What is the ruling on the small white substance that is discharged daily after flicking the penis or urinating? Is it manī or wadī? Is it permissible to place a cotton pad to prevent its discharge, and if so, must the cotton pad be changed?

The visible fluid mentioned by the questioner is al-wady (pre-ejaculate), which is impure (najis) and necessitates istinja' (washing the private parts) and purifying the clothes and body from it. Ablution (wudu') is also unanimously required after its discharge. Al-wady is a thick, turbid, white fluid resembling semen in consistency, and it is discharged after urination or when lifting a heavy object. Neither al-wady nor al-madhy (prostatic fluid) necessitates ghusl (ritual bath) by consensus. If the discharged fluid is semen, but it is discharged without desire (due to illness or cold), it does not necessitate ghusl according to the majority of scholars, whereas Al-Shafi'i holds that it does. It is permissible to insert a cotton pad to reduce the spread of the impurity, but it must be removed, and istinja' and wudu' must be performed upon knowing that the fluid has been discharged.