8.0 CHAPTER: NULLIFIERS OF WUDHU
Wudhu is nullified by the discharging, from the anus, genitals or any other part of the body: urine, excretion or excess of anything similar from najasah.
“Nullifiers of wudhu”: After elaborating upon the rules of wudhu, it becomes appropriate to discuss the factors that nullify it. It is a must to know the rules of something and as an extension the factors that contravene it.
There are eight nullifiers of wudhu:
First nullifier: Discharge from the anus and genitals regardless if it is frequent or seldom, pure or impure.
Second nullifier: Discharges from other parts of the body if it is urine or excretion. Any amount, small or plentiful, nullifies wudhu. Similarly, any form of najasah other than urine or excrement nullifies wudhu under two conditions:
a) That the discharge is impure (najis). For example vomit or blood.
b) That the discharge is kathir (i.e. a lot).
If the discharge from the body is not a najasah e.g. perspiration, saliva or mucus, then one’s wudhu is not nullified. Similarly, if the najasah is small in amount, his wudhu is unaffected and remains valid.
Unconsciousness, except light sleep while standing or sitting.
Third nullifier: Unconsciousness brought about by deep sleep, fainting, madness or as a result of intoxication nullifies one’s wudhu. This is because the individual will not be aware o f what the body discharges whilst in this condition. The evidence to prove that unconsciousness is a nullifier of wudhu is the hadith narrated by Safwan ibn Asal. The Prophet(pbuh) said, .. But from urine, excretion and sleep.” ( Reported by Ahmad (4/239-240), al-Tirmidhi (96,3535), al-Nasa’i (1/83) and Ibn Majah (478). ) He included sleep along with urine and excretion as factors that nullify wudhu.
Directly touching the genitals or the anus with the outer or inner palm nullifies wudhu. And the problematic hermaphrodite touching both genitalia. A man sensually touching the hermaphrodite’s genitalia or a woman touching its privates with lust nullifies wudhu. A man touching a woman with desire nullifies his wudhu and [likewise for the woman] when she does so to him.
Fourth nullifier: “Directly touching the genitals or the anus with the outer or inner palm”: This is yet another nullifier of wudhu. The Prophet(pbuh) said, “Whoever touches his genitals let him perform wudhu.”( Reported by Ahmad (6/407, 408), Abu Dawud (181), al-Tirmidhi (82), al-Nasa’i (1/100) and Ibn Majah (479) from the narration of Busrah bint Safwan. ) And “Whoever touches his farj (genitals and anus), let him perform wudhu.”(Reported by Ibn Majah (481), al-Tahawi (1/75), al-Bayhaql (1/130) from the narration of Umm Habib)
“And the problematic hermaphrodite touching both genitalia”: The problematic hermaphrodite (khuntha mushkil) is that which has both the male and female genitals, and it cannot be ascertained whether it is dominantly male or female. They can neither be classified as male or female.
“A man sensually touching the hermaphrodite’s genitalia or a woman touching its privates with lust”: If a man touches the male genitals of the hermaphrodite with desire, it nullifies wudhu. This is because the man touched the private parts of another man. If the hermaphrodite is dominantly female, then the man has touched a woman with lust and thus the wudhu is nullified.
If a woman touches the genital that resembles a female reproductive organ with lust, her wudhu becomes invalid. If the hermaphrodite was dominantly male, then she has touched the opposite gender with desire and if the hermaphrodite is dominantly female, then the woman has touched the female genitalia of another woman.
Fifth nullifier: “A man touching a woman with desire”: This is the fifth nullifier of wudhu. The evidence for this is in the Quran where Allah(swt) mentions acts that nullify wudhu in the ayah, {… O r you have touched the women.}( Al-Ma’idah: 6 )
This ayah is read to mean that the woman is touched with lust. This is because such an action causes the ejection o f bodily fluids whilst touching the opposite sex without lust is harmless. The latter does not nullify wudhu.
“And when she does so to him”: I.e. if the touching mentioned above is carried out by a woman to a man, it likewise breaks her wudhu if it is done with desire.
And touching the anus nullifies wudhu. The hair, nails of a woman or the touch o f one who has not reached puberty does not nullify wudhu. Indirect touching will also not nullify wudhu. Similarly, if one is touched by someone else even in desire it shall not invalidate wudhu.
“And touching the anus nullifies wudhu : As was discussed earlier.
“The hair, nails of a woman”: If the hair and nails of the woman are touched, then wudhu is not nullified.
“One who has not reached puberty”: Touching can arouse sexual desire in people. Evidently a young child’s touch is free o f this and so their touching does not invalidate wudhu. Ayah number six in Surah al-Ma’idah {[Or if] you have touched women} speaks of women, however it does not include all females.
