The mistake of the Jews was that they believed a person's "spiritual" soul would become impure due to the discharge of "physical" substances like menstrual blood from a woman or semen from a man. After such a physical impurity, they thought that a person could not touch or recite the sacred spiritual book, the Torah, nor perform other spiritual rituals. Their further foolishness was in believing that the way to purify the spiritual soul was by washing the physical body with physical water.
Prophet Muhammad adopted these Jewish laws directly into Islamic Sharia, where a menstruating woman's spiritual soul is also considered impure due to physical substance like menstruation. As a result, she is prohibited from reciting or touching the Quran (as if maturational blood comes out of her fingers), entering a mosque, or performing prayers. The same applies to a man after the discharge of semen, whether it occurs during sexual intercourse or due to a wet dream.
The Torah requires full immersion
- after Keri[22] — normal emissions of semen, whether from sexual activity, or from nocturnal emission. Bathing in a mikveh due to Keri is required by the Torah in order that one should be allowed to consume from a heave offering or sacrifice; while Ezra instituted that one should also do so in order to be allowed to recite words of Torah.[23] The latter case is known as tevilath Ezra ("the immersion of Ezra") ...
- by Jewish women to achieve ritual purity after menstruation and childbirth[33] before they and their husbands may resume marital relations
Similarly, when air is expelled through the anus, it makes sense to wash the affected area for hygiene. However, when Islam requires performing ablution (wudu) after passing gas, involving washing only the hands, face, and feet—rather than cleaning the anus—it becomes illogical.
Muslim Excuse: It is more essential to wash off the smelly semen after sex
Our Response:
Semen does not get on a person's head, hair, face, back, and many other parts, yet it is mandatory to bathe the entire body, including hair, after sex. In reality, to rid oneself of the semen, it is sufficient to wash only the affected areas where the semen has touched.
As previously discussed, the primary purpose of the ritual bath in both Judaism and Islam is not focused on physical cleanliness. Rather, it stems from the belief that physical substances like semen or menstrual blood cause spiritual impurity. This belief dictates that a person must undergo a physical cleansing ritual of the whole body before they can touch sacred texts like the Torah or the Quran, or engage in spiritual practices.
Islamic and Jewish Rituals: Making Life Difficult with Illogical Rulings
From a practical standpoint, it makes more sense to prioritize cleanliness before engaging in sexual activity. Being clean beforehand ensures that both partners can enjoy intimacy without discomfort, which is both logical and beneficial. While bathing after sex is advisable, it shouldn't be seen as mandatory. However, due to the emphasis on ritual purification in Islam, many Muslims might neglect pre-sex cleanliness, focusing instead on the required post-coital bath, as their religious practices, such as prayer, depend on it. They often avoid "double bathing," where they would bathe both before and after sex.
This is especially challenging for women with long hair, who find it extremely difficult to take two baths. It becomes a nightmare during winter. Even a single bath after sex is burdensome—imagine having to wake up early for Fajr prayer after fulfilling your husband’s sexual demands during the night. Women have to heat water, bathe, and then spend time drying their hair, all in the middle of the night.
Men also face unnecessary hardships due to this practice. Bathing early in the morning during winter, followed by going outside to the mosque for congregational prayers, increases the risk of illness. Similarly, heading to the office with wet hair can also lead to getting sick.
Hassan Radwan