Hadith: The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) kissed some of his wives, and then went out for prayer without making ablution

عن عروة، عن عائشة رضي الله عنها مرفوعاً: «أن النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم قَبَّلَ بعض نسائه، ثم خرج إلى الصلاة ولم يتوضَّأ»، قال: قلت: من هي إلا أنت؟ فَضَحِكت.
[صحيح] - [رواه الترمذي وأحمد وأبو داود والنسائي في الكبرى وابن ماجه]

‘Urwah reported that ‘Ā’ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) said: “The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) kissed some of his wives, and then went out for prayer without making ablution.” ‘Urwah said to her: "Who is she, if not you?" So she laughed.
[Authentic hadith] - [Narrated by Ibn Majah - Narrated by At-Termedhy - An-Nasaa’i - Narrated by Abu Daoud - Narrated by Ahmad]

Explanation

In this Hadīth, ‘Ā’ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) says that the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) kissed one of his wives, then he went to prayer without performing ablution. 'Urwah who narrated the Hadīth from ‘Ā’ishah recognized that the anonymous wife was ‘Ā’ishah herself. When he remarked that, she laughed in confirmation of his correct perception. That the Prophet did not make a new ablution indicates that touching or kissing one's wife does not invalidate one's ablution, whether with lust or without. The original state is the validity of one's ablution, which does not become invalid, unless there is an indisputable proof. There is no such proof on the termination of the state of ablution at all when touching one's wife. As for the Qur'anic reference to touching women, it means having sexual intercourse with one's wife, according to Ibn ‘Abbās and a group of scholars. Since kissing one's wife is mostly with lust, this indicates that touching one's wife with lust does not terminate one's ablution. The ablution is terminated only when kissing or touching is accompanied with ejaculation.