عفل (عورت کا عیب)

العَفَل

In the lexicon, afal is a fleshy growth in a woman's genital passage, which arises after childbirth and not in virgins; some say it is a swelling that narrows the passage until penetration is impossible ¹. Some jurists distinguish it from ratq, a closure from birth; both are defects that give an option to end the marriage ^{1 2}. The Malikis and Hanbalis hold that it gives the husband an option to annul the marriage, since it defeats the marriage's main purpose; Abu Hanifa and Abu Yusuf hold that neither spouse has such an option ^{1 2}. The Shafi'is count ratq and qaran, another closure, as defects peculiar to women that give the option ².