The Ruling on a Person in a State of Ablution Touching His Wife

Question:
What is the ruling if a woman touches her husband? Is it obligatory for him to perform ablution, or not?

Answer:
A woman touching her husband, and a man touching a woman, does not invalidate the ablution according to the correct view, provided that nothing has been emitted. Therefore, his touching her and his being touched by her does not invalidate the ablution according to the correct view.
Some scholars hold that touching a woman invalidates the ablution in all cases, while others say: if he touches her with desire and pleasure, his ablution is invalidated. The correct view is the third one: that it does not invalidate the ablution in any case, provided that nothing has been emitted, whether he touches her or she touches him. The correct view is that it does not invalidate the ablution.
As for His saying—(Exalted and Majestic is He)—: [Surat al-Nisa: 43], the intended meaning is intercourse, as stated by Ibn Abbas and a group of scholars.
It is established that he (peace and blessings be upon him) kissed some of his wives, then prayed without performing ablution. This is physical contact. The point is that the contact mentioned in the Great Qur'an [Surat al-Nisa: 43], and in the reading , means intercourse according to a group of scholars. This is the correct view, and it is the statement of Ibn Abbas and a group of scholars, may Allah have mercy on them.