Question
It was narrated from Anas that:
Umm Sulaim asked the Messenger of Allah about a woman who sees in her dream something like that which a man sees. The Messenger of Allah said: “If she sees that and has a discharge, then let her perform a bath.” Umm Salamah said: “O Messenger of Allah, does that really happen?” He said: “Yes, the water of the man is thick and white and the water of a woman is thin and yellow. Whichever of them comes first or predominates, the child will resemble (that parent).” (Sunan Ibn Majah 601)
Vaginal discharge not only should not be yellow, but it also has no relevance in the process of fertilization. The yellow fluid, namely the tollicular fluid has nothing to do with the more often than not transparent fluid ejected by women during ejaculation and orgasms. Am I misunderstanding the hadith? How have scholars interpreted it? I’ve looked everywhere but couldn’t find an answer
Answer
The purport of this hadith becomes clear when it is understood in conjunction with another narration found in Sahih Muslim which employs similar wording. A Jewish man came to the Messenger (peace be upon him) and asked him about (what determines the gender of) the child. The Messenger (peace be upon him) responded by saying, “The fluid (ma’) of the man is white, and the fluid of the woman (ma’) is yellow. So when they gather, and the sperm (maniyy) of the man overcomes the sperm (maniyy) of the woman, the child will be a male with the permission of Allah. And if the sperm of the woman overcomes the sperm of the man, it will be a female with the permission of Allah.” (1)
It is important to note a few differences between the hadith of Umm Sulaym which you have asked regarding (2) and the one I have just mentioned of the Jewish man. Firstly, the Umm Sulaym hadith is discussing what determines the physical resemblance of the child while the hadith of the Jewish man is discussing what determines the gender of the child. Having said that, both hadiths overlap in their mentioning of the fluid of the man and fluid of the woman. This is expected because there is overlap in the biological components which determine the resemblance and those which determine the gender of the child. The benefit of this overlap in wording is that if we understand what these terms mean in the hadith of the Jewish man, we can fairly assume that that is what they also mean in the hadith of Umm Sulaym. The other difference between the two hadiths which is worth noting is that in the hadith of the Jewish man, the fluid of the man is described as white and the fluid of the woman is described as yellow, while the hadith of Umm Sulaym has the additional detail that the fluid of the man is viscous white (galiz abyad) and the fluid of the woman is watery yellow (raqiq asfar). The hadith of Umm Sulaym which you have quoted is also found in Sahih Muslim with these additional details and thus is sound. (3)
Now, understanding the hadith of the Jewish man in light of modern science and vernacular, we can say that when the Messenger (peace be upon him) is talking about the fluid of the man and the fluid of the woman, he is referring to the sperm cell and egg cell respectively, since they are what gather for conception and match the description of being viscous white and watery yellow.
The Arabic term used in the hadith is ma’ which is literally translated as water. This is also accurate since their major component is water, and this is the best description for that time period given the concept of cells was far from discovery and the Prophet (peace be upon him) had to answer the questions in a way the questioner could comprehend, and he was also bound by the language which was available to him.
As for the sperm (maniyy) of the man and sperm (maniyy) of the woman, this then refers to the Y and X chromosomes respectively. Note that the Prophet (peace be upon him) used the word maniyy as distinct from ma’. We know that when the sperm cell that has an Y chromosome fertilises the egg, the child will be male, while if a X chromosome sperm cell fertilises the egg, the child will be a female. Thus, the science and the Prophetic description of gender determination are in harmony.
Having understood these terms, it becomes clear that in the hadith of Umm Sulaym, the fluid of the man and fluid of the woman is not referring to discharge, it is referring to the sperm cell and egg cell just like in the hadith of the Jewish man. This Prophetic statement about determination of resemblance then is also in perfect harmony with the science since we know that the sperm and egg cells each have one half of a set of chromosomes and these chromosomes carry the genes which determine the traits of the child. These traits can either be in the form of dominant or recessive alleles. In the case where the sperm cell has the dominant allele for any specific trait, it will be the form that will manifest. While if the egg cell has the dominant allele, it will be the form that will manifest. In this manner, as the Prophet described, depending on which one dominates from (the alleles of) the sperm and egg cell, the child will resemble.
The only question that now remains is why the Prophet (peace be upon him) connected the occurrence of a wet dream for a woman and the discharge that thus emanates, to the resemblance of the child. The answer lies in the wording of the hadith you have mentioned. When the Prophet (peace be upon him) informed Umm Sulaym that a woman can experience a wet dream and if she were to ejaculate as a result she should perform the ritual bath, Umm Sulaym was surprised that this is something women really experience, and so she asked, “Does this really happen?!”. This question from Umm Sulaym was because the predominant understanding at the time was that a woman has no part to play in the conception process. Rather, she is simply like the ground which receives the seed. Thus, the Prophet (peace be upon him) corrects this misunderstanding by stating where would the resemblance of the child to the mother come from then? And to make sure a person does not think that he (peace be upon him) is saying that the resemblance comes from the discharge, he proceeds to explain that resemblance is based on the fluid (i.e. sperm cell) of the man and the fluid of the woman (i.e. egg cell), and whichever has the dominant allele for any specific gene, that is the trait that will manifest.
Thus, in this way, we see that the statements of the Prophet (peace be upon him) are in complete harmony with the understanding of modern science in regard to the factors which determine the gender of a child and those factors which determine the resemblance of the child and there is no contradiction in any way.
