In the name of Allah, the Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful.
The Senior Scholars Project in Kuwait is pleased,
in cooperation with the Foundation of Sheikh 'Abd al-'Aziz Ibn Baz,
may Allah have mercy on him,
to present to you
"The Juristic Choices
in Matters of Worship and Transactions"
from the fatwas of the eminent scholar and Imam,
'Abd al-'Aziz Ibn 'Abdullah Ibn Baz,
may Allah have mercy on him,
compiled and arranged by Sheikh
Khalid Ibn Sa'ud Ibn 'Amir al-'Ajmi.
The Book of Purification.
Chapter on the Nullifiers of Wudu.
The eminent Imam, Ibn Baz, may Allah have mercy on him, said:
If wudu is definitively invalidated during prayer,
by hearing a sound or smelling an odor,
then one is obligated to repeat both wudu and the prayer,
due to the saying of the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him:
"If one of you passes wind during prayer, let him leave,
perform wudu, and repeat the prayer."
Narrated by the authors of the Sunan with a sound (hasan) chain of narration.
Whoever suffers from continuous ritual impurity
must perform wudu for the prayer once its time has entered.
Then he may pray obligatory and voluntary prayers as long as the time remains,
and whatever is discharged from him during that time will not harm him.
Whoever is in a state of major ritual impurity (janabah)
must not recite the Qur'an until he performs ghusl.
And it is not permissible to touch the Mus-haf except in a state of purity
from both major and minor ritual impurities.
If a worshiper merely feels that something has exited from his posterior or anterior,
this does not invalidate his wudu,
and he should pay no heed to it,
because it stems from the whisperings of Satan.
It has been authentically reported that the Prophet, peace be upon him,
was asked about something like this, so he said:
"He should not leave until he hears a sound or detects an odor."
But if the worshiper is certain that wind, urine,
or the like has definitively been discharged,
then his prayer is invalidated
due to the invalidation of his ritual purity,
and he must repeat both wudu and the prayer.
Semen (mani) is pure,
and it necessitates ghusl if emitted with sexual desire.
But if its discharge occurs without sexual desire,
it only necessitates istinja' (cleansing the private parts),
along with performing wudu for prayer and the like,
such as Tawaf and touching the Mus-haf.
One who suffers from urinary incontinence
is not permitted to abandon prayer;
rather, he is obligated to pray according to his condition,
and to perform wudu for the time of each prayer.
He is also permitted to combine two prayers:
Dhuhr with 'Asr,
and Maghrib with 'Isha',
just like a woman experiencing non-menstrual bleeding (mustahadah).
The vaginal discharge that comes out of a woman:
if it is continuous most of the time,
then she must perform wudu for each prayer
once the time enters,
like the mustahadah and one suffering from urinary incontinence.
But if the discharge occurs only occasionally
and is not continuous,
then its ruling is the ruling of urine;
whenever it occurs,
purity is invalidated, even if that happens during prayer.
Any fluid that discharges from the two private exits
invalidates wudu,
for both men and women.
Touching a woman does not invalidate wudu,
whether it is with sexual desire or without sexual desire.
The saying of Allah the Exalted:
"or you have touched women,"
refers to sexual intercourse,
as Ibn 'Abbas and a group of the people of knowledge stated;
it does not mean touching with the hand.
His saying, Glorified and Exalted be He:
"or one of you comes from the place of relieving himself,"
refers to the minor ritual impurity,
while His saying: "or you have touched women"
refers to the major ritual impurity,
because "touching" is a metaphor for sexual intercourse
according to the more correct of the two scholarly opinions.
There is no established proof
indicating the invalidation of wudu
by merely touching a woman unconditionally,
whether the touch is with desire or without desire,
and whether she is his wife or someone else;
this is the correct view.
If there is impurity on the ground
and a woman or a man steps on it,
this does not invalidate wudu.
However, each of them must wash the foot
if it was stepped on while wet,
or if there was moisture on the foot.
Touching a child's clothing that is wet with urine
does not invalidate wudu,
but whoever touches it while it is wet must wash his hand.
Likewise, if the clothing is dry but his hand is wet,
he must wash his hand.
The issue of wudu being invalidated by the flow of blood
is a matter of disagreement among the people of knowledge.
The most correct view is that if the blood is small in amount,
it does not invalidate wudu;
a small amount is excused.