“Indirect touch”: I.e. if the woman is touched indirectly like while wearing gloves, it will not nullify wudhu. It is not touching per se as the cover acts as a barrier between the skin. The evidence and proofs indicate direct touching. Therefore an indirect touching is not considered touching at all. Two factors are considered for the “touch” that nullifies wudhu: (i) It must be combined with desire, (ii) It must be a direct touch, one without any barrier; skin onto skin.
“If one is touched by someone else ”: Wudhu is not nullified if someone else rubs against his or her body. This is true even if there is stimulation of sexual desire. The ayah o f the Quran refers to those who touch and not about those on whom the contact is made.
Bathing the corpse nullifies wudhu as does eating camel meat.
Sixth nullifier: “Bathing the corpse nullifies wudhu “( This view is not shared by any other madhab. This view was held by many scholars of the Hanbali madhab. See al-Insaf{ 1/215). ): Whoever washes the corpse or comes into contact with it by touching or examining it closely, his or her wudhu is nullified. Some of the Companions o f the Prophet used to perform wudhu after washing the deceased.( Narrated from Imam Ahmad, this view was adopted by Ibn Q udam ah and Shaykh Taqi al-Din. See al-Insaf( 1/215-216)). The correct opinion however is that it does not nullify wudhu as there is no proof or evidence to substantiate this claim.
Seventh nullifier: “As does eating camel meat”: Consuming beef or mutton does not nullify wudhu. The Prophet(pbuh) was asked whether a person should perform wudhu after eating camel meat and he replied, “Yes.”( Reported by Muslim (1/189), Ahmad (5/87, 92, 93, 100, 102, 108) from the narration of jabir ibn Samrah and it was reported by Ahmad (4/288, 303), Abu Dawud (184,493) and al-Tirmidhi (81) from the hadith o f Bara’a ibn Azib. )Imam Ahmad said, “There are two authentic hadiths pertaining to the nullification of wudhu due to eating camel meat. The hadith of al-Baraa and the hadith of jabir ibn Samrah.”The author here uses the word laham to specify the meat of the camel and exclude whatever is not clearly defined as meat such as the liver, the spleen or the stomach and the sinew, brain or camel milk. The madhab propounds that these do not nullify wudhu as they are not technically termed as meat.
Every act that mandates ghusl, mandates wudhu. The only exception is death.
Eighth nullifier: “Every act that mandates ghusl, mandates wudhu : An example of this is janabah. Whoever is in this state, should make wudhu and take the compulsory bath so that both the minor and greater impurities are removed. It becomes a must for this person to perform wudhu and then ghusl. Or he can take a bath with the intention of cleansing himself from both the impurities. The bath offsets the minor impurity in this case. If a woman stops menstruating. It is mandatory that she perform ghusl and wudhu.
“The only exception is death”: Death necessitates ghusl but does not require wudhu. There is no evidence that wudhu was performed on a dead person. The ghusl does nothing to purify the deceased for verily he is stained by death and this cannot be lifted. The corpse is bathed because it is a requirement in Islam, not that it cleanses the dead. Some requirements in Islam appear strange only because their wisdom is not known to man. A Muslim complies to the requirements due to the mere fact that Allah and His Messenger have ordained so.
Some scholars of fiqh have included one more nullifier of wudhu: a person who
reneges from Islam and becomes an apostate( This view is only found in the H anball madhab. Most of their scholars agree upon it. Abu Hanifah, Malik and al-Shafi’i have the opinion that apostasy does not nullify wudhu. See al-Kafi (1/47), al-Mughni (1/238), al-Muharar fi al-Fiqh (1/15) and al-Ri’ayah al-Sughra by Ibn Hamdan (1/47)). His wudhu is invalid as a result. This is evident from the author’s statement that, “Every act that mandates ghusl, mandates wudhu.”
Whoever has wudhu but is doubtful whether he has broken it, or vice versa, then he should gravitate towards that which he is sure about. If he is equally convinced [by the idea] that he is in the state of taharah as he is [with the idea] that he is without wudhu, then he reverts to the condition he was in before this confusion.