(1) صحيح مسلم (315)
حَدَّثَنِي الْحَسَنُ بْنُ عَلِيٍّ الْحُلْوَانِيُّ، حَدَّثَنَا أَبُو تَوْبَةَ وَهُوَ الرَّبِيعُ بْنُ نَافِعٍ، حَدَّثَنَا مُعَاوِيَةُ، يَعْنِي ابْنَ سَلَّامٍ، عَنْ زَيْدٍ، يَعْنِي أَخَاهُ أَنَّهُ سَمِعَ أَبَا سَلَّامٍ، قَالَ: حَدَّثَنِي أَبُو أَسْمَاءَ الرَّحَبِيُّ، أَنَّ ثَوْبَانَ مَوْلَى رَسُولِ اللهِ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ حَدَّثَهُ قَالَ: كُنْتُ قَائِمًا عِنْدَ رَسُولِ اللهِ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ فَجَاءَ حِبْرٌ مِنْ أَحْبَارِ الْيَهُودِ … قَالَ: وَجِئْتُ أَسْأَلُكَ عَنْ شَيْءٍ لَا يَعْلَمُهُ أَحَدٌ مِنْ أَهْلِ الْأَرْضِ إِلَّا نَبِيٌّ أَوْ رَجُلٌ أَوْ رَجُلَانِ. قَالَ: «يَنْفَعُكَ إِنْ حَدَّثْتُكَ؟» قَالَ: أَسْمَعُ بِأُذُنَيَّ. قَالَ: جِئْتُ أَسْأَلُكَ عَنِ الْوَلَدِ؟ قَالَ: «مَاءُ الرَّجُلِ أَبْيَضُ، وَمَاءُ الْمَرْأَةِ أَصْفَرُ، فَإِذَا اجْتَمَعَا، فَعَلَا مَنِيُّ الرَّجُلِ مَنِيَّ الْمَرْأَةِ، أَذْكَرَا بِإِذْنِ اللهِ، وَإِذَا عَلَا مَنِيُّ الْمَرْأَةِ مَنِيَّ الرَّجُلِ، آنَثَا بِإِذْنِ اللهِ». قَالَ الْيَهُودِيُّ: لَقَدْ صَدَقْتَ، وَإِنَّكَ لَنَبِيٌّ، ثُمَّ انْصَرَفَ فَذَهَبَ. فَقَالَ رَسُولُ اللهِ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: «لَقَدْ سَأَلَنِي هَذَا عَنِ الَّذِي سَأَلَنِي عَنْهُ، وَمَا لِي عِلْمٌ بِشَيْءٍ مِنْهُ، حَتَّى أَتَانِيَ اللهُ بِهِ»
(2) سنن ابن ماجة (601)
حَدَّثَنَا مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ الْمُثَنَّى، حَدَّثَنَا ابْنُ أَبِي عَدِيٍّ، وَعَبْدُ الأَعْلَى، عَنْ سَعِيدِ بْنِ أَبِي عَرُوبَةَ، عَنْ قَتَادَةَ، عَنْ أَنَسٍ، أَنَّ أُمَّ سُلَيْمٍ، سَأَلَتْ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ ـ صلى الله عليه وسلم ـ عَنِ الْمَرْأَةِ تَرَى فِي مَنَامِهَا مَا يَرَى الرَّجُلُ فَقَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ـ صلى الله عليه وسلم ـ ” إِذَا رَأَتْ ذَلِكَ فَأَنْزَلَتْ فَعَلَيْهَا الْغُسْلُ ” . فَقَالَتْ أُمُّ سَلَمَةَ يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ أَيَكُونُ هَذَا قَالَ ” نَعَمْ مَاءُ الرَّجُلِ غَلِيظٌ أَبْيَضُ وَمَاءُ الْمَرْأَةِ رَقِيقٌ أَصْفَرُ فَأَيُّهُمَا سَبَقَ أَوْ عَلاَ أَشْبَهَهُ الْوَلَدُ ” .
(3) صحيح مسلم (311)
حَدَّثَنَا عَبَّاسُ بْنُ الْوَلِيدِ، حَدَّثَنَا يَزِيدُ بْنُ زُرَيْعٍ، حَدَّثَنَا سَعِيدٌ، عَنْ قَتَادَةَ، أَنَّ أَنَسَ بْنَ مَالِكٍ، حَدَّثَهُمْ أَنَّ أُمَّ سُلَيْمٍ، حَدَّثَتْ أَنَّهَا سَأَلَتْ نَبِيَّ اللهِ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ عَنِ الْمَرْأَةِ تَرَى فِي مَنَامِهَا مَا يَرَى الرَّجُلُ، فَقَالَ رَسُولُ اللهِ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: «إِذَا رَأَتْ ذَلِكَ الْمَرْأَةُ فَلْتَغْتَسِلْ» فَقَالَتْ أُمُّ سُلَيْمٍ: وَاسْتَحْيَيْتُ مِنْ ذَلِكَ، قَالَتْ: وَهَلْ يَكُونُ هَذَا؟ فَقَالَ نَبِيُّ اللهِ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: «نَعَمْ، فَمِنْ أَيْنَ يَكُونُ الشَّبَهُ؟ إِنَّ مَاءَ الرَّجُلِ غَلِيظٌ أَبْيَضُ، وَمَاءَ الْمَرْأَةِ رَقِيقٌ أَصْفَرُ، فَمِنْ أَيِّهِمَا عَلَا، أَوْ سَبَقَ، يَكُونُ مِنْهُ الشَّبَهُ»
Answered by:
Ifta Research Fellow
Checked & Approved by:
Mufti Abdul Rahman Mangera
Mufti Zubair Patel