بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
Narrations which obligate wudū after touching the privates
Hadīth 1.
Narrated from Busrah: The prophet (ﷺ) said:
إذا مسَّ أحدُكُم ذكره، فلا يُصلّي حتى يتوضأ
If one of you touches his penis, he should not pray until he performs ablution.
(Al-Tamhīd of Ibn ‘Abdul-Barr 11/36)
Hadīth 2.
Narrated from Umm Habībah: The prophet (ﷺ) said:
من مس فرجه فليتوضأ
Whoever touches his private part should perform ablution.
(Al-Tamhīd of Ibn ‘Abdul-Barr 11/37)
Hadīth 3.
Narrated from Abū Hurayrah: The prophet (ﷺ) said:
إذا أفضى أحدُكم بيدِه إلى فرجِه و ليس بينه و بينها حجابٌ و لا سِترٌ ، فقد وجب عليه الوضوءُ
If one of you brings his hand to his private part and there is no veil or covering between him and it, then performing ablution is obligatory upon him.
(Sahīh al-Jāmi’ 362 of Al-Albānī. Al-Tamhīd of Ibn ‘Abdul-Barr 11/40)
Hadīth 4.
Narrated by Amr ibn Shu’aib, from his father, from his grandfather that the Messenger of Allāh (ﷺ) said:
أيما رجل مس فرجه فليتوضأ، وأيما امرأة مست فرجها فلتتوضأ
Any man who touches his private part should perform ablution, and any woman who touches her private part should also perform ablution.
(al-Dāraqutnī 1/148, Ahmad, Bayhaqī. Authenticated by al-Bukhārī in Ilal, Ahmad Shākir in his checking of Musnad)
Some points of benefit mentioned by Imām Ibn ‘Abd al-Barr in al-Tamhīd (11/34-49) and al-Istidhkār (2/211-212):
- As for those from the Companions who narrated on the authority of the Prophet (ﷺ) on the obligation of wudū after touching the penis; include the narrations of Busrah and Umm Habībah. (Likewise) Abū Hurayrah [which the Imām declares Hasan], ‘Āishah, Jābir, and Zayd ibn Khālid, but the chains of transmission from them are ma’lūlah (contain defects).
- As for the companions (of the Prophet ﷺ)who held the view that ablution is obligatory after touching the private parts, they include: ʿUmar ibn al-Khattāb, ‘Abdullāh ibn ʿUmar, Abū Hurayrah (with a differing opinion attributed to him), al-Baraʾ ibn ʿĀzib, Zayd ibn Khālid al-Juhaniy, Jābir ibn ʿAbdullāh, and Saʿd ibn Abī Waqqās, according to the narration of the people of Medina about him.
- As for the tabi’īn whom it was narrated that (one must) perform wudū from touching the penis, from the books of narrations, the book of Ibn Abī Shaybah, and ‘Abd al-Razzāq: Sa’īd ibn Al-Musayyab, ‘Atā ibn Abī Rabāh, Tawūs, ‘Urwa, Sulaymān ibn Yasār, Abān ibn ‘Uthmān, Ibn Shihāb, Mujāhid, and Makhūl, Al-Sha’bi, Jābir ibn Zaid, Al-Hasan, and Ikrimah.
- Likewise, this was the position of Al-Awzā’i, Al-Shāfi’i, Al-Layth ibn Sa’ad, Ahmad, Ishāq, Dawūd, and Al-Tabarī.
- Ahmad ibn Hanbal was of the opinion that it was obligatory to perform ablution after touching the penis, based on the hadīth of Busrah and the hadīth of Umm Habībah. Likewise, it’s what Yahyā ibn Ma’īn held, and both hadīths are authentic according to them – and they are from the leading scholars of hadīth.
- The condition for touching the penis is that there be no barrier or cover between it, and that it is touched intentionally and willingly; Because the Arabs do not call the subject fa’il (doer), except with the intention of acting. This is the truth in that regard, and what is known regarding the intention to touch is that in most cases it is done with the palm (of the hand). A hasan hadīth with a similar meaning was narrated… on the authority of Abū Hurayrah: If one of you brings his hand to his private parts and there is no veil or covering between him and it, then performing ablution is obligatory upon him [hadīth 3].
Al-Albānī on the view of the Hanafīs that touching the private parts doesn’t invalidate wudū
Sayyīd Sābiq said: The Hanifiyyah are of the opinion – based on the following hadīth – that touching the private parts does not nullify the ablution:
Narrated by Talq ibn ‘Alī:
قَالَ رَجُلٌ مَسْت ذَكَرِي، أَوْ قَالَ: الرَّجُلُ يَمَسُّ ذَكَرَهُ فِي الصَّلَاةِ، أَعَلَيْهِ الْوُضُوهُ ؟ فَقَالَ النَّبِيُّ ﷺ لا ، إِنَّمَا هُوَ بَضْعَةٌ مِنْكَ
A man said: “I touched my penis” or he said, “Does a man who touch his penis during the prayer should perform Wudū (ablution)?” The Prophet (ﷺ) replied, “No, it is only a part of your body”
(Abū Dawūd 182 and others – authenticated by Al-Albānī and Al-Arnāūt in their checking of Abū Dawūd. Declared weak by al-Shāfi’ī, Abū Hātim, Abu Zur’ah, al-Bayhaqī, al-Dāraqutnī, Ibn Al-Jawzī – see Minatul-‘Alām of Abdullāh al-Fawzān 1/309)
Al-Albānī comments on this (i.e. the statement of Sayyid Sābiq):
I say: his saying (ﷺ): “It is only a part of you” contains an indication that the touch that does not require ablution is that which is not accompanied by lust, because in this case touching of the penis can be likened to touching another part of the body.
