Ruling on the purity of maniy (semen)

Question

Praise be to Allah.

The fact that man was created from “worthless water” is a
fact that is stated in the Qur’an and is obvious from experience. Allah, may
He be exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning):

“Did We not
create you from a worthless water (semen, etc.)?”

[al-Mursalaat 77:20]

“So let man see
from what he is created!

He is created from a water gushing
forth”

[at-Taariq 86:5-6].

This gushing, worthless water is maniy (semen), and according
to the more correct of the two scholarly opinions it is taahir (pure). Its
purity is indicated by a great deal of evidence, including the following:

The report narrated by Muslim (288) from ‘Aa’ishah (may Allah
be pleased with her) who said: I remember scratching it (maniy) from the
garment of the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon)
thoroughly, then he prayed in it. It is well-known that scratching is not
sufficient to remove impurity, which indicates that it is pure.

Further proof may be found in the fact that this water is the
origin of the sincere slaves of Allah, such as the Prophets, siddeeqs,
martyrs and righteous people, and the wisdom of Allah, may He be exalted,
dictates that the origin of these righteous people cannot be impure.

End quote from ash-Sharh al-Mumti‘, 1/388

The scholars of the Standing Committee for Issuing Fatwas
were asked: If maniy gets onto clothes, does it make them impure?

They replied: The basic principle concerning it is that it is
pure and we do not know of any evidence to suggest that it is impure. End
quote.

Fataawa al-Lajnah ad-Daa’imah,
6/416

Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (may Allah have mercy on him)
said:

With regard to maniy, the correct view is that it is pure, as
is the view of ash-Shaafa‘i and Ahmad, according to the well-known report
from him. It was also said that it is impure, but it is sufficient to
scratch it, as is the view of Abu Haneefah and Ahmad, according to the other
report.

And it was said that it must be washed, as is the view of
Maalik.

The first view is the correct one, because it is well-known
that the Sahaabah experienced wet dreams at the time of the Prophet
(blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) and that maniy would get onto the
body and clothes of one of them, and this is something that affects
everyone. If it were impure, then it would have been obligatory for the
Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) to instruct them to
remove that from their bodies and clothes, as he instructed them to clean
themselves after relieving themselves, and as he instructed the menstruating
woman to wash the menstrual blood from her garment. In fact, the issue of
getting maniy on one’s body or clothes is far more common than the issue of
menstrual blood getting onto the woman’s garment. It is well-known that no
one narrated that the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him)
instructed any of the Sahaabah to wash maniy from his body or clothes; thus
it is known for certain that this was not obligatory for them, and this is
definitive to anyone who examines the matter.

End quote from Majmoo‘ al-Fataawa, 21/604, 605

And Allah knows best.