to face the qiblah or turn one’s back towards it in villages and cities, even without necessity. The evidence for this is that he permitted a man to have intercourse with his wife while facing the qiblah, although turning away from it would cause him no hardship. This position is supported by ‘Ā’ishah’s hadith: “Turn my seat towards the qiblah.” On this interpretation, the prohibition is due to the fact that Allah has servants who pray to Him; when a person is screened by buildings in villages and cities, the reason for the prohibition no longer applies. Likewise, on this interpretation, someone screened by an object in the desert would be permitted to face the qiblah while relieving himself. ‘Abd Allāh ibn ‘Umar did this. Marwān al-Asfar related that Ibn ‘Umar made his mount kneel facing Jerusalem, then sat down to urinate towards it. Marwān said: “I asked, ‘Abū ‘Abd al-Rahmān, has this not been forbidden?’ He replied, ‘It was forbidden only in open ground. If there is something between you and the qiblah that screens you, there is no harm in it.’”
In al-Majmū‘ah, however, Mālik holds that one must not face the qiblah when urinating or defecating in villages and cities, except in latrines built for that purpose, because of the hardship involved in turning away from it there. According to this report of his position, the reason for the prohibition is reverence for the qiblah. Thus, on this view, a man may not have intercourse with his wife while facing the qiblah, since there is no necessity for doing so. He understands Ibn ‘Umar’s hadith to mean that the two bricks formed part of a built structure. As for ‘Ā’ishah’s hadith, either he did not consider it authentic or it had not reached him. Allah knows best. Abū Ishāq al-Tūnisī mentioned that the passage in al-Mudawwanah has been interpreted as permitting a man to have intercourse with his wife in the desert while facing the qiblah. This, however, is an unlikely interpretation. Allah knows best.
Section: On Touching
The meaning of mulāmasah (touching) is seeking. Allah, Almighty and Majestic, says:
“And we sought to reach heaven, but found it filled with stern guards and shooting stars.” [Al-Jinn: 8]
That is, we sought heaven and wished to reach it, but found it filled with stern guards and shooting stars—that is, guardians who guard it.
“The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said to a man who asked him to marry him to the woman who had offered herself in marriage to the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him: ‘Do you have anything to give her as a bridal gift?’ He replied, ‘I have nothing but this waist wrapper of mine.’ He said, ‘If you give her your waist wrapper, you will be left with no waist wrapper