Is It Permissible for Married Couples to Watch Intimate Films Together?
Hanafi Fiqh
Answered by Shaykh Yusuf Weltch
Question
Is it permissible for a married couple to watch intimate films or engage in manual stimulation to maintain their sexual relationship, and are there any restrictions?
Answer
In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful and Compassionate.
It is not permissible for any Muslim to watch intimate films at all. Looking at the nakedness of another is strictly prohibited, and looking at anyone aside from one’s spouse with lustful desire is strictly prohibited as well. [‘Ala’ al-Din Ibn ‘Abidin, al-Hadiyya al-‘Ala’iyya]
Foreplay
A couple may engage in acts of foreplay that encourage intimacy as long as such acts are not harmful, do not contain any sinful elements, and are done consensually by both parties.
Examples of permissible means of foreplay are as follows, but note that these are merely examples and the list is not exhaustive. Anything that would meet the above principle is permitted:
- Kissing
- Intimate speech (keeping in mind the Prophetic principle of modesty)
- Intimate touching, etc…
For more details and a book recommendation, please see this link.
Hope this helps
Allah knows best
[Shaykh] Yusuf Weltch
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani
Shaykh Yusuf Weltch is a teacher of Arabic, Islamic law, and spirituality. After accepting Islam in 2008, he went on to study at Darul Uloom Seminary in New York and completed his studies at Darul Mustafa in Tarim, Yemen.
There, he completed the memorization of the Quran and his study of Islamic Sciences. Throughout his years of study, he was blessed to learn from many great scholars: Habib Umar bin Hafiz, Habib Kazhim al-Saqqaf, Shaykh ‘Umar bin Husayn al-Khatib, and others.
Upon returning, he joined the SeekersGuidance faculty in the summer of 2019.
