reliably reported from Ibn ‘Abbās through numerous chains of transmission. He is reported to have said, “It makes no difference to me whether I kiss my wife or smell a sprig of fragrant herbs.” This is the position adopted by the scholars of Iraq. Their evidence is the report from ‘Ā’ishah that “the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, would kiss her, then go out to pray without performing ablution,” together with Allah Most High’s words, “or you have touched women” [Al-Nisā’: 43]. They argue that mulāmasah is a reciprocal form involving two parties and therefore can only mean sexual intercourse.
Others have said that it means acts short of intercourse, such as kissing, direct bodily contact, and touching. This is the position of ‘Abd Allāh ibn ‘Umar and ‘Abd Allāh ibn Mas‘ūd. The judge Ismā‘īl likewise understood ‘Umar ibn al-Khattāb to hold this view, on the basis of his statement that a person in a state of major ritual impurity does not perform dry ablution. A number of the Successors held this position, and it was adopted by Mālik and his companions.
The evidence for this is that Allah, Almighty and Majestic, has already said at the beginning of the verse:
“If you are in a state of major ritual impurity, then purify yourselves.” [Al-Mā’idah: 6]
If “or you have touched women” [Al-Nisā’: 43] meant sexual intercourse, it would be a repetition serving no purpose and conveying no additional meaning.
A second proof is that mulāmasah literally means touching with the hand, whereas its use for intercourse is figurative. Interpreting speech literally is preferable to interpreting it figuratively.
A third proof is that mulāmasah denotes contact between two surfaces of skin. Accordingly, either touching with the hand is more properly designated by this term than intercourse, in which case the term should be restricted to it, or touching with the hand and the other forms of contact are equally covered by it, in which case the apparent wording must be understood generally to include everything to which the term applies. Moreover, the verse has also been recited as “or you have touched women,” using lamastum, and there is no disagreement that this refers to something other than touching with the hand. Thus the position adopted by Mālik, may Allah be pleased with him, is established.
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Once it is established that mulāmasah means acts short of intercourse, such as kissing, direct bodily contact, and touching with the hand, these can occur in only four ways: first, a person intends to derive pleasure through these acts and does experience it; second, a person neither intends to derive pleasure nor experiences it; third, a person intends to derive pleasure but does not experience it; and fourth, a person does not intend to derive pleasure but nevertheless experiences it.
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As for the first case—intending to derive pleasure and experiencing it—there is no disagreement among us that ablution is obligatory, since both the touching named by Allah and its underlying meaning, namely the experience of pleasure, are present.