Rutuba (moisture): whether the moisture of a woman's private part, of a beast and of a contact with an impurity is pure, and its effects on cleaning with stones and on wet semen

الرطوبة

Rutuba is dampness, the opposite of dryness; the Hanbalis distinguish moisture from wetness in ruling on impurity. 1 Abu Hanifa and the Hanbalis hold a woman's private moisture pure, while the Malikis, Abu Yusuf and Muhammad hold it impure; the Shafi'is divide it into three kinds. 1 2 The majority hold the moisture of a pure animal's private part pure, and the Malikis limit this to animals that may be eaten. 2 The Hanafis and Malikis hold that what touches a moist impurity does not become impure, in the sounder view, while the Shafi'is and Hanbalis hold it impure. 2 3 Cleaning with stones requires a dry surface, and wet semen is washed while dry semen is rubbed off, according to the Hanafis and Hanbalis. 3

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Era
The Prophetic Era
Region
Global / Diaspora
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Worship and the pillarsHalal and haram

Summary

Rutuba is dampness, the opposite of dryness; the Hanbalis distinguish moisture from wetness in ruling on impurity. 1 Abu Hanifa and the Hanbalis hold a woman's private moisture pure, while the Malikis, Abu Yusuf and Muhammad hold it impure; the Shafi'is divide it into three kinds. 1 2 The majority hold the moisture of a pure animal's private part pure, and the Malikis limit this to animals that may be eaten. 2 The Hanafis and Malikis hold that what touches a moist impurity does not become impure, in the sounder view, while the Shafi'is and Hanbalis hold it impure. 2 3 Cleaning with stones requires a dry surface, and wet semen is washed while dry semen is rubbed off, according to the Hanafis and Hanbalis. 3

People and things also explored

Hadi (the whitish fluid before childbirth: its ruling on ablution and purity)· Hady (animal offered to the Sacred Precinct)· Halak (destruction of property and its legal effect)· The ruling on one who abandons prayer· Ada' (performance of an obligation within its time)· Adhan (the call to prayer: its ruling, wording, conditions, recommended features and the muezzin)· Bone (adhm): purity, use and retaliation· The adornment of desires and the goods of this world

Sources

  1. al-Mawsu'a al-Fiqhiyya al-Kuwaitiyya, Noor-Book copy (file named v3) , p.8784
  2. al-Mawsu'a al-Fiqhiyya al-Kuwaitiyya, Noor-Book copy (file named v3) , p.8785
  3. al-Mawsu'a al-Fiqhiyya al-Kuwaitiyya, Noor-Book copy (file named v3) , p.8786
Cite this page

islam.museum contributors. “Rutuba (moisture): whether the moisture of a woman's private part, of a beast and of a contact with an impurity is pure, and its effects on cleaning with stones and on wet semen”. islam.museum, https://islam.museum/en/concept/rutubah-fiqh/. CC BY-SA 4.0. Last updated 2026-10-23.

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Related

Hadi (the whitish fluid before childbirth: its ruling on ablution and purity)

Hadi, in the technical sense, is a term of the Malikis: a whitish fluid that comes from a pregnant woman near childbirth; some define it as a fluid coming at the birth or at a miscarriage. It differs from madhi, wadi, semen, menses and postpartum bleeding in its outflow from the womb, and menses requires bathing while hadi does not. The Malikis have two views on whether hadi breaks ablution: the accepted one says it does, the other says it is nothing, since it is not habitual. The Malikis hold hadi impure, and the Hanafis, Shafi'is and Hanbalis agree on the impurity of what comes from a pregnant woman before the birth.