Touching a child’s private parts invalidates ablution
Question: What is the ruling on touching a child’s private parts—does it invalidate one’s ablution or not?
Answer: Touching the private part, whether the front passage or the rear, nullifies minor ablution, whether the organ belongs to an adult or a child. In this respect there is no difference between young and old.
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A woman’s unintentional contact with a man
does not invalidate ablution
Question: When a woman inadvertently touches a man—such as while passing through a crowded place, or when receiving an item from a shopkeeper, or handing him the payment—does that contact break her ablution if she was already in a state of purity, or is it of no consequence?
Answer: First, we advise the woman not to jostle with men, to avoid mixed gatherings, and to steer clear of situations that involve touching men. She should shun crowded places where temptation may arise, for a woman can be a source of trial for herself and for others; thus she must keep away from the venues of temptation.
As for her accidentally touching a man’s body, as described, the soundest opinion among the scholars is that her ablution is not nullified. It is only invalidated if she touches him out of desire or he touches her out of desire. If the contact occurs unintentionally, it has no effect on her ablution. Nevertheless, as we have noted, mingling and physical contact between men and women are matters that are not permissible.