Khunsa is divided into two subcategories:

Non-problematic/discernible (khunsa ghayr musykil/wadhih) and;

Problematic/intractable (khunsa musykil)

A khunsa ghayr musykil/wadhih is a person with both male and female genitals. If this person urinates from the male reproductive organ, ejaculates semen, or grows facial hair, he can be regarded as male. If this person develops breasts and menstruation, she should be regarded as female. This criterion was accepted by Islam and decreed by the Holy Prophet Muhammad (pbuh).

A khunsa musykil is a person who cannot easily be categorized as either male or female, as this person could urinate from both genitalia at the same time. It is difficult to ascertain the correct gender because there is no dominant male or female characteristic. Therefore, one has to wait and observe for:

Changes in puberty to ascertain the true gender of the khunsa musykil.

If the person urinates exclusively from one of the two genitals, or most of the urine comes out from one genital as compared to the other, or the urine stream ends from one genital rather than the other.

The person attains menarche/develops breasts/ develops a sexual attraction to men or gets pregnant, she is certainly female; or the person develops a deep voice/grows facial hair/ develops a sexual attraction to women, he should be considered as a male.

the location or anatomy of the orifice from which a person ejaculates and the number of ribs that he or she has. It is believed that females will have an extra rib compared to males as Hawa was created from the Prophet Adam’s rib.

For extreme cases, undergo exploratory surgery to assess the person’s gonads or internal reproductive organs.

This is necessary to determine the portion of inheritance for the khunsa. Once the sex and gender have been determined, then the portion of inheritance is given accordingly. This is agreed upon by all of the Islamic religious scholars such as Ali, Muawiyah, Said b. Musayyab, and Jabir b. Said. According to the Shāfī’i school, as the khunsa musykil is prohibited from marriage and does not bear children, such a khunsa does not have the status of father, mother, spouse, or grandparent when it comes to inheritance, but may have the status of child, sibling, and sibling of the parent of the deceased.

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