And it is well known that if the senior Companions who knew the Prophet had performed ablution whenever they touched their wives, without qualification, and if the Prophet had commanded them to do so, some of the younger Companions, such as Ibn ʿUmar and Ibn ʿAbbās, and some of the Successors would have known about it. Since neither a Companion nor a Successor transmitted this, that is evidence that such a practice was not known among them. They were merely discussing the interpretation of the verse.

If the verse means sexual intercourse, there is nothing further to discuss. If it means something broader than sexual intercourse, then the answer is this: wherever Allah Most High mentions touching women, having intimate contact with them, or similar expressions in His Book, He means only what involves sexual desire and pleasure. As for touching devoid of that, Allah attaches no legal ruling whatsoever to it. This is illustrated by His words:

“And do not have intimate relations with them while you are in retreat in the mosques.”

He thus forbade someone observing devotional retreat from having intimate contact with women. Yet scholars know that if someone observing retreat touches his wife without sexual desire, this is not forbidden to him. It is established in the Sahīh concerning the Prophet:

“He would bring his head close to ʿĀ’ishah, may Allah be pleased with her, and she would comb his hair while he was observing devotional retreat.”

It is well known that this would be likely to involve his touching her and her touching him. Moreover, the restrictions of consecration for pilgrimage are stricter than those of devotional retreat. Yet if a woman touches a man in that state without sexual desire, he incurs no sin thereby, nor is he required to offer a sacrifice.

This argument provides evidence in two ways: through the apparent meaning of the wording, and through its underlying meaning and analogical reasoning. For the words of Allah Most High