Is Sexual Touching Allowed for Fasting Spouses in the Shafi‘i School?
Shafi'i Fiqh
Answered by Shaykh Irshaad Sedick
Question
Is it permissible for a fasting spouse to engage in sexual touching with a non-fasting spouse in the Shafi’i school, and does the ruling differ between a fard qada fast and a sunnah fast?
Answer
In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful and Compassionate.
In the Shafi‘i School, engaging in sexual touching or acts of intimacy that lead to arousal or orgasm is impermissible for a fasting person if such acts are likely to break their fast. The fast is invalidated by actions leading to orgasm or by sexual intercourse, whether intentional or through acts like touching, kissing, or petting, provided these acts are done deliberately and with awareness that they break the fast. [Misri, Umdat al-Salik]
Allah (Most High) says:
“It has been made permissible for you to be intimate with your wives during the nights preceding the fast. Your spouses are a garment for you as you are for them. Allah knows that you were deceiving yourselves. So He has accepted your repentance and pardoned you. So now you may be intimate with them and seek what Allah has prescribed for you.( You may) eat and drink until you see the light of dawn breaking the darkness of night, then complete the fast until nightfall.” [Quran, 2:187]
This verse establishes that sexual relations are prohibited during fasting hours, reinforcing the sanctity of the fast.
The Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) said:
“O young men, whoever among you can afford marriage, let him marry, for it is more effective in lowering the gaze and guarding one’s chastity. Whoever cannot afford it should fast, for it will be a restraint (wija’) for him.” [Bukhari; Muslim]
Fasting is described as a means of controlling desires, highlighting the importance of self-restraint during fasting hours.
Make-up Fast & Sunna Fast
The conditions for a fard qada fast (making up an obligatory fast, such as Ramadan) are strict, just like current fard fasting. Any deliberate action that leads to orgasm invalidates the fast, as a qada fast is considered equivalent in obligation to the original fast of Ramadan.
For a sunna fast, the rulings are less strict. While such actions are still discouraged and may invalidate the fast if they result in orgasm, the fast does not carry the same level of obligation. However, one must strive to maintain the sanctity of the fast and avoid actions that could lead to breaking it. [Nawawi, Rawdat al-Talibin]
In either case, mutual restraint is highly recommended during fasting hours to preserve the fast’s validity and its spiritual benefits.
Allah knows best.
[Shaykh] Irshaad Sedick
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Mohammad Abu Bakr Badhib
Shaykh Irshaad Sedick was raised in South Africa in a traditional Muslim family. He graduated from Dar al-Ulum al-Arabiyyah al-Islamiyyah in Strand, Western Cape, under the guidance of the late world-renowned scholar Shaykh Taha Karaan (Allah have mercy on him), where he taught.
Shaykh Irshaad received Ijaza from many luminaries of the Islamic world, including Shaykh Taha Karaan, Shaykh Muhammad Awama, Shaykh Muhammad Hasan Hitu, and Mawlana Abdul Hafeez Makki, among others.
He is the author of the text “The Musnad of Ahmad ibn Hanbal: A Hujjah or not?” He has been the Director of the Discover Islam Centre, and for six years, he has been the Khatib of Masjid Ar-Rashideen, Mowbray, Cape Town.
Shaykh Irshaad has fifteen years of teaching experience at some of the leading Islamic institutes in Cape Town). He is currently building an Islamic podcast, education, and media platform called ‘Isnad Academy’ and has completed his Master’s degree in the study of Islam at the University of Johannesburg. He has a keen interest in healthy Prophetic living and fitness.