Just as it is not permissible to eat or drink while fasting, it is also forbidden to have sexual intercourse with a woman. But many have the question, is it permissible to have intercourse with one’s wife on the night of Ramadan? Will there be any difficulty in having intercourse with wife in Ramadan?

The answer to this question is: Allaah says in the Holy Qur’aan, ‘It is lawful for you to go to your wives on the night of fasting. They are garments for you and you are garments for them. God knows that you used to betray yourselves. Then He accepted your repentance and forgave you. So join them now and seek what Allah has ordained for you. ‘ (Surat al-Baqara, Ayat: 18)

In that verse, Allah has made it lawful to have intercourse with one’s wife from the time of Iftar in the month of Ramadan until the time of Sadiq in the morning. However, in the case of sexual intercourse in Ramadan, one must be careful. Because, if he has sexual intercourse during the day in the month of Ramadan, he will be sinful. His fast of that day will be broken. It will be obligatory to perform the fast of that day.

Can sahri be eaten before the obligatory bath?

If bathing is obligatory on a person, and he eats sahri without taking a bath, then his fast will not be a problem. It is proved by several hadiths that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) took sahri in the state of junub (bathing is obligatory). Besides, it is also proved that he used to perform aju before eating sahri. However, it should be kept in mind that if one plays Sehri while bathing is obligatory, one must attain purity through bathing before Fajr prayers.

Umm al-Muminin Ayesha (may Allah be pleased with her) narrated that in the month of Ramadan, the Fajr of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) would have taken place in an impure state (that is, in an impure state through intercourse with a woman) without any nightmares. Then he would take a bath and fast. ‘ (Sahih Bukhari, Hadith: 1829; Muslim, Hadith: 1109)

Another wife of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and Umm al-Muminin Umm Salamah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) narrated that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) used to perform Fajr when he was unclean. Then he would take a bath and fast. ‘ (Sahih Bukhari, Hadith: 1926)

Therefore, if a person does this, his fast will be over, but he must take a bath before the Fajr prayers. Otherwise the Fajr prayers will be performed, which is not permissible in any way.

And the rule of obligatory bathing while fasting is the same as the rule of other times. However, it is not permissible to take a bath while fasting. Rather, he will do it three times. Also water will not reach the soft spot of the nose. The reason is that if you sneeze and give water to the soft part of the nose, there is a danger of water getting out of the throat, and this will break the fast. So these two things will not work during the aju-bath in the month of Ramadan.