Does the white discharge a woman experiences break wuḍūʾ?

Answer

Any fluid that comes out of either of the two private parts breaks wuḍūʾ, for men and women alike. This is because of the saying of Allah, Glory be to Him: ﴿وَإِنْ كُنْتُمْ مَرْضَى أَوْ عَلَى سَفَرٍ أَوْ جَاءَ أَحَدٌ مِنْكُمْ مِنَ الْغَائِطِ أَوْ لامَسْتُمُ النِّسَاءَ فَلَمْ تَجِدُوا مَاءً فَتَيَمَّمُوا صَعِيدًا طَيِّبًا فَامْسَحُوا بِوُجُوهِكُمْ وَأَيْدِيكُمْ مِنْهُ﴾ "If you are ill, or on a journey, or one of you comes from relieving himself, or you have touched women, and you find no water, then seek clean earth and wipe your faces and your hands with it" (the āyah) [al-Māʾidah: 6]; and because of the saying of the Prophet ﷺ: The prayer of any of you is not accepted when he has a ḥadath [state of ritual impurity] until he performs wuḍūʾ — its authenticity is agreed upon.

Ḥadath is everything that comes out of the back or front passage, whether faeces, urine or other fluids. Wind passing from the back passage is likewise a ḥadath. Wind, however, requires only wuḍūʾ: washing the face and the hands, wiping the head and the ears, and washing the feet. Faeces and fluids, on the other hand, all require istinjāʾ [washing the private parts after relieving oneself] before the wuḍūʾ of the four parts of the body mentioned, according to the apparent sense of the Noble Qurʾān and the pure Sunnah.

The following are like wind: eating camel meat; sleep and anything similar that removes the mind; and touching the private parts with the hand. These nullifiers require wuḍūʾ only, and istinjāʾ is not prescribed because of them. This applies whether the private parts touched are one's own or another person's, such as one's wife or child.

Allah is the Granter of success¹.