As for a large amount,
it is more cautious for the believer to perform wudu,
in order to avoid scholarly dispute,
because the evidences on this are not decisive.
If you carry a child who has an impurity,
and any part of it gets onto you,
then wash the site of the impurity,
while your wudu remains valid.
Rinsing the mouth to remove food residue is recommended,
and having any remaining traces
in the teeth does not harm the validity of the prayer.
Eating or drinking after wudu,
immediately prior to prayer,
does not invalidate wudu,
and there is no harm in it,
except if the food eaten is camel meat,
in which case wudu is invalidated thereby.
As for what is not strictly called meat,
such as the fat and tripe,
whether it invalidates wudu is subject to scholarly deliberation.
Meat of sheep and cattle,
game meat,
and other permissible meats
do not invalidate wudu;
rather, it is camel meat specifically
that invalidates wudu,
meaning the pure muscle meat of the camel.
As for the fat, tripe, intestines,
broth, or milk,
these do not invalidate wudu;
that which invalidates it is the meat.
As for the liver, spleen, and kidneys,
they do not invalidate it,
though if one performs wudu as a precaution, that is good.
Playful intimacy between spouses is wholesome and lawful;
he may caress her and she may caress him,
and this is from the Sunnah of the Messenger, peace be upon him, with his wives.
Wudu is not invalidated by that
if the intimacy consists of things like kissing.
There is no harm in a physician touching blood
when there is a need to touch it,
and he should wash his hands afterward from whatever affected them;
touching blood or urine does not invalidate wudu.
If one touches the private part,
his wudu is invalidated, whether it is the anterior or the posterior.
Touching the private part over clothing does not cause harm;
rather, wudu is only invalidated
if he touches his private part with his hand without a barrier.
If a woman touches her child's private parts,
her wudu is invalidated,
just as if she touched her own private parts,
even if the child is below the age of puberty,
because the textual evidence is general.
Drowsiness does not invalidate wudu;
rather, it is invalidated by deep sleep wherein a person retains no awareness of those around him.
The hadith states: "The eye is the drawstring of the anus,
so when the eyes sleep, the drawstring is released."
Narrated by Ahmad and al-Tabarani,
and there is weakness in its chain of narration,
but it has corroborating reports that strengthen it,
such as the hadith of Safwan;
thus, it is a sound (hasan) hadith.
If the sleep is light,
it does not invalidate wudu,
such as when one dozes off while remaining aware of those around him.
Whenever one falls into deep sleep
whereby his awareness is lost,
whether he is sitting or lying down,
his wudu is invalidated.
As for stupor:
if it is something slight
that does not remove consciousness nor prevent sensing the occurrence of ritual impurity,
then it causes no harm.
But if the stupor prevents him from sensing whatever might exit from him,
like an intoxicated person or one stricken by an illness that causes him to lose consciousness
until he enters a coma,
then this invalidates his wudu,
just like fainting.
If a person is afflicted with something that clouds his intellect,
such as intoxication, swooning, or unconsciousness,
it invalidates his wudu,
because it is a state where ritual impurity is presumed to occur,
just like sleep.
But if he remains aware of what might discharge from him,
and his intellect has not been overcome by these pills
or by this medication,
but rather he remains aware of any wind or urine exiting from him,
then it does not invalidate his wudu;
for the ruling revolves around the retention of sound intellect.
Whoever is afflicted with epilepsy, if he suffers an epileptic fit
and then Allah grants him recovery and the seizure ceases,
he must perform wudu.
The person in a state of major ritual impurity is not permitted to recite the Qur'an at all,
Neither from the Mushaf nor from memory,
until he performs the ritual bath (ghusl),
because nothing used to prevent the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)
from reciting the Qur'an except major ritual impurity (janabah).
As for the menstruating woman and the woman experiencing post-natal bleeding,
it is permissible for both of them to recite the Qur'an from memory,
because their condition lasts for an extended period,
and their situation is not under their control like that of a person in a state of janabah.
The hadith of Ibn 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with him and his father),
"Neither the menstruating woman nor the person in major ritual impurity should recite anything from the Qur'an,"
is a weak hadith according to the scholars,
because it is from the narration of Isma'il ibn 'Ayyash
on the authority of Musa ibn 'Uqbah, who is a Hijazi,
and Isma'il's narrations from non-Syrians are weak.
It is permissible to hold books of Tafsir directly without a barrier,
and without ritual purity,
because they are not designated as a Mushaf.
