['Aalim Network QR] Marriage Vows during Hajj

[abbas@dircon.co.uk (Abbas Jaffer)]

________________________________________________________________________
|                          w           w     w                          |\
|                           ||          ||   | ||                       |\
|                    o_,_7 _||  . _o_7 _|| 4_|_||  o_w_,                |\
|                   ( :   /    (_)    /           (   .                 |\
|                                                                       |\
|           ||  ||         |  ||   |T              |     | ||    |      |\
|   . _, _8 |_D_|| . _,_,_,_D_|| 4_|| q ]_o_7_o   _|_c 4_|_||   _|,_p q |\
|  (_): /         (_): . :            /        (_S           (_S      / |\
|                                                                       |\
|       In the Name of Allah, the Compassionate, the All-Merciful       |\
|  Greeting of Allah be upon Muhammad and the pure members of his House |\
|_______________________________________________________________________|\

The question below was kindly answered by Dr Liyakatali Takim.

Regards

Abbas Jaffer
Acting Moderator - ABDG-A.

..................................................................

Question:


I have a heard that during Hajj when you are in Mecca, the marriage vows
between husband and wife are no longer valid for few days. Is this true and
what is the reasoning behind it.

......................................................................

Answer:

When a person enters into the state of ihram, s/he is required to focus
attention only on Allah, and contemplate on self purification. Apart from
it's social dimension, hajj is also an act of self discipline and character
building. Therefore, you will find that things which are normally allowed
become prohibited e.g. looking at a mirror, performing nikah, removing hair
from the body etc.

To help attain the pure state of the mind, discipline in moral rectitude,
Allah has legislated that in the state of ihram, one is not allowed to enter
into sexual relations with the wife. If one does it before reaching the
station of Muzdalifa and one is aware of the rulings on the issue, then the
hajj is nullified (batil)and kaffara is obligatory.

If the sexual act is done after Muzdalifa then the hajj is o.k. but kaffara
will still have to be offered. 

Moreover, even kissing the spouse is not allowed in the state of ihram. As
for touching the wife, it is allowed if it is not done with lustful
intention. If foreplay with one's spouse results in ejaculation then kaffara
has to be paid. 

It becomes clear that the marriage vows are not revoked even temporarily in
the state of ihram. On the contrary, normal sexual activities are
temporarily prohibited so that one should focus on the purpose of going for
hajj, i.e. attaining closeness to the divine and establishing a close and
intimate relationship with Allah.


Please remember me in your prayers

Liyakatali