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Would a girl accept a person who describes himself as "hermaphrodite" and is sexually impotent, while she does not know whether she is still a virgin or not?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

The difference between a khuntha (hermaphrodite/intersex person) and a mukhanath (effeminate man) is that a khuntha is someone who has both male and female genitalia, or who has neither but has a urethral opening. A mukhanath, on the other hand, is a man who imitates women in his appearance, speech, and movements. The khuntha is categorized into "non-problematic" (where signs of masculinity or femininity are clearly evident) and "problematic" (where no distinguishing signs are apparent).

Regarding marriage, a "non-problematic" khuntha may marry according to their apparent gender. As for the "problematic" khuntha, the majority of scholars do not permit their marriage to either a male or a female, due to the possibility of them being of the same sex as the potential spouse. However, some jurists allow their marriage based on their psychological inclination. If they experience sexual desire, they are advised to fast or use medications that calm desire.

As for the sexually impotent person, their marriage is permissible in Islamic law provided they inform the other party of their condition. The wife has the right to annul the contract if she was not aware of this, because pleasure and procreation are among the objectives of marriage. Her right to annulment is forfeited if she knew and accepted their condition. It is permissible for a woman who has no sexual desire to marry a sexually impotent man.

Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026

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