363. Does touching woman renders a man out of Wudu (Ablution).

In this verse (5:6) of the Quran we find the phrase ‘Or, you have contacted women and do not find water, then seek clean earth and wipe over your faces and hands with it’, (Tayammum).

Contact with women implies touching as well as having sexual intercourse with them.Hence there are differences of opinion among the scholars to identify the correct meaning.

The scholars who attribute the meaning ‘touch’ have made a law stating that either the man touches a woman, or a woman touches a man they are out of Wudu and both need to perform it again. This is a misconception.

In this verse of the Quran the word ‘touch’ is used to denote sex, as can be seen Prophet Muhammad touched his wife when in Wudu and there was no requirement for him to do Wudu again.

When Prophet Muhammad use to worship while I am asleep, he would nudge me in my legs with his fingers indicating insufficient space to prostrate, and I would fold my legs, and I will again stretch my leg after he finishes prostration. There were no lamps glowing those days. This was conveyed by Ayesha (RA)

Book:Bukhari 513, 519, 1209

If it was believed Wudu is annulled by mere touching of woman, Prophet Muhammad would not have touched his wife’s legs while worship.

On a particular night I could not find Prophet Muhammad by the bedside and when I fumbled I the darkness I felt his legs.

Book: Muslim 839

Had the word in the verse been set to denote ‘touch’ Prophet Muhmmad would have discontinued his worship and performed Wudu again.

Hence the meaning of the word touch in this verse, needs to be concluded as meaning sexual intercourse on the basis of the above quoted hadiths.