They say: We ask your program to clarify for us whether touching a woman invalidates the ablution according to the Shafi'i school of jurisprudence or not?
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The questioner : They say: We ask your program to clarify for us whether touching a woman invalidates the ablution according to the Shafi'i school of jurisprudence or not?
The Shaykh : The truth is, I personally do not answer a question that asks for the ruling according to the school of someone whose following is not obligatory, whether it is the school of al-Shafi'i, Imam Ahmad, Imam Malik, or Imam Abu Hanifah, because it is obligatory for the Muslim to ask about the guidance of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him).
The questioner : O Allah, send blessings and peace upon him.
The Shaykh : Because it is he whose following is obligatory.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : Not to ask about the school of so-and-so and so-and-so. So I tell him that the requirement of the legal evidence is that touching a woman does not invalidate the ablution in any case.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : Whether it is for sexual desire or not, as long as no emission or pre-seminal fluid occurs. If an emission or pre-seminal fluid or any other state of ritual impurity occurs as a result, then the ablution becomes obligatory due to that state of impurity, not merely because of the touch. This is because there is no evidence for the invalidation of the ablution by touching a woman. And if no correct and explicit evidence is established, we cannot invalidate a state of purity that was established by the requirement of a correct and explicit evidence.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : And His saying, the Exalted,[An-Nisa 4:43] the intended meaning of touching is intercourse, because His saying only came in the context of dry ablution, not in the context of purity with water, and it is a counterpart to His saying regarding purity with water [Al-Ma'idah 5:6].
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : And listen to the verse[Al-Ma'idah 5:6] This is the ablution.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh :[Al-Ma'idah 5:6] This is the washing with water [An-Nisa 4:43] This is the cause of the minor state of purity.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : But in dry ablution[An-Nisa 4:43] This is the cause of the major state of purity in dry ablution.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : So the verse is divided into two sections. The first section is regarding purity with water from the minor state of ritual impurity by washing the four limbs, and from the major state of ritual impurity by the complete purification of the body.
The second section is purity with earth. Regarding the minor state of ritual impurity, His saying is[An-Nisa 4:43] and regarding the major state of ritual impurity, His saying is [An-Nisa 4:43] So it becomes clear that the verse does not contain evidence for the invalidation of the ablution by touching a woman.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : Rather, it contains the indication of the correspondence between His saying[Al-Ma'idah 5:6] in purity with water and His saying [An-Nisa 4:43] in purity with dry ablution.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : Then, if we were to say that His saying[An-Nisa 4:43] is intended to mean the touch that invalidates the ablution, there would be repetition in the verse, because His saying [An-Nisa 4:43] contains the indication of the minor state of ritual impurity.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : So if we interpret[An-Nisa 4:43] as that which invalidates the ablution, there would be repetition in the verse in mentioning two causes for the ablution and neglecting the cause for the full ritual bath, and this is undoubtedly contrary to what the eloquence and clarity of the Qur'an require.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : Yes.
The questioner : He says...
The Shaykh : Very well.
The questioner : Please go ahead.
The Shaykh : I say to the brother who asks for the ruling according to the Shafi'i school: First, I hope from him and others that their request for the ruling be according to what the Shari'ah of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) and his guidance require, not according to what the opinion of so-and-so and so-and-so requires.[Ali 'Imran 3:31] [An-Nisa 4:59] This is one point.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : And the meaning of my saying is not to belittle the status of the scholars at all. Rather, what raises the status of the scholars is that we accept their words and their guidance. Al-Shafi'i (may Allah have mercy on him) and the other Imams, all of them order us and guide us to receive the rulings from what they received from the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him).
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : And I say that for a person to direct himself to a specific school of so-and-so or so-and-so, there is no doubt that it diminishes his direction toward the Sunnah and he neglects it. You will even find that he does not consult except the books of the jurists of his school and leaves the rest. And this is, in reality, not a good path. The good path is for a person to seek the truth and for his goal to be following the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) only, whether it agrees with so-and-so or contradicts him.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : I do not need now to cite the statements of these Imams regarding the obligation of receiving the Shari'ah from the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) without imitating them, for this is a known matter that can be referred to in the books of the scholars.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : And what I know of the Shafi'i school (may Allah have mercy on him) is that he holds the view that touching a woman invalidates the ablution in any case if it is with the hand, but this is the weaker position, as we have known from what we established previously.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : And Allah is the One who grants success.
The questioner : You have done well, and may Allah guide you.
The Shaykh : The truth is, I personally do not answer a question that asks for the ruling according to the school of someone whose following is not obligatory, whether it is the school of al-Shafi'i, Imam Ahmad, Imam Malik, or Imam Abu Hanifah, because it is obligatory for the Muslim to ask about the guidance of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him).
The questioner : O Allah, send blessings and peace upon him.
