Shaikh Ibn ul-‘Uthaymeen (may Allah mercy upon him) wrote: “Touching the private parts with other than the palm does not break the wudu. This is because the Ahaadith reported are in regards to touching the private part with the hand like the statement of the Prophet (ﷺ):

من أفضى بيدِهِ إلى ذَكَرِهِ ليس دونَهُ سترٌ فقد وجبَ عليهِ الوُضوءُ

Whoever touches his private part with his hand, without a screen covering it, then it is obligatory to make wudu [Reported by Ahmad, Ibn Hibban, Daraqutni, Bayhaqi. A similar wording was auhtenticated by Imam al-Albani Saheeh Jami no. 362]

And the word hand (يد) in general is not used except to mean the palm due to Allah’s statement:

وَالسَّارِقُ وَالسَّارِقَةُ فَاقْطَعُواْ أَيْدِيَهُمَا

Cut off (from the wrist joint) the (right) hand of the thief, male or female [5:38]

[Sharhul-Mumti’ (1/279)]

Imam Ibn Qudamah (may Allah have mercy upon him) said: “The wudu is not broken by touching the private part with the forearm, but a narration comes from Ahmad that it does nullify the wudu because it is from the hand. It is also of the statement of ‘Ata and al-Awzai’. However the first opinion is more correct because the ruling is connected to the hand in general and does not extend to the elbow due to the evidence that the hand of the thief is cut, and the hand is washed after waking from sleep, and the hand is wiped in Tayammum. It is only obligatory to wash it (the hand) in wudu [along with the elbow] because it is specified with [the mention] of the elbow…” [al-Mughni (1/202)]

Translated by

Faisal bin Abdul Qaadir bin Hassan
Abu Sulaymaan