The ruling on a man in wuḍūʾ touching his wife
حكم ملامسة المتوضئ لزوجته
Question
What is the ruling if a woman touches her husband? Must he perform wuḍūʾ or not?
Answer
A woman touching her husband, or a man touching his wife, does not invalidate wuḍūʾ according to the correct view, provided nothing has come out. Her touching him and his touching her do not invalidate wuḍūʾ, according to the correct view.
Some of the people of knowledge hold that touching a woman invalidates wuḍūʾ in all cases. Others say that if he touches her with desire, taking pleasure in it, his wuḍūʾ is invalidated. The correct view is the third: that his touching her and her touching him do not invalidate wuḍūʾ at all, provided nothing has come out. The correct view is that it does not invalidate wuḍūʾ.
As for His saying, Majestic and High, ﴿أَوْ لَامَسْتُمُ النِّسَاءَ﴾ "or you have touched women" [al-Nisāʾ: 43], what is meant by it is intercourse, as Ibn ʿAbbās and a number of others said.
It is established that he ﷺ kissed one of his wives and then prayed without performing wuḍūʾ, and that is touching. The point is that the touching mentioned in the Mighty Qurʾān, ﴿أَوْ لَامَسْتُمُ﴾ "or you have touched" [al-Nisāʾ: 43], and in a variant reading ﴿أو لمستم﴾ "or you have touched", means intercourse according to a number of the people of knowledge. This is the correct view, and it is the view of Ibn ʿAbbās and a number of others, may Allah have mercy on them.
السؤال
ما الحكم في المرأة إذا لمست زوجها، هل يجب عليه الوضوء، أم لا؟
الجواب
لمس المرأة للزوج، ولمس الرجل للمرأة لا ينقض الوضوء على الصحيح إذا كان ما خرج شيء، فلمسها له، ولمسه لها لا ينقض الوضوء على الصحيح.
بعض أهل العلم يرى أن لمس المرأة مطلقًا ينقض الوضوء، وبعضهم يقول: إذا لمسها بشهوة بتلذذ؛ ينتقض وضوؤه، والصواب: القول الثالث، وأنه لا ينقض الوضوء مطلقًا إذا كان ما خرج شيء ملامسته لها، وملامستها له، والصواب: أنه لا ينقض الوضوء.
وأما قوله -جل وعلا-: ﴿أَوْ لَامَسْتُمُ النِّسَاءَ﴾ [النساء:43] فالمراد به: الجماع، كما قاله ابن عباس وجماعة.
وقد ثبت أنه ﷺ قبل بعض نسائه، ثم صلى، ولم يتوضأ، وهذا مسيس، والمقصود أن الملامسة التي في القرآن العظيم ﴿أَوْ لَامَسْتُمُ﴾ [النساء:43] وفي قراءة ﴿أو لمستم﴾ معناها: الجماع عند جمع من أهل العلم، وهو الصواب، وهو قول ابن عباس، وجماعة، رحمة الله عليهم.