The esteemed scholars have differed in their views regarding the marital relationship after death and its implications, including whether one spouse can touch the other.
Imam al-᾽A῾ẓam (Abū Ḥanīfah), may Allāh be pleased with him, and Al-Thawrī held that death constitutes a final separation (baynūnah) that ends the marital relationship, and therefore, it is not permissible for one spouse to engage in the same actions they did during life. They argued that a husband can marry his deceased wife’s sister immediately after her death, indicating the final separation and the end of the first relationship.
The majority of scholars, however, believe that such actions are permissible and that the separation pertains to legal rulings and worldly matters. They cite several texts to support their view:
- Ibn Mājah narrated from ῾Aā᾽ishah, may Allāh be pleased with her, that she said: The Messenger of Allāh, peace and blessings be upon him, returned from Al-Baqī῾, and found me suffering from a headache, and I was saying, “Oh, my head!” He said, “Rather, it is I, O ῾Aā᾽ishah, who is suffering from a headache.” Then he said, “What harm would it be to you if you were to die before me, so I could wash you, shroud you, pray over you, and bury you?” This indicates the permissibility of washing and shrouding, which are more intimate actions than kissing.
- Abū Dāwūd narrated from ῾Aā᾽ishah, may Allāh be pleased with her, that she said: “If I could go back and do it over, no one would have washed him (the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him) except his wives.” This also implies actions more intimate than kissing.
- Al-Bayhaqī narrated that Abū Bakr al-Ṣiddīq, may Allāh be pleased with him, instructed that his wife ᾽Asmā᾽ bint ῾Umays, may Allāh be pleased with her, should wash him after his death, and she did so, without any objection from the Companions. Mālik mentioned in Al-Muwaṭṭa᾽ that she indeed washed him after his death.
Based on this, there is no harm in a wife kissing her deceased husband or a husband kissing his deceased wife as an act of compassion and affection, according to the majority of scholars.
Fatwā issued by Dr. Khālid Naṣr
