a debate between two men, one of whom held semen to be pure and the other held it to be impure. It is a beneficial debate for the student of knowledge.
If it is asked: Why not say that it is impure, like the human excretions of urine and feces?
The answer:
- Not all human excretions are impure. His saliva, mucus, and sweat are all pure.
….
- There is a difference between urine, feces, and semen. Urine and feces are the residue of food and drink; they have an offensive, repugnant smell to people’s noses and are unpleasant in appearance, and are therefore impure. Semen, however, is the opposite: it is the refined essence of food and drink. Food and drink first turn into blood, and through this blood Allah Most High nourishes the body; hence it circulates throughout the entire body. Then, when sexual desire arises, it turns into this fluid from which the human being is created. Thus, the difference between the two residues in their very nature is perfectly clear, and one cannot be equated with the other in legal ruling. One is a pure and wholesome residue—the very essence—whereas the other is foul, malodorous, and repugnant.
His statement, “the semen of the human being,” implies that the semen of non-human creatures is impure. However, this implication is not general; that is, it does not differ from the explicit wording in every case, since the contrast is established by being true in merely one case, even if it accords with it in the rest. Accordingly, the semen of a non-human animal is pure if it comes from an animal whose urine and dung are pure; but if it comes from an animal whose urine and dung are impure, then it is impure.