His statement, “severing of the testicles and their vessels”: this means completely cutting off the testicles and their vessels. That undoubtedly weakens sexual desire. Hence the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said: “O young men, whoever among you is able to afford marriage should marry, for it is more effective in lowering the gaze and guarding chastity. Whoever is unable to do so should fast, for it will diminish his sexual desire.” (1) Castration, removal of the testicles, and severing of the testicles and their vessels either weaken intercourse or eliminate it altogether. Moreover, they also prevent procreation, since it can only occur through semen, and semen is produced only by the testicles. If the testicles are lost, there can be no offspring—nor even complete intercourse. Thus, this is a defect.

His statement, “either spouse being”: that is, either of the two spouses.

His statement, “manifestly intersex”: if the person is ambiguously intersex, their marriage is invalid from the outset, according to the position previously mentioned in the school. In this case, however, it is clear that the person is male and marries a woman, or that the person is female and is married by a man. This establishes the right to annulment, because if a man marries a woman believing her to be wholly female, then finds that she has a male organ or a beard, there is no doubt that he will feel aversion toward her. The reverse is likewise true: a woman marries a man, only to find that he has a vagina or breasts. These are defects.

His statement, “and insanity, even if only for an hour”: insanity—may Allah protect us—is the loss of reason. Thus, if a person loses their reason even for an hour, meaning that it is established that they were insane even for an hour, this is deemed a defect, whether in the woman or the man. Epilepsy is included in this.

The apparent meaning of his words is that this remains so even if the person has recovered from it, because there is no assurance that it will not return.