Unlike if one touches it with lust, then the touching (of it) is not similar to touching another part of the body because (the touching of the other parts of the body) is not associated with lust. And this is clear and apparent.
Accordingly, the hadīth is not evidence for the Hanafīs who say that touching in general (i.e. unrestricted) does not invalidate ablution. Rather, it is evidence for those who say that touching without lust does not invalidate ablution, but as for touching lust, it is invalidated in light of the evidence of the hadīth of Busrah. (Tamām al-Minnah 1/103)
Another method of reconciliation between the different narrations
Ibn ‘Abd al-Barr said: A group of scholars have argued that the hadīth which obligates ablution after touching the private parts has abrogated the hadīth that exempts one from performing ablution.
They reason that the obligation for ablution is derived from the Sharī’ah (i.e. textual evidence), without any role for rational thinking in it, that the private part is considered like any other body part. It would be impossible to say: that it is merely a part of oneself, (yet) the Sharī’ah has obligated ablution after touching it. Therefore, it is possible that the obligation for ablution was legislated later on. (al-Tamhīd 11/43)
‘Abdullāh al-Fawzān said: Some scholars have taken the approach of abrogation (naskh), arguing that the hadīth of Talq ibn ‘Ali has been abrogated by the hadīth of Busrah because Talq’s hadīth was earlier and Busrah’s hadīth came later. The evidence for the earlier timing of Talq’s hadīth is that he came to Madīnah when the Prophet (ﷺ) and his companions were building the mosque at the beginning of the migration (Hijrah).
Among those who have supported the abrogation are Ibn Hibbān, al-Tabarānī, Ibn al-Arabī, al-Hāzimī, al-Bayhaqī, and Ibn Hazm.
Ibn Hazm reinforced the argument for abrogation by noting that the statement, “It is only a part of you” indicates that this occurred before the command to perform ablution for touching the private part. Had this statement been made after the command, the Prophet (ﷺ) would not have said this but rather clarified that the previous ruling had been abrogated. His statement suggests that there was no prior ruling on the matter and that (touching) it was regarded like (touching) any other body part. (Minhatul-‘Alām 1/313)
Another method of reconciliation
Al-San’ānī said: The view that favors preference over abrogation is better, as the hadīth of Busrah is stronger. This is due to the many scholars who have authenticated it and the numerous corroborating evidences for it. Furthermore, Busrah narrated her hadīth in the presence of the Muhājirīn and the Ansār, where many people were present, and no one objected to it. (Subul as-Salām 1/106)
Abdullāh al-Fawzān said regarding the ways the hadīth of Busrah is considered stronger:
1. The hadith of Busrah is more authentic than the hadith of Talq ibn Ali, as it has a sound chain of narration, while the hadīth of Talq has been deemed weak by several scholars, as previously mentioned [Shāfi’ī, Abū Hātim, Abu Zur’ah, al-Bayhaqī, al-Dāraqutnī, Ibn Al-Jawzī] . Al-Bukhārī stated about the hadīth of Busrah: “It is the most authentic narration in this topic.”…
2. The hadīth of Busrah has many supporting witnesses, narrated by seventeen companions, while the hadith of Talq does not have any supporting evidence.
3. The hadīth of Busrah conveys the original principle of ‘not needing to perform ablution after touching the private parts’ ; the one who transmits from the original principle is given precedence because he brings additional knowledge.
4 – The hadīth of Busrah is safer.
(Abridged, Minhatul-‘Alām 1/314-315)
The statement of Shāfī that wudū is only invalidated if touched with the inside of the palm
Al-San’āni said: The Shāfi’īs claimed that invalidation (of ablution) only occurs when (the touching) is done with the inside of the palm, and that it is not invalidated if the penis is touched with the outside of the palm.
The muhaqiqūn responded to them by saying that al-ifdā (i.e. contact/touch): linguistically, is more general than being (limited) to the inside or outside of the palm.
Ibn Hazm said: There is no evidence for what they said, neither from the book, nor from the Sunnah, nor from consensus, nor from the saying of a companion, nor from analogy, nor from correct opinion… (Subul as-Salām 1/97)
‘Abdullāh al-Fawzān said: The well-known opinion of Imām Ahmad is that there is no difference between (the touching of) the palm or outside of the hand. (Minhatul-‘Alām 2/312)
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