see that failure to ejaculate is a defect upon which many rulings are based, all stemming from its being a deficiency? Frequent emissions of pre-ejaculatory fluid, however, may constitute an illness. It is mere waste, without any benefit, like urine. Although both are emitted as a result of sexual desire, semen is not pure merely because it results from sexual desire; there is another reason. If we treat it in the same way, we shall discuss that, if Allah Most High wills.

As for its being a derivative, that is not so. Rather, it is comparable to an incompletely formed fetus: when a woman miscarries a human fetus before its formation is complete, although it represents the beginning of human creation, very few of the rulings concerning human beings apply to it. Even if it were a derivative, impurity consists in being regarded as foul, and regarding a derivative as foul does not entail that its source is foul—as with the waste products discharged by a human being.

As for the fourth argument, drawing an analogy between semen and all other discharges on the grounds that they share the same outlet is refuted by the mouth: it is the outlet for phlegm and saliva, both of which are pure, as well as vomit, which is impure. Likewise, the anus is the outlet for wind, which is pure, and feces, which are impure. The nose, too, is the outlet for mucus, which is pure, and blood, which is impure.

If, however, they distinguish between the natural processes people ordinarily experience and those that arise from incidental causes,