The Shaykh : Because it is he whose following is obligatory.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : Not to ask about the school of so-and-so and so-and-so. So I tell him that the requirement of the legal evidence is that touching a woman does not invalidate the ablution in any case.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : Whether it is for sexual desire or not, as long as no emission or pre-seminal fluid occurs. If an emission or pre-seminal fluid or any other state of ritual impurity occurs as a result, then the ablution becomes obligatory due to that state of impurity, not merely because of the touch. This is because there is no evidence for the invalidation of the ablution by touching a woman. And if no correct and explicit evidence is established, we cannot invalidate a state of purity that was established by the requirement of a correct and explicit evidence.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : And His saying, the Exalted,
or you have contacted women
أَوْ لامَسْتُمُ النِّسَاءَor you have touched
أَوْ لامَسْتُمُAnd if you are in a state of janabah, then purify yourselves
وَإِنْ كُنْتُمْ جُنُبًا فَاطَّهَّرُواThe questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : And listen to the verse
O you who have believed, when you rise to [perform] prayer, wash your faces and your forearms to the elbows and wipe over your heads and wash your feet to the ankles
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ ءامَنُوا إِذَا قُمْتُمْ إِلَى الصَّلاةِ فَاغْسِلُوا وُجُوهَكُمْ وَأَيْدِيَكُمْ إِلَى الْمَرَافِقِ وَامْسَحُوا بِرُءُوسِكُمْ وَأَرْجُلَكُمْ إِلَى الْكَعْبَيْنِThe questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh :
And if you are in a state of janabah, then purify yourselves
وَإِنْ كُنْتُمْ جُنُبًا فَاطَّهَّرُواAnd if you are ill or on a journey or one of you comes from the place of relieving himself
وَإِنْ كُنتُمْ مَرْضَى أَوْ عَلَى سَفَرٍ أَوْ جَاءَ أَحَدٌ مِنْكُمْ مِنَ الْغَائِطِThe questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : But in dry ablution
or one of you comes from the place of relieving himself or you have contacted women and find no water
أَوْ جَاءَ أَحَدٌ مِنْكُمْ مِنَ الْغَائِطِ أَوْ لامَسْتُمُ النِّسَاءَ فَلَمْ تَجِدُوا مَاءًThe questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : So the verse is divided into two sections. The first section is regarding purity with water from the minor state of ritual impurity by washing the four limbs, and from the major state of ritual impurity by the complete purification of the body.
The second section is purity with earth. Regarding the minor state of ritual impurity, His saying is
or one of you comes from the place of relieving himself
أَوْ جَاءَ أَحَدٌ مِنْكُمْ مِنَ الْغَائِطِor you have contacted women
أَوْ لامَسْتُمُ النِّسَاءَThe questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : Rather, it contains the indication of the correspondence between His saying
And if you are in a state of janabah, then purify yourselves
وَإِنْ كُنْتُمْ جُنُبًا فَاطَّهَّرُواor you have contacted women
أَوْ لامَسْتُمُ النِّسَاءَThe questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : Then, if we were to say that His saying
or you have contacted women
أَوْ لامَسْتُمُ النِّسَاءَor one of you comes from the place of relieving himself
أَوْ جَاءَ أَحَدٌ مِنْكُمْ مِنَ الْغَائِطِThe questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : So if we interpret
or you have contacted women
أَوْ لامَسْتُمُ النِّسَاءَThe questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : Yes.
The questioner : He says...
The Shaykh : Very well.
The questioner : Please go ahead.
The Shaykh : I say to the brother who asks for the ruling according to the Shafi'i school: First, I hope from him and others that their request for the ruling be according to what the Shari'ah of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) and his guidance require, not according to what the opinion of so-and-so and so-and-so requires.
Say, [O Muhammad], "If you should love Allah, then follow me, [so] Allah will love you
قُلْ إِنْ كُنْتُمْ تُحِبُّونَ اللَّهَ فَاتَّبِعُونِي يُحْبِبْكُمُ اللَّهُAnd if you disagree over anything, refer it to Allah and the Messenger
فَإِنْ تَنَازَعْتُمْ فِي شَيْءٍ فَرُدُّوهُ إِلَى اللَّهِ وَالرَّسُولِThe questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : And the meaning of my saying is not to belittle the status of the scholars at all. Rather, what raises the status of the scholars is that we accept their words and their guidance. Al-Shafi'i (may Allah have mercy on him) and the other Imams, all of them order us and guide us to receive the rulings from what they received from the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him).
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : And I say that for a person to direct himself to a specific school of so-and-so or so-and-so, there is no doubt that it diminishes his direction toward the Sunnah and he neglects it. You will even find that he does not consult except the books of the jurists of his school and leaves the rest. And this is, in reality, not a good path. The good path is for a person to seek the truth and for his goal to be following the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) only, whether it agrees with so-and-so or contradicts him.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : I do not need now to cite the statements of these Imams regarding the obligation of receiving the Shari'ah from the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) without imitating them, for this is a known matter that can be referred to in the books of the scholars.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : And what I know of the Shafi'i school (may Allah have mercy on him) is that he holds the view that touching a woman invalidates the ablution in any case if it is with the hand, but this is the weaker position, as we have known from what we established previously.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : And Allah is the One who grants success.
The questioner : You have done well, and may Allah guide you.