Question
Imam Shafee was of the opinion that touching a woman will invalidate the Wudu (ablution) based on the verse 5:6?.How can we prove that the phrase ” ye have had contact with women” in the verse refers to sexual intercourse and not merely touching the woman?.
Thanks.
Answer
This is the referred verse that can be better understood when it is considered in two parts:
O you who believe! when you rise up to prayer, wash your faces and your hands as far as the elbows, and wipe your heads and (wash) your feet to the ankles; and if you are Junub, then wash (yourselves)
and if you are sick or on a journey, or one of you come from the privy, or you have touched the women, and you cannot find water, betake yourselves to pure earth and wipe your faces and your hands therewith, Allah does not desire to put on you any difficulty, but He wishes to purify you and that He may complete His favor on you, so that you may be grateful. –Al Ma’idah 5:6
It is evident from the first part of the above verse that (among sexual activities) only the situation of becoming Junub makes it necessary to perform ritual bath (ghusl).
The second part of the verse is only an allowance for the directive in the first part when the situation is not normal for a Muslim. This leads us to believe that “touching women” in the second part refers to the same situation that was described in the first part (that is Jinabat).
If we are to believe that “touching women” in the second part literally and merely means touching women, then we will come up with two strange conclusions:
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When water is available, touching women itself does not invalid ablution but when water is not available, touching women itself invalids ablution!
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When water is not available, if one gets orgasm without touching women, one’s ablution is not invalidated!
This would clearly be incorrect.
Abdullah Rahim