Fatwa by: Muhammad Abdul Jabbar (May Allah forgive him)
Question:
If I clean children while in a state of ablution (wudu), will it break my wudu?
Answer:
Touching someone's private parts with desire nullifies wudu. There is a difference of opinion regarding touching without desire. The stronger opinion is that touching a child's private parts for the purpose of cleaning does not nullify wudu, because a child's private parts are not a place of desire. Additionally, if touching the private parts (مس عورة) without desire nullified wudu, this would cause widespread hardship and inconvenience, as it would frequently break wudu. If such an act nullified wudu, it would have been widely reported from the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) and the Successors (may Allah have mercy on them).
However, Shaykh Ibn Jibreen (may Allah preserve him) states that this ruling requires further consideration because no authentic hadith specifies that touching private parts with desire breaks wudu, and without desire, it does not. Rather, in Sahih Ibn Hibban, a narration from Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) states:
"If one of you touches their private parts with their hand, without any barrier between them, they must perform wudu."
[Authenticated by Al-Hakim and Ibn Abd al-Barr, Jami' al-Tirmidhi, along with Tuhfat al-Ahwazi, Vol. 1, p. 85]
This means if a person's hand touches their private parts directly, without any covering (like clothes), then performing wudu becomes obligatory. This hadith was declared authentic by Imam Hakim and Ibn Abd al-Barr.
Furthermore, the earlier fatwa from the Permanent Committee for Scholarly Research and Ifta (Fatwa No. 3, Page 71) also states that: "If a woman, in a state of wudu, touches her child's private parts for the purpose of cleaning, her wudu is nullified, and she will need to perform wudu again."
It is not a valid argument to say that because this issue was not widely reported from the Companions and the Successors, touching the private parts does not break wudu. In fact, around fifteen to twenty Companions narrated the hadith:
"Whoever touches their private parts should perform wudu."
And Allah knows best.
Question:
If I clean children while in a state of ablution (wudu), will it break my wudu?
Answer:
Touching someone's private parts with desire nullifies wudu. There is a difference of opinion regarding touching without desire. The stronger opinion is that touching a child's private parts for the purpose of cleaning does not nullify wudu, because a child's private parts are not a place of desire. Additionally, if touching the private parts (مس عورة) without desire nullified wudu, this would cause widespread hardship and inconvenience, as it would frequently break wudu. If such an act nullified wudu, it would have been widely reported from the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) and the Successors (may Allah have mercy on them).
However, Shaykh Ibn Jibreen (may Allah preserve him) states that this ruling requires further consideration because no authentic hadith specifies that touching private parts with desire breaks wudu, and without desire, it does not. Rather, in Sahih Ibn Hibban, a narration from Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) states:
"If one of you touches their private parts with their hand, without any barrier between them, they must perform wudu."
[Authenticated by Al-Hakim and Ibn Abd al-Barr, Jami' al-Tirmidhi, along with Tuhfat al-Ahwazi, Vol. 1, p. 85]
This means if a person's hand touches their private parts directly, without any covering (like clothes), then performing wudu becomes obligatory. This hadith was declared authentic by Imam Hakim and Ibn Abd al-Barr.
Furthermore, the earlier fatwa from the Permanent Committee for Scholarly Research and Ifta (Fatwa No. 3, Page 71) also states that: "If a woman, in a state of wudu, touches her child's private parts for the purpose of cleaning, her wudu is nullified, and she will need to perform wudu again."
It is not a valid argument to say that because this issue was not widely reported from the Companions and the Successors, touching the private parts does not break wudu. In fact, around fifteen to twenty Companions narrated the hadith:
"Whoever touches their private parts should perform wudu."
And Allah knows best.