The Ruling on Cleaning One's Wife and Her Incompetent Father and Wiping His 'Awrah
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner:
The questioner, J. from al-Qassim, says in her question: My husband’s father is sick and bedridden due to illness and old age. He is unable to perform his ablution himself for prayer, nor can he clean himself after relieving himself. So I, his son’s wife, clean him. Is there any sin on me for touching his private parts? And what do you advise me to do? May Allah reward you with good.
The Shaykh:
A woman does not touch the private parts of her husband, the private parts of a man. A woman does not touch the private parts of a man, even if he is one of her mahram (relatives one may not marry). Rather, this is a specific right of the wife with her husband. Yes, the wife with her husband: there is nothing wrong with her performing his ablution, but it must be done with a barrier between them. Something like a cloth or a short undergarment is placed over the private part. She inserts her hand from underneath it and washes his private part. And there should be a cloth on her hand as well; there should be a glove or a cloth on her hand. She pours the water and cleans this helpless man.
The presenter:
Such that the barrier is between the sight or between the hand as well.
The Shaykh:
Between the sight and above the hand, between the sight and above the hand. And this is in the case of the wife with her husband. As for the other women, they do not perform the ablution of the private parts of men, even if they are their mahram. Rather, the males perform this for them, and it is done with a barrier as well, as mentioned before. Yes.
The presenter:
And the wife with her husband, it is required that she be.
The Shaykh:
It is better, yes.
The presenter:
It is better that she does not look at him and does not touch him with her hand.
The Shaykh:
It is better that she be behind a barrier and does not touch him except behind a barrier, which is further from arousing desire. Yes.
The presenter:
May Allah reward you and may He reward you with good
The questioner, J. from al-Qassim, says in her question: My husband’s father is sick and bedridden due to illness and old age. He is unable to perform his ablution himself for prayer, nor can he clean himself after relieving himself. So I, his son’s wife, clean him. Is there any sin on me for touching his private parts? And what do you advise me to do? May Allah reward you with good.
The Shaykh:
A woman does not touch the private parts of her husband, the private parts of a man. A woman does not touch the private parts of a man, even if he is one of her mahram (relatives one may not marry). Rather, this is a specific right of the wife with her husband. Yes, the wife with her husband: there is nothing wrong with her performing his ablution, but it must be done with a barrier between them. Something like a cloth or a short undergarment is placed over the private part. She inserts her hand from underneath it and washes his private part. And there should be a cloth on her hand as well; there should be a glove or a cloth on her hand. She pours the water and cleans this helpless man.
The presenter:
Such that the barrier is between the sight or between the hand as well.
The Shaykh:
Between the sight and above the hand, between the sight and above the hand. And this is in the case of the wife with her husband. As for the other women, they do not perform the ablution of the private parts of men, even if they are their mahram. Rather, the males perform this for them, and it is done with a barrier as well, as mentioned before. Yes.
The presenter:
And the wife with her husband, it is required that she be.
The Shaykh:
It is better, yes.
The presenter:
It is better that she does not look at him and does not touch him with her hand.
The Shaykh:
It is better that she be behind a barrier and does not touch him except behind a barrier, which is further from arousing desire. Yes.
The presenter:
May Allah reward you and may He reward you with good
Source
نور على الدرب - الفوزان - 02/083 — archive.org (22:55)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.