الجواب :

Answer

 

All praise is due to Allah. 

 

This is from the topics in which there is a well-known difference of opinion therein and this difference of opinion is between the major imams from the four madhabs and other than them. The well-known positions in this topic are four. 

 

The first position is of those that say that the wudu is nullified by touching the private part if done without a barrier, so if one was to touch his private part without a barrier then his wudu is invalidated in all cases. This is the position that is adopted by the majority of the scholars from the Maalikiyyah, Shafi'iyyah and the Hanabilah.

 

The second position is the opposite of the first, and it is that touching the private part without a barrier does not break the wudu at all. This is the position of the Hanafiyyah and some of the Maalikiyyah and Hanabilah and this was the position that Ibn Taymiyyah and Ibn Uthaymeen took.

 

The third position in this topic is to distinguish between touching done with desire and without desire, so the one who touches his private part with desire his wudu is nullified, as for the one who touches his private part without desire then his wudu is not nullified. This came in a narration from Imam Ahmad and Imam Malik and is found in some of the fatawa of Shaykh Ibn Uthaymeen رحمه الله تعالى.

 

As for the fourth view, then it is to interpret this as a way of recommendation. Meaning, that the command to make wudu for touching the private part is a command as a means of recommendation not by way of making it mandatory, and so the wudu is not nullified but it is recommended for the one who touches his private part to make wudu. This is a view found with the Maalikiyyah and the Hanabilah and was chosen by Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah. 

 

In conclusion, what is intended is that this topic is one in which there is a difference of opinion therein between the major Imams of the four schools of thought and other than them and the salaf differed in this topic due to the different understanding they had of the hadiths that were transmitted regarding this topic. As a result, there should be no refutation to be had in this topic. The person goes with what he has learnt and studied and so if he has studied and learnt the position where there is a distinguishment (the third position above) then there is no problem with that. [Likewise] if he sees that the wudu is nullified in all cases (the first position) then he doesn’t refute the one who doesn’t believe the wudu is nullified in all cases (the second position) which is the view of the Hanafiyyah and other than them from the Imams of the salaf and even from the Imams of Ahl al-Hadith. So this topic is one for which there is no refutation therein. If the person wants further detail, he searches through the books and studies them in a detailed manner and has the ability to understand how to strengthen between these views. 

 

And Allah knows best.

 

Transcript of Sheikh Abd al-Haqq Turkmāni's answer

8 Dhul Hijjah 1445 I 14 June 2024