resulting from, for example, an operation on the uterus. Blood resulting from such an operation is not prolonged bleeding, though it takes the same legal ruling. Prolonged bleeding is therefore a defect. For if we were to say that it prevents intercourse for fear of hardship, then it is plainly a defect. And if we take the sounder view—that intercourse with a woman experiencing prolonged bleeding is permissible—then, even though intercourse is permissible, there is no doubt that it causes the man to feel aversion toward such a woman. Whenever he has intercourse, he finds himself soiled with blood. There is no doubt that this makes him averse to her and prevents full sexual enjoyment.
Should we say that frequent pre-seminal fluid from a man is a defect? It is not a defect, because it is not like urinary incontinence, for it occurs only as a result of sexual desire.
“Haemorrhoids, anal fistula, castration, removal of the testicles, severing of the testicles and their vessels, either spouse being manifestly intersex, and insanity—even if only for an hour.”
His statement, “Haemorrhoids and anal fistula”: these are two ailments of the anus, resembling wounds, and they affect both men and women. If either spouse has haemorrhoids or an anal fistula, it is a defect. The difference between them is that haemorrhoids are internal to the anus, whereas an anal fistula protrudes outward and is constantly soiled. Although neither causes any problem in intercourse, nor do they disfigure one’s appearance, the jurists nevertheless say that they are defects, because if a man is told that his wife has haemorrhoids or an anal fistula, he will not feel at ease with her. The same applies to a woman in relation to her husband.
His statement, “castration and removal”: castration is the removal of the testicles together with their scrotal sac. Removal is not the consumption commonly known to people—the disease affecting the entire body. Rather, removal here means the extraction of the testicles while leaving the scrotal skin intact. Under ordinary circumstances, this is not possible, but Allah may subject a person to an enemy who captures him—such as a disbeliever—and mutilates him in this manner.