What Type of Intimacy Is Permitted between a Husband and a Wife during Her Menstruation?

Answered by Shaykh Yusuf Weltch

Question

What intimacy is allowed between a husband and a wife during her menstruation? Is it permissible to bring one’s wife to orgasm by intimate touching of her private part while covered with a barrier?

Answer

In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful and Compassionate.

In summary, it is permitted to stimulate one’s wife during her period, if done through a barrier. This is because of the words of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), “You’re allowed anything above the garment.” [Abu Dawud]

Detailed Answer

It is permissible to intimately touch your wife until she reaches orgasm as long as the touching meets the following conditions:

• Touching between the navel and the knees must be above a barrier; regardless of whether or not there is desire.
• Touching anywhere else on the body is allowed, even without a barrier; regardless of desire. [Shurunbulali, Maraqi al-Falah]

Thus touching your spouse between the navel and knees is prohibited unless a barrier (such as clothing or a bed sheet) prevents skin-to-skin contact.

This ruling is based on the Quranic verse where Allah Most High says, “They ask you, O Prophet, about menstruation. Say, ‘Beware of its harm! So keep away, and do not have intercourse with your wives during their monthly cycles until they are purified. When they purify themselves, then you may approach them in the manner specified by Allah. Surely Allah loves those who always turn to Him in repentance and those who purify themselves.’” [Quran, 2:222]

Thus the word “approaching” includes touching, with the exception of what has been mentioned above.

Hope this helps
Allah knows best
[Shaykh] Yusuf Weltch
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Shaykh Yusuf Weltch teaches Arabic, Islamic law, and spirituality. After accepting Islam in 2008, he completed four years at the Darul Uloom Seminary in New York, where he studied Arabic and the traditional sciences.

He then traveled to Tarim, Yemen, where he studied for three years in Dar al-Mustafa under some of the most outstanding scholars of our time, including Habib Umar Bin Hafiz, Habib Kadhim al-Saqqaf, and Shaykh Umar al-Khatib.

In Tarim, Shaykh Yusuf completed the memorization of the Quran and studied beliefs, legal methodology, hadith methodology, Quranic exegesis, Islamic history, and several texts on spirituality. He joined the SeekersGuidance faculty in the summer of 2019.