Mu' meneen Brothers and Sisters,

As Salaam Aleikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh. (May Allah's Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon all of you)

One of our brothers/sisters has asked this question:

Dear Brother,

I got two questions to ask

1. I heard from some of my friends that Prophet Muhammad(peace be upon him) used to kiss and hug his wives during fasting. From some of others i heard we have to leave our wives and go to mosque once you reach the last 10 days of ramadan. Please explain the view on this?

2. While Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) in his I"tikaf, his wife and the mother of all mu'min Aisha(R A) used to comb his hair. I heard that the ablution will be invalid, if you touch your wife.so explain about this also?

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Answer:

Kiss wife fast

In the name of Allah, We praise Him, seek His help and ask for His forgiveness. Whoever Allah guides none can misguide, and whoever He allows to fall astray, none can guide them aright. We bear witness that there is none worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness that Muhammad (saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.

Your Question: I heard from some of my friends that Prophet Muhammad(peace be upon him) used to kiss and hug his wives during fasting.

Sahih Al-Bukhari Hadith 3.149 Narrated by Aisha

The Prophet (saws) used to kiss and embrace (his wives) while he (saws) was fasting, and he had more power to control his desires than any of you.

Sahih Muslim Hadith 2450 Narrated by Umar ibn al-Khattab

Umar asked the Messenger of Allah (saws): ‘Can one observing fast kiss (his wife)?’ The Messenger of Allah (saws) said to him: ‘Ask her (Umm Salamah (r.a., the Prophet’s (saws) wife)). She informed him that the Messenger of Allah (saws) did that, whereupon he (Umar (r.a.)) said: ‘O Messenger of Allah (saws), Allah pardoned thee all thy sins, the previous and the later ones.’ Upon this the Messenger of Allah (saws) said: ‘By Allah, I am the most God-conscious among you and I fear Him most among you.’

Islam has absolutely prohibited conjugal relations between a believing husband and wife during the fasting hours, if one or both amongst them are fasting. But there is absolutely no harm and no sin if one embraces or kisses one’s wife, for that does not invalidate the fast; but one should strive to fear Allah and not exceed the boundaries.

Although the act of kissing one’s wife by itself does not legally invalidate one’s fast, the believers should fear Allah their Lord, control their desires, and abstain from indulging with their wives in passionate kissing or hugging during fasting hours….for if Allah forbid, they were to transgress the limits of the Lord and indulge in sexual intercourse, or one were to have a sexual discharge, etc.; not only would such a thing invalidate their fasts, but they would have violated the sanctity of the month of Ramadan, transgressed the bounds of Allah and thus become guilty of committing a grave and heinous sin in the Sight of Allah Subhanah.

If one sincerely fears Allah and the Last Day, they should control, save and conserve their desire and their passion until the fasting hours of the day are over.

Your Question: From some of others i heard we have to leave our wives and go to mosque once you reach the last 10 days of ramadan. Please explain the view on this?

Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 2 Surah Baqarah verse 187:

187 Permitted to you on the night of the fasts is the approach to your wives. They are your garments. And ye are their garments. Allah Knows what ye used to do secretly among yourselves; but He turned to you and forgave you; so now associate with them and seek what Allah hath ordained for you and eat and drink until the white thread of dawn appear to you distinct from its black thread; then complete your fast till the night appears; but do not associate with your wives while ye are in retreat in the mosques. Those are limits (set by) Allah; approach not nigh thereto. Thus doth Allah make clear His Signs to men that they may learn self-restraint.

To seclude oneself from all worldly occupations and retreat to the mosques for the last ten days of Ramadan, and engross oneself exclusively to the worship of the Lord Most High is what is known as ‘Itikaaf’ in Islamic Jurisprudence; and the worship of ‘Itikaaf’ is an extremely preferred Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah (saws).

‘Itikaaf’ or seclusion to the mosques for the last ten days of Ramadan is not obligatory in Islam, but rather a practice and a Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah (saws)….and thus voluntary. If one performs the ‘Itikaaf’ one would receive a huge reward for their worship from their Lord; and if one chooses not to perform the ‘Itikaaf’ for any reason whatsoever, there is absolutely no obligation or sin upon him.

Your Question: While Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) in his I"tikaf, his wife and the mother of all mu'min Aisha(R A) used to comb his hair.

Sahih Al-Bukhari Hadith 3.262 Narrated by Urwa

Aisha (r.a.) during her menses used to comb and oil the hair of the Prophet (saws) while he used to be in ‘Itikaaf’ in the mosque. He (saws) would stretch out his head towards her while she was in her chamber.

Your Question: I heard that the ablution will be invalid, if you touch your wife.so explain about this also?

Hadrat Aishah (r.a.) related that the Messenger of Allah (saws) kissed her while he (saws) was fasting and said, "Kissing does not nullify the ‘wudu’, nor does it break the fast."

The vast majority of the scholars and jurists in Islam are of the opinion that the intentional or unintentional touching of a member of the opposite sex (mehram or non-mehram) does not invalidate one’s state of ‘wudu’.

Whatever written of Truth and benefit is only due to Allah’s Assistance and Guidance, and whatever of error is of me alone. Allah Alone Knows Best and He is the Only Source of Strength.

Your brother and well wisher in Islam,

Burhan