What Is the Ruling on Intercourse During the Day in Ramadan or During a Day of Fasting?
ما حكم الجماع في نهار رمضان أو في نهار الصيام؟
If the fasting of Ramadan is obligatory for the person, then it is forbidden for him to have intercourse during the day in Ramadan. If he breaks his fast after sunset, it is permissible for him to have intercourse.
Except for the one who is in i'tikaf in the masjid; it is not permissible for him to have intercourse even during the night of Ramadan.
(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. Do not be intimate with your spouses while you are meditating in the mosques. These are the limits set by Allah, so do not exceed them. This is how Allah makes His revelations clear to people, so they may become mindful ˹of Him˺.) [Al-Baqarah 2:187]
Note: The earlier published Arabic quotation of 2:187 left out the passage from “eat and drink” to “until nightfall” and the word “meditating” (عاكفون); the verse is now given in full from the Quran.
إذا كان صيام رمضان وهو واجب على المكلف فيحرم عليه الجماع في نهار رمضان فإن أفطر بعد غروب الشمس جاز له الجماع.
ويستثنى من ذلك من كان معتكفا في المسجد فلا يجوز له الجماع في ليل رمضان.
(أُحِلَّ لَكُمْ لَيْلَةَ الصِّيَامِ الرَّفَثُ إِلَىٰ نِسَائِكُمْ ۚ هُنَّ لِبَاسٌ لَّكُمْ وَأَنتُمْ لِبَاسٌ لَّهُنَّ ۗ عَلِمَ اللَّهُ أَنَّكُمْ كُنتُمْ تَخْتَانُونَ أَنفُسَكُمْ فَتَابَ عَلَيْكُمْ وَعَفَا عَنكُمْ ۖ فَالْآنَ بَاشِرُوهُنَّ وَابْتَغُوا مَا كَتَبَ اللَّهُ لَكُمْ ۚ وَكُلُوا وَاشْرَبُوا حَتَّىٰ يَتَبَيَّنَ لَكُمُ الْخَيْطُ الْأَبْيَضُ مِنَ الْخَيْطِ الْأَسْوَدِ مِنَ الْفَجْرِ ۖ ثُمَّ أَتِمُّوا الصِّيَامَ إِلَى اللَّيْلِ ۚ وَلَا تُبَاشِرُوهُنَّ وَأَنتُمْ عَاكِفُونَ فِي الْمَسَاجِدِ ۗ تِلْكَ حُدُودُ اللَّهِ فَلَا تَقْرَبُوهَا ۗ كَذَٰلِكَ يُبَيِّنُ اللَّهُ آيَاتِهِ لِلنَّاسِ لَعَلَّهُمْ يَتَّقُونَ) [البقرة 2: 187]
ملاحظة: سقط من اقتباس الآية في النص المنشور سابقا المقطع من «وكلوا واشربوا» إلى «إلى الليل» وكلمة «عاكفون»، فأثبتت الآية كاملة من المصحف.
1. Permitted During the Nights | أحل لكم ليلة الصيام الرفث إلى نسائكم
It has been made permissible for you to be intimate with your wives during the nights preceding the fast (2:187). Al-Bara’ relates that when the fast of Ramadan was first prescribed, they did not approach their wives for the whole of Ramadan, and some men were deceiving themselves, so Allah revealed: Allah knows that you were deceiving yourselves. So He has accepted your repentance and pardoned you (Sahih al-Bukhari 4508). When the day’s fast begins and ends is explained in when fasting begins and when it ends.
أُحِلَّ لَكُمْ لَيْلَةَ الصِّيَامِ الرَّفَثُ إِلَىٰ نِسَائِكُمْ (سورة البقرة: 187)
قال تعالى: (أحل لكم ليلة الصيام الرفث إلى نسائكم) (البقرة 2: 187)، وقال البراء رضي الله عنه: "لما نزل صوم رمضان كانوا لا يقربون النساء رمضان كله، وكان رجال يخونون أنفسهم، فأنزل الله: (علم الله أنكم كنتم تختانون أنفسكم فتاب عليكم وعفا عنكم)" (صحيح البخاري 4508).
2. The Expiation for a Day of Ramadan | هل تجد رقبة تعتقها
A man came to the Prophet and said: I am ruined; I had intercourse with my wife while fasting. The Prophet asked: Can you find a slave to free? He said no. Can you fast two consecutive months? He said no. Can you find food for sixty poor people? He said no (Sahih al-Bukhari 1936). This is the order of the expiation; the other obligatory fasts are explained in the types of fasting.
قال أبو هريرة رضي الله عنه: جاء رجل إلى النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم فقال: يا رسول الله هلكت، قال: "ما لك"، قال: وقعت على امرأتي وأنا صائم، فقال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم: "هل تجد رقبة تعتقها"، قال: لا، قال: "فهل تستطيع أن تصوم شهرين متتابعين"، قال: لا، فقال: "فهل تجد إطعام ستين مسكينا"، قال: لا (صحيح البخاري 1936).
3. Not During I’tikaf | ولا تباشروهن وأنتم عاكفون في المساجد
Do not be intimate with your spouses while you are meditating in the mosques (2:187). Ibn Kathir reports from Ibn Abbas: this is the man in i’tikaf in the mosque, in Ramadan or outside it; Allah forbade him women by night and by day until he completes his i’tikaf. This is the scholar’s exception.
وَلَا تُبَاشِرُوهُنَّ وَأَنتُمْ عَاكِفُونَ فِي الْمَسَاجِدِ (سورة البقرة: 187)
قال تعالى: (ولا تباشروهن وأنتم عاكفون في المساجد) (البقرة 2: 187)، قال ابن كثير: قال علي بن أبي طلحة، عن ابن عباس: هذا في الرجل يعتكف في المسجد في رمضان أو في غير رمضان، فحرم الله عليه أن ينكح النساء ليلا ونهارا حتى يقضي اعتكافه.
Frequently Asked Questions | الأسئلة الشائعة
Is intercourse allowed during the day in Ramadan?
No. For one on whom the fast is obligatory it is forbidden during the day; after he breaks his fast at sunset it is permitted.
Is intercourse allowed at night in Ramadan?
Yes: It has been made permissible for you to be intimate with your wives during the nights preceding the fast (2:187), except for the one in i’tikaf.
What is the expiation for intercourse during a day of Ramadan?
Freeing a slave; if he cannot, fasting two consecutive months; if he cannot, feeding sixty poor people (Sahih al-Bukhari 1936).
Is intercourse allowed at night for a person in i’tikaf?
No. It is forbidden by night and by day until the i’tikaf ends: Do not be intimate with your spouses while you are meditating in the mosques (2:187).