Then say: “They are ʿUbayd Allah, ʿUrwah, al-Qasim,
Saʿid, Abu Bakr, Sulayman, and Kharijah.” (1)

They held that anything which exits from somewhere other than the two passages does not invalidate ablution, whether little or much, except urine and feces. This is the second view in the madhhab (2), and it was the view preferred by Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah (3). They cited the following evidence:

1. The basic principle is that ablution remains valid. Whoever claims something contrary to this basic principle must provide proof.

2. A person’s state of purity has been established on the basis of religious evidence, and what is established by religious evidence cannot be lifted except by religious evidence.

We do not go beyond what is indicated by the Book of Allah and the sunnah of His Messenger ﷺ, for we are bound to worship according to Allah’s law. It is therefore not permissible for us to require Allah’s servants to attain a state of purity that is not obligatory, nor to remove from them a purity that is obligatory …

As for the hadith they cited as evidence that ablution is invalidated, many scholars have deemed it weak. Moreover, it is merely an action, and an action by itself does not indicate obligation, since it contains no command. Furthermore, it is countered by a hadith—though it too is weak—that the Prophet ﷺ underwent cupping, prayed, and did not perform ablution (4). This indicates that ablution is not obligatory, and this is the preponderant view.