Question: Is it permissible to French kiss your wife? Meaning kissing with your tongue
بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
الحمد لله رب العالمين والصلاة والسلام على سيد المرسلين وعلى اله و اصحابه اجمعين
Answer:
In Islam, the general principle regarding intimacy between husband and wife is that everything is permissible unless Allah and His Messenger have explicitly declared it unlawful.
Regarding French kissing (kissing with the tongue), the details are as follows:
Basic Principle: Permissibility
Allah Almighty says in the Holy Qur’an:
هُنَّ لِبَاسٌ لَّكُمْ وَ اَنْتُمْ لِبَاسٌ لَّهُنَّؕ
“They (your wives) are a garment for you, and you are a garment for them.”
(Al-Baqarah: 187)
The commentators explain that this verse means husband and wife are a source of comfort, closeness, and pleasure for one another. Based on this, kissing and expressions of affection within marriage — even with the tongue — are fundamentally permissible (halal). The Sunnah also supports expressions of affection between spouses.
1: The Issue of Saliva
In French kissing, the exchange of saliva is often discussed.
Purity (Taharah): According to all four major schools of Islamic jurisprudence (Hanafi, Maliki, Shafi‘i, Hanbali), human saliva is pure (tahir). Therefore, the exchange of saliva between husband and wife does not impure.
2: render either
Swallowing: As long as it occurs naturally as part of intimacy, it is not treated as “drinking saliva” in a separate legal sense that would require a distinct ruling.
3: The Issue of Wudu (Ablution)
According to the Hanafi school, touching one’s wife with desire or kissing does not invalidate wudu. However, if a strong state of arousal occurs, it is recommended (mustahabb) to renew wudu before prayer.
4: During Ramadan (While Fasting)
This is the one situation where greater caution is required.
- If husband and wife are fasting, they must be extremely careful. French kissing is highly disliked (makruh) while fasting, and if one swallows the spouse’s saliva, the fast will be broken.
- Therefore, it is advised to completely avoid such acts while in the state of fasting.
Summary
- Is it permissible? Yes, it is natural part of marital relations.
- Is it impure? No, it is pure.
- Does it break wudu? No, though renewing wudu is preferable as a precaution.
Answered by the Hafiz-e-Millat team
Verified by Maulana Nazim Qadri
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