like touching mahram relatives. The verification of this is that the touch itself is not a hadath (ritual impurity), rather it invalidates [wudu'] because it leads to the discharge of madhy [or maniyy] (15). Therefore, the condition that leads to the hadath, which is the state of desire, is taken into account.
Section: There is no difference between a strange woman (ajnabiyyah) and a mahram relative, nor between an adult woman and a young girl. Al-Shafi'i said: Touching mahram relatives does not invalidate [wudu'], nor does touching a young girl, according to one of the two opinions; because touching them does not lead to any discharge, similar to a man touching a man (16). Our argument is the generality of the text, and regarding the touch that invalidates [wudu'], desire is taken into account. Whenever desire is present, there is no difference between any of them.
As for touching a deceased woman, there are two views regarding it: One of them is that it invalidates [wudu'] due to the generality of the verse. The second is that it does not invalidate [wudu']. This was chosen by al-Sharif Abu Ja'far and Ibn 'Aqil, because she is not a place for desire, so she is like a man.
Section: The touch that invalidates [wudu'] is not limited to the hand; rather, any part of [the man] that meets any part of [the woman's] skin with desire, his wudu' is invalidated by it, whether it is an original limb or an extra one. It is narrated from al-Awza'i: The touch does not invalidate [wudu'] except with one of the limbs of wudu'. Our argument is the generality of the text, and making a specification without evidence is an arbitrary ruling that should not be followed. Touching a woman's hair, nails, or teeth does not invalidate [wudu'], and this is the manifest position of the Shafi'i school. Touching her with his hair, teeth, or nails does not invalidate it, because these are things for which divorce or zihar does not occur if he were to pronounce them against a woman. Hair does not become impure by the death of the animal, nor by cutting it while it is alive.
Section: If he touches her from behind a barrier, his wudu' is not invalidated, according to the opinion of most scholars.
= Sahih Muslim 1/385, 386. And Abu Dawood, in: The Chapter on Action in Prayer, from the Book of Prayer. Sunan Abi Dawood 1/211. And al-Nasa'i, in: The Chapter on carrying young girls in prayer and putting them down in prayer, from the Book of Forgetfulness (Sahu). Al-Mujtaba 3/10. And Imam Malik, in: The Chapter on the comprehensive [rules] of prayer, from the Book of Travel. Al-Muwatta' 1/170. (15) It did not appear in the original manuscript. (16) It did not appear in the original manuscript.
