Alḥamdulillāh, and peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah. To proceed:
➊ Historical Disagreement Among Scholars
The issue of whether mani is ṭāhir (pure) or najis (impure) has been disputed since early Islamic times.
📖 As stated by Muḥammad Taqī ʿUthmānī (Deobandi):
“There has always been a difference of opinion about the purity of semen, dating back to the time of the Companions. Among them: Ibn ʿUmar, Ibn ʿAbbās, and among the Imams: Imām al-Shāfiʿī and Imām Aḥmad considered mani to be pure.”
(Dars al-Tirmidhī, Vol. 1, p. 346)
Some of the students of Imām Aḥmad and Imām al-Shāfiʿī supported this view.
➋ Position of Ahl al-Ḥadīth Scholars
📖 According to Muḥammad Raʾīs Nadwī:
“In the Ḥanbalī madhhab, mani is absolutely ṭāhir, and this is the opinion of the majority of Ḥanbalī jurists.”
(al-Inṣāf fī Maʿrifat al-Rājiḥ min al-Khilāf, 1/340–341)
This was also the opinion of:
- Shaykh ʿAbd al-Qādir al-Jīlānī رحمه الله
(See: Ghuniyyat al-Ṭālibīn, p. 70)
📖 Imām al-Nawawī رحمه الله stated:
“Many scholars hold that mani is pure, including ʿAlī, Saʿd ibn Abī Waqqāṣ, Ibn ʿUmar, and ʿĀʾishah رضي الله عنهم.
Among the scholars: Imām Dāwūd al-Ẓāhirī, one narration from Imām Aḥmad, Imām al-Shāfiʿī, and many from the Ahl al-Ḥadīth.”
(Sharḥ Muslim, 1/140; al-Majmūʿ: Bāb al-Ṭahārah)
➌ Counter Position: Mani is Najis (Impure)
However, some scholars — after research and ijtihād — declared that mani is impure, including:
- Imām al-Shawkānī
(Nayl al-Awṭār, 1/67) - Nawwāb Ṣiddīq Ḥasan Khān
(Tuḥfat al-Aḥwadhī, 1/115) - Various Salafī scholars after careful analysis
➍ Preferred (Rājih) Position
✔ Based on the evidences and collective scholarly assessment, the stronger view is that mani is impure (najis).
✔ Declaring it pure is not a new invention — it was held by Companions and Imams, both in the early and later generations.
⚠ Therefore, it is incorrect to label the view of purity as a unique stance of Ahl al-Ḥadīth or to accuse them of innovation in this matter.
➎ Final Note
This issue is one of longstanding scholarly disagreement and legitimate ijtihād. Just as other Imams have adopted differing views, Ahl al-Ḥadīth scholars too have exercised their judgment.
📌 It is unjust and misleading to propagate false accusations against them.
وَاللّٰهُ أَعْلَمُ بِالصَّوَابِ
