Is a Marriage Considered Consummated if a Man Touches His Wife Without Sexual Intercourse? – Mawlana Ilyas Patel

Answered by Mawlana Ilyas Patel

Question

If a man touches his wife with the intention of consummation but without actual sexual intercourse and then divorces her, is the marriage considered consummated? Does she need to observe a waiting period (idda), and is the divorce revocable or irrevocable?

Answer

In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful and Compassionate

I pray you are in good faith and health. Thank you for your question.

Marriage is deemed consummated even without intercourse if one touches one’s wife. The nature of the divorce depends on what has been given; for example, a clear divorce would be revocable, whereas an allusive divorce would be irrevocable. For further details, refer to the link provided below.

If, after the marriage (nikah), a couple had intercourse or they were in isolation, meaning they were alone in a way that intercourse was possible sometime or another where they had the opportunity to have intercourse, then it is considered a consummated marriage. The same rulings of normal divorce will apply.

Revocable, Irrevocable Divorce and Intimacy

Intimacy after one or two revocable (Raji) divorces are permitted, but any display of physical affection automatically revokes the divorce. They become a married couple again.

Intimacy is not permitted after an irrevocable divorce. If he has given only one or two in total, they can only be intimate if he marries her again with a fresh nikah and mahr. [Ibn ’Abidin, Radd al-Muhtar]

I would like you to go through the valuable answers and links below. You will receive guidance and direction in sha Allah.

Related

•  Can I Marry Someone Who Divorced Me without Consummating the Marriage? (seekersguidance.org)
• Do These Statements Entail a Pronouncement of Divorce? (seekersguidance.org)
• marriage and divorce Archives – SeekersGuidance
• Can I Revoke My Two Divorces Before the End of the Waiting Period (Idda)? – SeekersGuidance
• How Can I Protect Myself from Uttering a Divorce in Anger? – SeekersGuidance
• Does Divorce Come in Effect in Extreme Anger? (seekersguidance.org)
• A Guide to Marriage: SeekersGuidance Reader – SeekersGuidance (answers, articles and course links)
• Why Marriage Contracts & Agreements Matter Seminar by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani (youtube.com)

Why not begin your search for knowledge by signing up for a course on SeekersAcademy (seekersguidance.org), like from the Islamic Studies Curriculum (seekersguidance.org), building your way up doing each course?

I pray this helps answer your question.

[Mawlana] Ilyas Patel
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Mawlana Ilyas Patel is a traditionally-trained scholar who has studied within UK, India, Pakistan, Syria, Jordan and Turkey.

He started his early education in UK. He went onto complete hifz of Qur’an in India, then enrolled into an Islamic seminary in UK where he studied the secular and Alimiyyah sciences. He then travelled to Karachi, Pakistan.

He has been an Imam in Rep of Ireland for a number of years. He has taught hifz of the Qur’an, Tajwid, Fiqh and many other Islamic sciences to both children and adults onsite and online extensively in UK and Ireland. He was teaching at a local Islamic seminary for 12 years in the UK where he was a librarian and a teacher of Islamic sciences.

He currently resides in UK with his wife. His personal interest is love of books and gardening.