What is the ruling on the prayer of one who finds madhy (pre-seminal fluid) on his underwear after returning from the mosque, knowing that he washes his private parts thoroughly before wudu' and is keen to lower his gaze, and he does not know whether the madhy was discharged before, during, or after the prayer? Is he obligated to repeat the prayer and the recitation of the Qur'an?

Al-madhy (pre-seminal fluid) is a fluid that is discharged when desire is aroused. It is obligatory to wash whatever part of the body it touches and to perform ablution (wudu’). There is no disagreement among scholars that al-madhy discharged due to arousal necessitates ablution. However, if its discharge is continuous ( سلس - سلس البول), then if it is continuous but stops for a duration sufficient for ablution and prayer, one must wait for this time. If it does not stop for a sufficient time, then one performs ablution for each prayer after its time has entered, washes the affected area, and binds it. The Malikis, however, hold that ablution is not obligatory for someone with continuous discharge. As for doubt regarding the time of al-madhy’s discharge, it does not harm the prayer, because the original rule for an incidental occurrence is to attribute it to the nearest time. Minor ritual purity is not a condition for reciting the Qur’an unless one touches the Mus'haf (physical copy of the Qur'an).