Lesson Fourteen - Actions that Nullify One’s Ablution

There are six ways in which one's ablution becomes nullified:

1) Anything that comes out of the two passages.

2) Any impurity that comes out of one's body excessively.

3) When one loses consciousness, during sleep or otherwise.

4) When one touches his private parts directly with his hand, without a barrier separating the two, be it the private part in the front or the one in the back.

5) Eating the meat of a camel.

6) Apostasy, we seek refuge in Allah from that.

Important note: It is true that when you wash the body of a dead person, your Wudhu' is not nullified, because there is no proof to the contrary, this is the view of most scholars, but if your hand touches his private part without a barrier between the two (such as a cloth), you must perform Wudhu' again. Notwithstanding the previous ruling, you must not touch the private parts of a dead person unless it is behind a barrier.

Similarly, touching a woman does not nullify Wudhu', regardless of whether it was accompanied by desire or not, according to the more correct view of the scholars, as long as nothing is emitted. From the two scholarly opinions in this issue, this one is correct. The Prophet (Sallallahu Alayhi wa Sallam) kissed some of his wives and then he would go for prayer without making ablution. The scholars who are of the other opinion refer to this verse:



However, the correct opinion is that this verse is alluding to sexual intercourse, an interpretation that is upheld by Ibn 'Abbas (Radhi Allahu Anhu) and a group of scholars from both early and later generations. And guidance lies with Allah.


In the last lesson, the Shaikh spoke about Wudhu'; here, he mentions ways in which one's Wudhu' becomes nullified. The first way in which one loses his Wudhu' is when anything comes out of the two passages, regardless of whether what comes out is a little or a lot. There are two categories of material that come out of the two passages:

1) What is regular, such as urine and feces. The scholars agree that these discharges nullify one's Wudhu'. Ibn 'Abdul-Barr mentioned this consensus in relation to this verse:



In a Hadith, the Prophet (Sallallahu Alayhi wa Sallam) mentioned:



And in regards to the passing of wind, he (Sallallahu Alayhi wa Sallam) said:



2) Things that rarely come out of the two passages, such as hair, stones, or worms. Here again one's Wudhu' becomes nullified. When a woman was bleeding from her private parts because of sickness and not because of her monthly period, the Prophet (Sallallahu Alayhi wa Sallam) said:



Because the discharge of that blood was abnormal or rare, the same ruling applies to all abnormal matters that come out of the two passages. Furthermore, there is another analogy that we can make.

The first category of material, i.e., what is normal, requires one to make ablution, and so the same can be said of the second category, i.e., what is rare or abnormal, because both share one common factor: both involve material coming out of the two passages.

Any impurity that comes out of one's body excessively: If an impurity comes out not from the two passages, but from some other area of the body, one's Wudhu' becomes nullified when the matter that comes out is excessive. If the discharge is small, then one remains in a state of purity, for Ibn 'Abbas said regarding blood, "If it is excessive, then he must make Wudhu' again." When Ibn 'Umar squeezed a blister causing blood to come out, he prayed without making ablution. In regards to this issue, there is no one known to have differed with the two ofthem. Therefore, Ibn Qudamah, inAl-Mughni, as well as others, mentioned that there is a consensus for that.

When one loses consciousness, during sleep or otherwise: Other examples are insanity, when one becomes unconscious due to a blow, or when one is drunk. The Prophet (Sallallahu Alayhi wa Sallam) said:



The control one loses is not only limited to sleep, for unconscious¬ness, insanity, and drunkenness are more extreme ways of losing consciousness, so they too (in a way more deserving than sleep) nullify one's Wudhu'. The Prophet (Sallallahu Alayhi wa Sallam) said:



Here, the meaning of sleep is deep sleep, whereby the one who is sleeping is no longer aware of those who are around him.


When one touches his private part directly with his hand:

The Prophet (Sallallahu Alayhi wa Sallam) said:



Recorded by An-Nasa'i, Ibn Majah, AI-Hakim, Ad-Daraqutni, and Imam Ahmad, from a narration of Busrah bint Safwan. It was graded Sahih by Al-Albani in Al-Irwa'.

Eating the meat of a camel: Jabir bin Samurah related that a man asked the Prophet (Sallallahu Alayhi wa Sallam) "Should I make Wudhu' after eating the meat of a camel?" He said:



But one does not have to make Wudhu' after drinking the milk of a camel or after eating gravy, the source of which is a camel.

Apostasy, we seek refuge in Allah from that: Allah Almighty said:



Important note: It is true that when you wash the body of a dead person, your Wudhu' is not nullified ... ": Ibn Qudamah said, "This is the opinion of the majority of jurists, and - if Allah wills - it is correct, because only from the revealed texts of the Shari'ah can we say that something is compulsory, and in regards to this issue, there is no revealed text.

An interpretation that is upheld by Ibn 'Abbas and a group of scholars from both early and late generations: From them, are the following: 'Aishah (Radhi Allahu Anha) and 'Ali (Radhi Allahu Anhu), 'Ata, Al-Hasan, Tawus, Ash-Sha'bi, 'Ikrimah, and Sa'id bin Jubair, (Radhi Allahu Anhum)

The Shaikh mentioned two issues at the end of this section about which there is disagreement:

1) washing a dead person, and

2) touching a woman.

In both issues, he deemed that the stronger opinion is that the Wudhu' is not nullified. And Allah knows best.