A beneficial note:
The default meaning of absolute purity in legal terminology
refers to purification from both minor and major ritual impurities.
The hadith of 'Amr ibn Hazm (may Allah be pleased with him),
that the Prophet (peace be upon him)
wrote to the people of Yemen:
"None should touch the Qur'an except one who is pure,"
is a good (jayyid) hadith
with multiple chains of narration that strengthen one another.
It is not permissible to move the Mushaf from one place to another
if the person carrying it is not in a state of ritual purity,
unless it is touched or carried through an intermediary,
such as holding it in a wrapping, its slipcover, or by its carrying strap;
in that case, there is no harm.
A teacher or anyone else
is not permitted to touch the Mushaf without ritual purity.
The hadith of 'Ali (may Allah be pleased with him),
that the Prophet (peace be upon him)
came out from relieving himself,
recited something from the Qur'an,
and said:
"This is for the one who is not in major ritual impurity;
as for the one in major ritual impurity, he may not,
not even a single verse."
It was narrated by Ahmad with a good chain of transmission.
Listening to the recitation of the Qur'an by a person in major ritual impurity
is entirely permissible,
due to the immense benefit it contains,
provided it is done without touching the Mushaf.
If a Muslim shakes hands with a Christian or a Jew,
or any other disbeliever,
that does not invalidate the wudu.
However, he should not initiate handshakes with them,
nor should he initiate greetings of peace (salam) with them,
unless they initiate the greeting and extend their hands to shake hands,
in which case there is no harm in reciprocating.
Returning the greeting of peace during wudu is not disliked,
nor does it invalidate the wudu.
So if someone greets you while you are performing prescribed wudu,
it is obligatory upon you to return the greeting.
If one is performing istinja' (cleaning oneself after relieving nature),
the more apparent view is that one may return the greeting,
because istinja' is not the act of urinating or defecating itself,
though it does involve touching filth;
nevertheless, if one refrains from answering, there is no harm,
and if one returns the greeting, there is no harm.
Performing wudu is not required after consuming camel meat broth,
nor from food cooked with camel meat,
nor from camel milk.
The hadith mentioning building upon what has already been prayed
for someone who loses his wudu and then leaves to perform it,
is a weak hadith,
as clarified by al-Hafiz Ibn Hajar in Bulugh al-Maram.
The fact that the questioner noticed once or twice an unwashed spot on his foot
that water did not reach when he performed wudu,
does not mean that his other purifications should be judged invalid.
For the default assumption, if Allah wills,
is that he performed a valid wudu,
and certainty is not overruled by mere doubts.
The same applies to his ghusl from major ritual impurity:
the default is its validity, and he does not need to repeat his past prayers.
What is obligatory upon someone who loses wudu during prayer,
or remembers that he is not in a state of ritual purity,
is to break his prayer and go perform wudu,
then return and join whatever remains of the congregational prayer.
Applying henna to the head does not invalidate ritual purity
if the woman has already completed her purification.
And if she performs wudu while henna is on her head,
or similar dressings that a woman needs,
there is no harm in wiping over it for minor ritual purification.
But as for major ritual purification,
she must pour water over it three times,
and wiping alone does not suffice;
though if she undoes her hair after menses and washes it, that is better.
Applying oil or any other kind of ointment to the hair
does not prevent wiping over it in wudu,
nor does it prevent washing it for janabah, menstruation, or post-natal bleeding.
The claim made by some
that applying perfume invalidates wudu has no basis;
this statement is baseless.
Perfume does not invalidate wudu whatsoever.
Performing wudu is not required due to using the perfume known as cologne,
nor is it obligatory to wash off whatever touches the body from it,
because there is no clear evidence of its ritual impurity.
Smoking does not invalidate wudu,
but it is unlawful and vile,
and it is obligatory to abandon it.
Washing a deceased person does not invalidate wudu.
The hadith: "Whoever touches his private part must perform wudu"
was narrated by Ahmad and the compilers of the Sunan with an authentic chain of transmission.
Children under the age of seven
are not allowed to touch the Mushaf even if they perform wudu,
because their wudu is not legally valid due to their lack of discernment.
You do not have to repeat your wudu after touching a dog.
Entering graveyards does not invalidate wudu;
rather, that is a false claim
that has no foundation in the pure Sharia.
Fiqh choices.