Does Touching a Woman Break Wuḍūʾ

The disagreement

• They disagreed on the obligation of ablution for merely touching a woman with his hand or other sensitive parts of the body, and the like if he kisses her, (because it is a touch and more). This disagreement consists of three opinions.

The opinions

• Directly touching a woman without a barrier and kissing necessitates ablution, even if it is without pleasure
• Held by: al-Shāfiʿī.
• Touching a woman with pleasure necessitates ablution, and likewise kissing, even if it is without pleasure:
• Held by: Mālik / Aḥmad.
• Ablution is not obligatory for touching women:
• Held by: Abū Ḥanīfah.

Reason for the disagreement

• The sharing of the word touch (al-lams) in the language of the Arabs in the saying of Allah the Exalted:

﴿أَوْ لَامَسْتُمُ النِّسَاءَ﴾

"...or you have touched women..." [Al-Mā'idah: 6].

Evidence

• For the first opinion:
• The saying of Allah the Exalted: ﴿أَوْ لَامَسْتُمُ النِّسَاءَ﴾. What is meant by it is the touch with the hand, and it is from the category of a general term by which a general meaning is intended, so pleasure is not a condition.
• Touch is applied literally to touching with the hand, and metaphorically to sexual intercourse. Since there is a hesitation between them, carrying it upon the literal meaning is superior
• Ibn ʿUmar رضي الله عنهما used to say: "Whoever kisses his wife or touches her with his hand, then he must perform ablution." [Reported by: طأ - al-Muwaṭṭaʾ], and the like of it was reported from Ibn Masʿūd رضي الله عنه [Reported by: al-Bayhaqī].
• For the second opinion:
• The saying of Allah the Exalted: ﴿أَوْ لَامَسْتُمُ النِّسَاءَ﴾. What is meant by it is the touch with the hand, and it is from the category of a general term by which a specific meaning is intended, so pleasure is conditioned.
• He ﷺ used to touch ʿAʾishah رضي الله عنها with his hand during his prostration: "I used to sleep in front of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ... so when he prostrated, he pinched me and I drew up my feet." (Agreed upon).
• For the third opinion:
• The saying of Allah the Exalted: ﴿أَوْ لَامَسْتُمُ النِّسَاءَ﴾. What is meant by it is sexual intercourse
• The ḥadīth of ʿAʾishah رضي الله عنها regarding his ﷺ touching her during his prostration.
• The ḥadīth of ʿAʾishah رضي الله عنها: "That the Prophet ﷺ kissed some of his wives, then he went out to the prayer and did not perform ablution." [Reported by: Ahmad, al-Tirmidhī, al-Nasāʾī, Ibn Mājah, Abū Dāwūd; a group authenticated it, and a group weakened it].

References

• Bidāyat al-Mujtahid wa Nihāyat al-Muqtaṣid (1/74)
• Mabādiʾ al-Ṣanāʾiʿ (1/244)
• Tabyīn al-Ḥaqāʾiq (1/58)
• al-Tafrīʿ (1/203)
• al-Maʿūnah (1/46)
• Nihāyat al-Maṭlab (1/125)
• al-Bayān (1/176)
• al-Sharḥ al-Kabīr (2/46)
• al-Mughnī (1/256)
• Sharḥ Ibn Nāzim (1/244)