Does touching the penis invalidate wudoo’

If the
person who is junub does ghusl and touches his penis whilst doing ghusl,
does that require wudoo’ or not? 

That
depends on a difference of scholarly opinion as to whether wudoo’ is
invalidated by touching the penis. Those who think that it does invalidate
wudoo’ say that it is obligatory for him to do wudoo’; those who think that
it does not invalidate wudoo’ do not think that it is obligatory for him to
do wudoo’. 

It
says in ash-Sharh al-Mumti‘: 

The
scholars (may Allah have mercy on them) differed concerning touching the
penis or vulva, and whether that invalidates wudoo’ or not. There are
several opinions: 

The
first opinion,
which is the view of the madhhab of Imam Ahmad, is that it does invalidate
wudoo’. They quoted the following as evidence: 

1.    
The hadeeth of Basrah bint Safwaan, according to which the Prophet
(blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “Whoever touches his penis,
let him do wudoo’.”

2.    
The hadeeth of Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him): “If one
of you puts his hand on his penis with no barrier in between, then he must
do wudoo’.” Another report mentions “the private part”.

3.    
A person may feel aroused when touching the penis or vulva, and
something may come out without him realizing; in cases where it is thought
likely that wudoo’ may be rendered invalid, the ruling is connected to that
(i.e., he must do wudoo’), as in the case of sleep. 

The
second opinion
is that touching the penis does not invalidate wudoo’. They quoted the
following as evidence: 

1.    
The hadeeth of Talq ibn ‘Ali, according to which he asked the Prophet
(blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) about a man touching his penis
whilst praying: does he have to do wudoo’? The Prophet (blessings and peace
of Allah be upon him) said: “No; it is just a part of you.”

2.    
The basic principle is that purity remains in effect and is not
rendered invalid, and we do not move from this basic principle unless there
is certain evidence to the contrary. The hadeeths of Basrah and Abu Hurayrah
[quoted above] are both da‘eef (weak). Even if there was a possibility of
them being sound, the basic principle is still that purity remains valid.
The Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “He (one who
thinks that he may have passed wind) should not exit the prayer unless he
hears a sound or notices a smell.” If this applies to a tangible reason, it
also applies to a textual reason; we cannot pay any attention to it unless
it is known for certain. 

The
third opinion
is that if he touches it with desire, that invalidates his wudoo’, otherwise
it does not. In this way it is possible to reconcile between the hadeeth of
Basrah and the hadeeth of Talq ibn ‘Ali, and if it is possible to reconcile
between two text, then we must follow that before looking to see which text
is stronger and which may abrogate the other, because reconciling between
texts means acting upon texts, whereas looking to see which is stronger
means rejecting the other. 

This
is supported by the words of the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be
upon him): “it is just a part of you.” That is because if you touch your
penis without it provoking desire, it is like touching any other parts of
your body; in that case it does not invalidate wudoo’. But if you do touch
it with desire then it does invalidate wudoo’, because the reason for the
ruling is applicable in this case, which is the possibility of something
being emitted that invalidates wudoo’ without you realising it. So if a
person touches it with desire, it becomes necessary to do wudoo’, but if
that is without desire, then no wudoo’ is required; that is because touching
it in this way (with desire) is unlike touching any other part of the body. 

Some
of the scholars reconcile between the two by noting that the instruction to
do wudoo’ in the hadeeth of Basrah is in the sense of it being mustahabb,
and the instruction not to do it in the hadeeth of Talq is in the sense of
it not being obligatory, based on the fact that he asked whether it was
required, and he said “does he have to…?”, and the apparent meaning of the
phrase translated here as “does he have to…” indicates that it is
obligatory. 

The
fourth opinion,
which was favoured by Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah, is that doing wudoo’
after touching the penis is mustahabb (and not obligatory) in all cases,
even in the case of desire. 

If we
say that it is mustahabb, what that means is that it is prescribed and there
is reward for doing it, and it is better to do it, so as to be on the safe
side. As for the claim that the hadeeth of Talq ibn ‘Ali is abrogated,
because he came to the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him)
when he was building his mosque at the beginning of the Hijrah, and he did
not come back to him after that, this is not correct, for the following
reasons: 

1.    
We do not move on to abrogation unless it is not possible to
reconcile between reports, but reconciling between them is possible in this
case.

2.    
In the hadeeth of Talq there is a reason that cannot cease to be
applicable, and if the ruling is connected to the reason that cannot cease
to be applicable, then the ruling cannot cease to be applicable, because the
ruling is connected to the reason for it. The reason in this case is the
words “it is just a part of you.” It is not possible that a man’s penis
could ever be said not to be a part of him, so it is not possible for this
to be abrogated.

3.    
The scholars said that the timing of the hadeeth cannot be connected
to the time when the narrator became Muslim or from the time he narrated it,
because it may be that the narrator of the hadeeth heard it from another
Sahaabi. 

          What is meant is that if two Sahaabis narrate two hadeeths that
appear to contradict one another, and one of them came to Islam later than
the other, we cannot assume that the hadeeth of the one who came to Islam
later abrogates the hadeeth of the one who came to Islam before him, because
it is possible that he is narrating from another Sahaabi, or that the
Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) spoke of it after that. 

To sum
up: if a person touches his penis, it is mustahabb for him to do wudoo’ in
all cases, whether that was with desire or not. If he touched it with
desire, then the view that it is obligatory is very strong, but I cannot be
definitive about it. However to be on the safe side he should do wudoo’. End
quote. 

In
Sharh Buloogh al-Maraam (1/259), the shaykh (may Allah have mercy on
him) stated definitively that touching the penis with desire does invalidate
wudoo’, but touching it without desire does not. 

According to this opinion, whoever touches his penis with desire whilst
doing ghusl for janaabah has to do wudoo’ after he has finished doing ghusl,
but if he touched it without desire, he does not have to do wudoo’. 

Secondly: 

Touching the buttocks does not invalidate wudoo’; the difference of
scholarly opinion only has to do with touching the anus, because one version
of the hadeeth of Basrah bin Safwaan says: “Whoever touches his private
parts, let him do wudoo’.” Narrated by an-Nasaa’i (444) and Ibn Maajah
(481); classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh an-Nasaa’i. 

The
difference of opinion on touching the anus is like the difference of opinion
on touching the penis. 

With
regard to the surrounding area, touching it does not invalidate wudoo’, such
as touching the testicles or buttocks. 

Imam
ash-Shaafa‘i (may Allah have mercy on him) said in al-Umm (1/34): If
he touches his testicles or buttocks or knees, but he does not touch his
penis, then he does not have to do wudoo’. End quote. 

An-Nawawi (may Allah have mercy on him) said in al-Majmoo‘ (2/42):
Our companions said: What is meant by the backside is the point of exit (the
anus); as for anything other than that, between the buttocks, it does not
invalidate wudoo’ and there is no difference of scholarly opinion on that
point. End quote. 

Ibn
Qudaamah (may Allah have mercy on him) said: Wudoo’ is not invalidated by
touching anything on the entire body other than the private parts, such as
the area surrounding the private part or anus, and the testicles, according
to the majority of scholars, because there is no text to suggest that and
they do not come under the same heading as that which is mentioned in the
text, so the ruling cannot apply to them.

End
quote from al-Mughni (1/119). 

And
Allah knows best.