The reality of touching [lams] is the meeting of two skins. Allah the Almighty said, reporting about the Jinn that they said: "And we touched the sky" (Surah al-Jinn: 8). The poet said:
Ibn Mas'ud read it as: "Aw lamastum al-nisa'" (Or you have touched women). As for the hadith of the kiss, all of its chains are defective. Yahya ibn Sa'id said: "Report from me that this hadith is like nothing." Ahmad said: "We consider that he erred in both hadiths," meaning the hadith of Ibrahim al-Taymi and the hadith of 'Urwah. For it is not valid for Ibrahim al-Taymi to have heard from 'Aishah, and the 'Urwah mentioned here is 'Urwah al-Muzani, who did not meet 'Aishah. Sufyan al-Thawri said the same, saying: "Habib did not narrate to us except from 'Urwah al-Muzani; it is not 'Urwah ibn al-Zubayr." Ishaq said: "Do not think that Habib met 'Urwah." He further said: "It is possible for a man to kiss his wife without desire, out of kindness to her, honoring her, and compassion. Do you not see what has come from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), that he returned from a journey and kissed Fatimah?" Thus, a kiss can be with desire or without desire. It is also possible that he kissed her from behind a barrier. Touching without desire does not break [wudu'], because the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) used to touch his wife while in prayer, and she would touch him, and if it were a breaker of wudu', he would not have done it. 'Aishah said: "The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) would pray while I was lying down in front of him like a corpse; when he wanted to prostrate, he would pinch me, and I would pull back my legs." Agreed upon. In another hadith: "When he wanted to perform witr, he would touch me"
(6) Surah al-Jinn: 8. (7) It is by Bashar ibn Burd, and it is the first hemistich of a verse, the second hemistich of which is: * And I did not know that generosity from his palm is contagious *. This verse, along with another verse following it, is attributed to 'Abd Allah ibn Salim al-Khayyat. See: Hilyat al-Fuqaha' 56 and its footnote. (8) In [M]: "Lam" [did not]. (9) It was also stated thus by Ibn Hajar in Tahdhib al-Tahdhib, and his biography revolves around this hadith. Ibn Hajar said: "This 'Urwah al-Muzani is a shaykh whose identity is unknown, and I have not seen him in the books of those who specialized in [biographies of] the narrators except as such. They declare these hadiths defective through him, yet they know nothing of his condition." [End quote]. Tahdhib al-Tahdhib 7/189, 190. (10) Recorded by al-Bukhari, in: The Chapter on Prayer on a Bed, and the Chapter on whether a man may pinch his wife while prostrating so that he may prostrate, and the Chapter on Performing Supererogatory Prayers Behind a Woman, from the Book of Prayer, and in: The Chapter on what is permissible of action during prayer, from the Chapters of Action in Prayer. Sahih al-Bukhari 1/107, 136, 138, 2/81. And Muslim, in: The Chapter on Lying Down in Front of the Person Praying, from the Book of Prayer. 1/366. And Abu Dawood, in: The Chapter on whoever says: A woman does not interrupt the prayer, from the Book of Prayer. Sunan Abi Dawood 1/163. And al-Nasa'i, in: The Chapter on Not Performing Wudu' from a man touching his wife without desire, from the Book of Purification. Al-Mujtaba 1/85. And Ibn Majah, in: The Chapter on whoever prays while there is something between him and the qibla, from the Book of Establishing Prayer. Sunan Ibn Majah 1/307. And al-Darimi, in: The Chapter on a woman being in front of the person praying, from the Book of Prayer. Sunan al-Darimi 1/328. And Imam Malik, in: The Chapter on what has come regarding the night prayer, from the Book of Night Prayer. Al-Muwatta' 1/117. And Imam Ahmad, in: Al-Musnad 6/37, 55, 126, 134, 200, 225, 255, 260, 275.
