Topic: Does Touching The Private Parts Break The Wudhu Or Not
Speaker: Abu Fajr AbdulFattaah Bin Uthman
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Question:
I commonly hear that if you touch it without desire, then this does not nullify the wudhu. The proof they use is a hadith that states that a man asked the Prophet sallah allahu alayhee wasallam whether he must redo his wudhu if he touches his private parts and the Prophet responded by saying something along the lines of “is it not a part of your body like any other part.” Is there any truth to this?
Answer:
Both Ahaadith have been reported on the subject. The one you mentioned ii the Hadith of Talq ibn Ali radiallahu anhu:
عَنْ طَلْقِ بْنِ عَلِيٍّ - رضى الله عنه - قَالَ: { قَالَ رَجُلٌ: مَسَسْتُ ذَكَرِي أَوْ قَالَ اَلرَّجُلُ يَمَسُّ ذَكَرَهُ فِي اَلصَّلَاةِ, أَعَلَيْهِ وُضُوءٍ فَقَالَ اَلنَّبِيُّ - صلى الله عليه وسلم -“لَا, إِنَّمَا هُوَ بَضْعَةٌ مِنْك
Narrated Talq bin ‘Ali (rad):
A man said: “I touched my penis” or he said, “Should a man who touches his penis during the prayer perform Wudu [ablution]?” The Prophet (ﷺ) replied, “No, it is only a part of your body.
[Saheeh Sunan Abi Dawood no. 182-183]
Then there is the Hadith of Busra cited earlier:
عَنْ بُسْرَةَ بِنْتِ صَفْوَانَ رَضِيَ اَللَّهُ عَنْهَا أَنَّ رَسُولَ اَللَّهِ - صلى الله عليه وسلم -قَالَ: مَنْ مَسَّ ذَكَرَهُ فَلْيَتَوَضَّأْ
Narrated Busra bint Safwan (rad):
Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) said: “He who touches his penis should perform ablution.
[Saheeh Sunan Abi Dawood no. 181]
There is a difference of opinion on the subject. Some of the Scholars said the Hadith of Busra abrogated the Hadith of Talq. Others mention that the wudu is broken if the private part is touched with desire. Otherwise it is not. This is the view of Shaikh al-Albani rahimahullah
[See: Saheeh Sunan Abi Dawood (1/334)]
Other Scholars argue that it is only recommended to make wudu and it is more cautious. This is the opinion of Shaikhul-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah rahimahullah and Ibn ul-‘Uthaymeen rahimahullah.
However, most of the Scholars argue that the wudu is broken by touching the private parts directly without a barrier.
Imam al-‘Adheemabaadi rahimahullah said:
“‘Allamah Abu Bakr Muhammad Ibn Musa al-Haazimi said in his book Naasikh wal-Mansookh, ‘a group took the opinion of the obligation of wudu due to touching the private parts. That was reported from Umar ibn al-Khattab, his son Abdullah, Abu Ayyub al-Ansaari, Zaid ibn Khalid, Abu Hurariah, Abdullah ibn Amr al-‘As, Jabir, Aisha, Umm Habeebah, Busrah bint Safwaan, Sa’d ibn Abi Waqqas in one of two reports from him, Ibn Abbas in one of the two reports from him, Urwah ibn Zubair, Sulaymaan ibn Yasaar, ‘Ata ibn Abi Rabah, Abaan ibn Uthmaan, Jabir ibn Zayd, Zuhri, Mus’ab ibn Sa’d, Yahya ibn Abi Kathir, Sa’eed ibn Mussayib in the more correct of the two reports from him, Hushaim ibn Urwah, al-Awzaai, most of the people of Shaam, Ahmad, Ishaaq, and it is the more popular statement of Malik”.
[‘Awn al-Ma’bood (1/211)]
It is also the opinion of Imam Shawkani and Shaikh Bin Baz rahimahumullah among others.
The proof that the wudu is broken if he touches it without a barrier is the following Hadith:
إذا أفضى أحدُكم بيدِه إلى فرجِه و ليس بينه و بينها حجابٌ و لا سِترٌ ، فقد وجب عليه الوضوءُ
If anyone of you touches his private parts and there is not between him and it a veil nor a screen, then ablution is obligatory upon him.
[Saheeh Jami no. 362]
So if there is a barrier (like his clothes etc.) then the wudu is not broken inshallah.
And Allah Knows Best
Translated and Answered by
Faisal Ibn Abdul Qaadir Ibn Hassan
Abu Sulaymaan
