What is the ruling concerning the impurity of madhy (pre-ejaculatory fluid) on garments?
Chapter on Praying with Impurity and Other Matters
Al-Mughni
Book of Prayer
Primary text
There is a difference of opinion regarding whether sprinkling water suffices or if washing is obligatory for madhy on clothing. A narration from Abu Abdullah states that sprinkling water suffices based on the hadith of Sahl ibn Hunayf, where the Prophet (peace be upon him) instructed Sahl to take a handful of water and sprinkle it where he perceived it had touched his garment, concluding that ablution suffices for the body, and sprinkling suffices for the garment. This view is supported by some who defer to this specific hadith.
Supporting text
Another established position requires washing madhy, asserting that it is a type of impurity and must be washed like all other impurities. This is supported by the command to wash the private organ from it in the hadith of al-Miqdad, and the hadith of Sahl ibn Hunayf is regarded by some as not definitively authoritative or being singular in narration. Companions like Umar and Ibn Abbas, along with Shafi'i, Ishaq, and Abu Thawr, mandated washing madhy.