Touch (lams), fiqh rulings

Lams, in lexicon, is feeling and perceiving with the surface of the skin, like mass, and it is a euphemism for intercourse, as is mubashara, contact of skins. In law lams is the meeting of one body with another for a purpose such as warmth, cold, hardness, softness or knowledge of a thing's truth; mass is the meeting of two bodies in any way, so lams is narrower ^{1 2}.

The Hanafis and a narration of Ahmad hold that a man's touching a woman, or a woman's a man, does not break ablution, as reported from Ali, Ibn Abbas, Ata and Tawus; the Hanafis differ on lewd contact, which Abu Hanifa and Abu Yusuf count a breach by preference ². The Malikis hold touching with desire breaks ablution if the toucher is adult and the touched is one desired; the Shafi'is hold the meeting of skins of a man and a strange desirable woman breaks ablution whatever the purpose, and differ on the two readings of the verse ^{2 3}. The known Hanbali view is that touching women for desire breaks ablution and touching without desire does not ³.

Touching the private part does not break ablution for the Hanafis and does for most jurists ³. Those impure may not touch the copy of the Qur'an, on the verse of the surah of the Event (verse 79) cited without quoting and the hadith that none touches the Qur'an but the pure ³. If a fasting person causes emission by touching or kissing, most jurists require only making up the fast, the Malikis a making-up and expiation at emission ³. A pilgrim who touches a woman with desire or kisses her owes a sacrifice; his pilgrimage is not spoilt, according to the Hanafis, Shafi'is and Hanbalis; the Malikis say it is spoilt if he emits ^{3 4}.

A man may not touch the living body of a strange woman, except that a Muslim doctor, where no woman doctor is present, may treat her and look and touch within the measure of the need ⁴. The Hanafis, Malikis and Hanbalis hold that touching gives knowledge of goods, the Shafi'is do not ⁴. Touching a stranger does not establish affinity for the Malikis, Shafi'is and Hanbalis, but for the Hanafis touch with desire does ⁴. Return by touch with desire is valid for the Hanafis and Malikis, not for the Shafi'is and Hanbalis ^{4 5}. Touching a wife in zihar is forbidden before expiation by the Hanafis, most Malikis and one Hanbali view, but allowed by the Shafi'is in the sounder view ⁵.