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Anthayan (the two testicles, and rulings on them)

أنثيان

Anthayan are the two testicles. 1 They belong to the parts of the body that must be covered, and castration is forbidden on the report of Ibn Mas'ud, who said that they asked the Prophet ﷺ whether they might castrate themselves, and he forbade it. The injury to them by error carries a diya; for deliberate injury retaliation is due according to the Shafi'is, Hanbalis and Malikis, while the Hanafis deny retaliation. 2 The jurists differ on castrating an animal between allowance and dislike. 23

Depth

At a glance

Era
The Prophetic Era
Region
Global / Diaspora
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Health, body and death

Definition

Anthayan are the two testicles, the term being used in this sense in the juristic books. 1

Ruling

  • The testicles belong to the private parts that must be covered. 2
  • Castration of a man is forbidden, following the report of Ibn Mas'ud, who said that when they campaigned with the Prophet with nothing, they asked whether they might castrate themselves, and he forbade it. 2
  • Injury to them without intent carries a diya, and for one testicle half the diya; if the injury to one ends the offspring, no more than half the diya is due. 2
  • For deliberate injury, retaliation is due according to the Shafi'is, Hanbalis and Malikis; the Hanafis deny it, since no exact measure of the injury can be set. 2
  • Castrating an animal is allowed by some jurists and disliked by others. 3

People and things also explored

Bone (adhm): purity, use and retaliation· Fleshy growth in the wife's womb and the right to annul (afal)· Grief and worry (al-huzn)· The clot stage of the embryo (alaqa) and the rulings on its loss· Alya (the rump, and its rulings)· Anf (the nose, and its rulings in purification, prayer, fasting and retaliation)· Reason as the basis of legal capacity and of the blood-money (aql)· One-eyed defect ('awar) and its effect on sacrifice, marriage, manumission and injury

Sources

  1. al-Mawsu'a al-Fiqhiyya al-Kuwaitiyya, Noor-Book copy (file named v3) , p.3458
  2. al-Mawsu'a al-Fiqhiyya al-Kuwaitiyya, Noor-Book copy (file named v3) , p.3459
  3. al-Mawsu'a al-Fiqhiyya al-Kuwaitiyya, Noor-Book copy (file named v3) , p.3460
Cite this page

islam.museum contributors. “Anthayan (the two testicles, and rulings on them)”. islam.museum, https://islam.museum/en/concept/anthayan/. CC BY-SA 4.0. Last updated 2026-10-23.

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Bone (adhm): purity, use and retaliation

In the lexicon, adhm is the bone that has flesh on it, plural 'idham and 'izam. Most jurists hold that a human bone is pure, whether living or dead, of a Muslim or not; that a fish bone stays pure after death; and that the bone of a lawfully slaughtered edible animal is pure and may be used. The bone of carrion, or of a non-edible animal, is impure according to the Malikis, Shafi'is, Hanbalis and Ishaq, and cannot be purified; the Hanafis hold it pure, and 'Umar disliked oiling in ivory. On cleansing after excretion with a bone, the Shafi'is and Hanbalis forbid it; the Hanafis dislike it as forbidden but accept that it suffices; the Malikis forbid a carrion bone and allow a pure bone with disapproval. Most jurists allow retaliation for a bone only at a joint, since equality cannot be achieved elsewhere.