wudu' and the prayer (7). It has been narrated through other chains of transmission than that of Abu al-'Aliyah with weak isnads (8), and its conclusion refers back to Abu al-'Aliyah, as stated by 'Abd al-Rahman ibn Mahdi, Imam Ahmad, and al-Daraqutni. Our argument is that it is an action that does not invalidate wudu' outside of prayer, so it does not invalidate it inside prayer, like speech. Furthermore, it is not a hadath (state of ritual impurity) nor does it lead to one; thus, it is analogous to other matters that do not invalidate wudu'. Moreover, the obligation (wujub) must come from the Legislator (al-shari'), and it has not been authentically established (9) from the Legislator that this necessitates wudu' (10), nor is there anything comparable to this in this regard. The narration they cite is mursal and is not established. Ibn Sirin said: "Do not accept the mursal reports of al-Hasan and Abu al-'Aliyah, for they do not concern themselves with whom they have taken them from." The opponent in this issue rejects authentic reports because they contradict general principles (11), so how can he contradict them here with this report that is weak according to the scholars of expertise!

46 - Issue; He said: (And touching the private parts)

The private part (al-farj) is a term for the outlet of impurity, and it includes the penis, the anus, and the vulva of the woman. There is a difference of opinion within the Madhhab and elsewhere regarding whether touching all of these nullifies wudu'. We shall mention this in detail, if Allah wills:

We begin by discussing the touching of the penis, as it is the most strongly emphasized of these. There are two narrations from Ahmad regarding it. One of them is that it nullifies wudu'. This is the position of Ibn 'Umar, Sa'id ibn al-Musayyib, 'Ata', Aban ibn 'Uthman (1), 'Urwa, Sulayman ibn Yasar (2), al-Zuhri, al-Awza'i, and al-Shafi'i; and it is the famous position of Malik. It has also been narrated from 'Umar ibn al-Khattab, Abu Hurayrah, and Ibn...