so look for something’—that is, seek it. He replied, ‘I cannot find anything.’ The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, ‘Look, even if only for an iron ring.’ He looked but found nothing.”

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Thus, someone who merely touches something is not said to have felt it unless he touches it to ascertain something: its warmth, coldness, hardness, softness, or true nature. Allah, Almighty and Majestic, says:

“Even if We had sent down to you a scripture on parchment and they had touched it with their own hands, the disbelievers would still have said, ‘This is nothing but clear magic.’” [Al-An‘ām: 7]

Do you not see that one says, “The two stones came into contact,” but not, “The two stones felt one another,” since neither intention nor seeking is possible for them?

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Since the purpose intended in touching women is to derive pleasure from them, we know that Allah’s words, “or you have touched women” [Al-Nisā’: 43], mean touching through which pleasure is sought, rather than touching for any other purpose.

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There is disagreement over Allah’s words, “or you have touched women” [Al-Nisā’: 43]. Some have said that what is meant is sexual intercourse. This was related from ‘Umar ibn al-Khattāb, may Allah Most High be pleased with him, and it is the position of ‘Abd Allāh ibn ‘Abbās, may Allah Most High be pleased with them both.

It is related that ‘Ubayd ibn ‘Umayr, Sa‘īd ibn Jubayr, and ‘Atā’ ibn Abī Rabāh disagreed about the meaning of touching. Sa‘īd and ‘Atā’ said that it meant touching and pressing, whereas ‘Ubayd ibn ‘Umayr said that it meant sexual intercourse. Ibn ‘Abbās came out to them while they were discussing this. They asked him about it and told him what they had said. He replied, “The two mawlās (clients) were mistaken, while the Arab was correct. It means sexual intercourse, but Allah refrains from explicitness and says what suffices.” This is