“Whoever has wudhu but is doubtful whether he has broken it”: I.e. doubtful as to whether he did something that nullified his wudhu but cannot recollect or he cannot decide on the state he is in.( Ibn Qudamah said, “There is no difference between him not being able to decide or if he has equal conviction in both states (i.e that he has wudhu or not).” See al-M ughni (1/263). A l-Nawawi said, “Take note that when scholars mention about doubts pertaining to water, the state of purity, najasah, prayer or fasting, they are talking about whether one is sure about the presence of the aforementioned things, regardless if he is indifferent or is partial. This is the definition of doubt by the fuqahah (scholars of fiqh). As for the usuliyin (scholars o f usul al-fiqh), they distinguish between one being indifferent and partial. They only classify the former as doubt. The latter is termed as guessing.” See al-Majmu Sharh al-Madhab (1/168-169). ) The underlying rule is to maintain the actual condition; that is, the continuation of wudhu. This doubt does not affect “yaqin” (conviction) that his wudhu is still valid. This rule “al-yaqinu la yazulu bilshaq” (certainty is not removed through doubt) appears in the realm of usul al-fiqh (fundamentals that form fiqh),( See al-Ashba wa a l-N a za ir by Ibn al-Subkl (1/13) and the same book by Ibn Nujaym (p.56). ) the evidence for this is the hadith of the Prophet(pbuh) “If one has a movement in his stomach whilst in prayer and he is doubtful if he broke wind or not, let him not depart until he hears a sound or he smells it (i.e. the wind).”( Reported by Muslim (1/190), Ahmad (2/414), Abu Dawud (177) and al-Tirmidhi (75) from the narration of Abu Hurairah. ) The Messenger of Allah(pbuh) commanded us to maintain the actual condition except if the nullification of wudhu is tangible or evident.
“Or vice versa”: If in the situation where he is convinced of his impurity and doubtful if he renewed his wudhu, then he maintains the actual condition (asl) which is the impure state without wudhu.
“If he is equally convinced [by the idea] that he is in the state of taharah as he is [with the idea] that he is without wudhu, then he reverts to the condition he was in before this confusion”: If in the situation that he is equally convinced of having wudhu and having broken it, but is not sure which preceded which, then he must revert to the condition he was in before his thoughts were muddled. If he was in the state of wudhu before the confusion, then he continues to maintain it and vice versa.
It is forbidden for a muhadith to touch the mus-haf, perform the prayer and tawaf.
Three things are forbidden for the muhadith (the person without wudhu).
1. Touching the mus-haf directly: The Prophet(pbuh) said, “None but the pure [in state] should touch the Quran.(Reported by Imam Malik in al-Muwatta (141), al-Darimi (2/160), al-Daraqutni (1/122), Ibn Hibban (6559), al-Hakim (1/395-396) and al-Bayhaql (4/89).)”That is the book {mus-haf that contains the Qur’an, its pages and cover. A person should not touch it directly without having wudhu. This is the consensus of the four imams (of the four madhabs) may Allah have mercy on them.
2. Performing prayers: It is a prerequisite that one has wudhu to perform prayers. Allah says, {When you stand in prayer, wash your faces}(Al-Maidah 6) The Prophet (pbuh) said, “Allah does not accept a prayer of a person in an impure state until he performs wudhu”(Reported by al-Bukhari (1/46), (9/29) and Muslim (1/140) from the narration of Abu Hurairah.)
3. Performing tawaf. I.e. circumambulating the Kaaba in Makkah. Included in this ruling are both the Sunnah and the mandatory tawaf One should not perform tawaf without wudhu. The Prophet used to always perform wudhu when he wanted to perform tawaf.(Reported by al-Bukhari (2/186-187, 192-193) and Muslim (4/54) from the hadith of ‘A ishah who said, “The first thing the Prophet did when he reached (masjid al-haram) was to make wudhu and perform tawaf.” ) He used to make two units of prayer after performing tawaf( As narrated by Jabir in the hadith describing the Hajj o f the Prophet. See Muslim (4/38-43). ) and this is further proof that he would perform his tawaf whilst in a state of taharah. This is because he would not have prayed two units if he did not have wudhu. It is reported by Ibn ‘Abbas in a sahih hadith with a chain of narration thatends with a companion of the Prophet(pbuh) (mawquf) that he said, “ Tawaf around the house is like performing salah except that you can talk while doing so.”( Reported by Ibn Abi Shaybah in his Musannaf (3/137), al-Nasa’i in al-Kubra (3944) and al-Bayhaqi in his Sunan (5/87). ) Although this hadith is mawquf, it can be ascribed to the Prophet himself as there was no ijtihad [on the part of the narrator], thus attaining the level of marfu. This is substantiated further by the hadith where the Prophet(pbuh) addressed ‘Aishah saying, “Do everything else but desist from making tawaf until you attain a pure state.”(Reported by al-Bukhari (1/81, 84), (2/195) and Muslim (4/30).) The menstruating woman is excused from the farewell tawaf during Hajj. This underscores the fact that wudhu is a prerequisite for the performance of tawaf.
By Shaykh Salih ibn Fawzan al-Fawzan
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