Vocabulary of the ḥadīth
• wudūʾan: an emphatic verbal noun denoting the prescribed ablution. In its linguistic sense wudūʾ can refer merely to washing the hands and the private parts.
• li-l-ʿawdi: with a fatḥah on the ʿayn and a resting wāw. The verb ʿāda may take the prepositions ilā, la-hu, or fī, all meaning “to return to something.” Here it means returning to one’s wife for another act of intercourse.
• while he was junub: the initial wāw introduces a circumstantial clause. Junub (with two ḍammas) is one who has entered the state of major ritual impurity (janābah).
• between them: i.e. between the first and second acts of intercourse.
Lessons drawn from the ḥadīth
- It is recommended for anyone who has been intimate with his wife and then wishes to resume intercourse to perform ablution. Authentic reports show that the Prophet ﷺ sometimes had relations with his wives without renewing ablution between the acts, and other reports show that he performed a full bath after being intimate with each of them. All of these courses are permissible.
- The wording of the ḥadīth is general: the same ruling applies whether he intends to return to the same wife or to another wife, for one who has more than one.
- The wisdom, as indicated by al-Ḥākim’s additional wording—“for that is more invigorating for the return”—is that intercourse leaves a person languid and relaxed, whereas water restores energy, strength, and vitality. A full bath is even more effective than ablution in reviving one’s vigor.
- It is permissible to sleep after intercourse even while still in a state of janābah.
- The phrase “without touching water” shows that he went to sleep without performing ablution.
Al-Tirmidhī said: If the report is deemed sound, it can be understood to mean that he did not touch the water of a complete bath, not the water of ablution. In this way it harmonizes with the two Ṣaḥīḥs, which explicitly state that he would wash his private parts and perform ablution before sleeping, eating, drinking, or resuming intercourse.