Dear respected Shaykh, assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh. What is the ruling of engaging in foreplay with one’s wife during fasting? ما حكم مداعبة الزوجة أثناء الصوم؟

Praise be to Allah, and may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah, his family and his companions. Wa alaikum assalam wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh. As to what follows: In response to your question, we say: If the foreplay involves kissing, embracing and does not lead to ejaculation or sexual intercourse, then there is no problem with that because it has been narrated in the Sahihayn from the hadith of ‘Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) that she said, “The Prophet (peace be upon him) used to kiss and embrace (his wives) while he was fasting” [al-Bukhari (1927) and Muslim (1106). However, ‘Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) mentioned an  issue that we should be aware of, and that is her statement, “and he had more power to control his desires than any of you.”  Thus the Prophet (peace be upon him) was not led by his desire to do what Allah has prohibited. He is far removed from that. However, if a person cannot guarantee that he will not ejaculate and thus spoil his fasting and commit a sin then he should not engage in foreplay during fasting. On the other hand if the person knows  that his kissing or slight embrace of his wife will not cause ejaculation then there is no problem, and his fasting is valid.