It is said that when the Prophet saw a woman, he went home to have a sexual intercourse with his wife and that Jabir said sperm were dripping from them while they were on the way to Mina. Will you explain these issues?

Dear Brother / Sister,

Hz. Jabir narrates: The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) said,

"The woman advances and retires in the shape of a devil; so when one of you sees a woman, he should go to his wife; for, that will repel what he feels in his heart." [Muslim, Nikah 9, (1403); Abu Dawud, Nikah 44, (2151); Tirmidhi, Nikah 9, (1158)]

The statement "for, that will repel what he feels in his heart" at the end of the hadith clarifies the aspect of the issue that is meant. It is stated that man can satisfy the lustful feelings that are aroused in him with his wife and that they can be satisfied through legitimate means. The religion of Islam wants those feeling to be satisfied through legitimate means; it does not want them to be eliminated.    

The sentence attributed to Hz. Jabir is wrong and contrary to the truth. It has no relation with what the Companion said.

Let us quote the beginning of the hadith to clarify the issue:

“The following is narrated from Jabir: The Prophet and his Companions entered ihram for hajj and none except the Messenger of Allah and Talha had an animal to be sacrificed with them. When we arrived in Makkah, the Prophet gave the following order to his Companions: “Transform hajj into umrah, circumambulate the Kaaba (and perform sa’y between Safa and Marwa), have your hair cut and exit ihram but do not exit ihram if you have an animal to be sacrificed with you." (The Companions were surprised and said to one another) “What is this? Are we supposed to go to Mina and Arafat when sperm drip from us?" (Muslim Sharhu lin-Nawawi, V/298)

What they mean is as follows: If we transform hajj into umrah, we may have sexual intercourse with our wives. Since there is a little time left for hajj, we will have to enter ihram immediately after sexual intercourse. It is possible for sperm to drip from our genital organs when we go to Arafat in that case. Will such a situation be appropriate for hajj? (Tajrid Sarih, 1/111)

Thus, the Companions mentioned a possibility. They did not mean that sperm were dripping from them on the way to Arafat.

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