peace and blessings be upon him, said: “The prayer of any one of you is not accepted when he enters a state of ritual impurity, until he performs ablution.” (1)

Ritual impurity consists of anything that exits from either of the two private passages, whether it is a tangible substance or an intangible emission; and of the loss of mental awareness through insanity or unconsciousness, whatever the circumstances. As for sleep, al-Shafii, may Allah have mercy on him, held that it necessitates ablution, unless one sleeps while firmly seated, in which case no ablution is required. This is based on what Abd al-Wahhab ibn Muhammad al-Khatib informed us, from Abd al-Aziz al-Khallal, from Abu al-Abbas al-Asamm, from al-Rabi, from al-Shafii, from a trustworthy narrator, from Humayd al-Tawil, from Anas, may Allah be pleased with him, who said: “The Companions of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, would wait for the night prayer and fall asleep—I believe he said, while seated—until their heads nodded; then they would pray without performing ablution.” (2)

Some held that sleep necessitates ablution in every circumstance. This was the view of Abu Hurayrah and Aishah, may Allah be pleased with them, and was also held by al-Hasan, Ishaq, and al-Muzani. Others held that if one sleeps while standing, sitting, or prostrating, no ablution is required, unless he sleeps lying down. This was the view of al-Thawri, Ibn al-Mubarak, and the proponents of legal reasoning.

They differed concerning touching the private parts, whether one’s own or another’s. A group held that it necessitates ablution. This was the view of Umar, Ibn Abbas, Sad ibn Abi Waqqas, Abu Hurayrah, and Aishah, may Allah be pleased with them; it was also held by Said ibn al-Musayyib, Sulayman ibn Yasar, and Urwah ibn al-Zubayr. Al-Awzai, al-Shafii, Ahmad, and Ishaq likewise held this view. The same applies when a woman touches her private part, except that al-Shafii, may Allah have mercy on him, maintained that ablution is invalidated only if she touches it with the palm of her hand or the inner surfaces of her fingers.

They cited as evidence what Abu al-Hasan al-Sarakhsī informed us, from Zahir ibn Ahmad, from Abu Ishaq al-Hashimi, from Abu Musab, from Malik, from Abd Allah ibn Abi Bakr Muhammad ibn Muhammad ibn Amr ibn Hazm, who heard Urwah ibn al-Zubayr say: “I visited Marwan ibn al-Hakam, and we discussed what necessitates ablution. Marwan said, ‘Touching the penis necessitates ablution.’ Urwah said, ‘I did not know that.’ Marwan then said, ‘Busrah bint Safwan informed me that she heard the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, say: “When any one of you touches his penis, let him perform ablution.”’” (3)