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Last Update: 11:06 GMT, Wednesday, Dec. 09, 2009

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Question and Answer Details

Name of Questioner

imran   - Pakistan

Title

Signs of Indearment

Question

As salamu ‘alaykum

 

I would like to ask if giving gifts to my fiancé is allowed in Islam. I mean without interacting with her. Is there any restriction on the type of gifts? I know we cannot meet in private or talk in private, but can we exchange gifts to show each other that we care. I live abroad, and I was planning to send her some gifts for her birthday as my relative is visiting her country. Can I send flowers or a rose?

Secondly, I want to know what consummates Islamic marriage? Is it only intercourse, or can kissing or hugging consummate the marriage? Please guide me.

 

May Allah bless you for all your efforts in this world and the Hereafter. 

 

Date

05/Nov/2009

Name of Counsellor

Hwaa Irfan

Topic

Want to get married

Answer

As salamu ‘alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh

 

It is not apparent from what you have said that you and your fiancée have met. If it is going to be an arranged marriage, we pray that it is with the full consent of both of you. It can be pretty difficult to maintain relations at long distance, even with the level of tenderness there seems to be between the both of you. My reason for saying this is that we pray that the affection between the both of you survives this phase and continues into marriage. Maintaining a relationship over long  know distance with someone one does not know very well, can lead to an overactive imagination, which in turn can lead to disappointment in marriage, because what one perceives during the engagement may differ to the reality of marital relations. The well established engagement period is not actually a part of Islam, but it is allowed for if the engagement period is short. So be mindful of maintaining this engagement for a long period.

 

As already started, the level of tenderness that seems to be demonstrated between the both of you is admirable without breaking the Islamic remit. Also acknowledge that neither of you are bound to each other until after marriage, so when exchanging gifts, do not put too much emotional ties into the gifts. This should then guide you as to what sort of gifts you can exchange. Keeping the gifts limited to birthdays etc would help in this regard.

 

As for consummation of marriage, one wonders if there is any anxiety that you may hold on this issue. Consummation means as you fear, intercourse. It is the sacred aspect of marriage that entitles you to be responsible to and for one another, which also gives you the right to create life by the Will of Allah (SWT). The kissing and the hugging are but acts of intimacy that lead to a willingness to consummate. It may be that you feel that you are not ready for this level of intimacy, but certain questions about the marriage can lead you to overly anxious until you are married. Instead think positively about the tangible parts of the marriage, and leave the acts of intimacy to when that occasion arises, insha-Allah.  As much as you can, aim to reduce the period of engagement to eliminate having such anxious thoughts.

 

 

For further guidance, please try the following link(s):
Getting Married!
Conditions of Valid Marriage
Must Spouses Have Intercourse on the First Night of Marriage?

Intimate Relations: What is Allowed & What is Not?

 

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