💍 Khitbah & engagement · #14
May the fiancé himself put the ring on his fiancée's finger?
No, because skin contact with a non-mahram is forbidden even after engagement.
According to the Shafi'i school, touching a non-mahram (ajnabi) woman without urgent necessity is forbidden. Aishah r.a. stated that the hand of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ never touched the hand of a (non-mahram) woman, even during the pledge of allegiance. In Malay custom, the ring is put on by the man's mother or female relative, and that is the way in keeping with Syariah. The same applies to pre-wedding photo sessions: avoid holding hands or embracing. An engagement is not half a marriage; touch is only lawful after the contract. See khitbah (proposal).
According to the Shafi'i school, touching a non-mahram (ajnabi) woman without urgent necessity is forbidden. Aishah r.a. stated that the hand of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ never touched the hand of a (non-mahram) woman, even during the pledge of allegiance. In Malay custom, the ring is put on by the man's mother or female relative, and that is the way in keeping with Syariah. The same applies to pre-wedding photo sessions: avoid holding hands or embracing. An engagement is not half a marriage; touch is only lawful after the contract. See khitbah (proposal).
Difference among the schools. Some Hanafi and Hanbali scholars permit shaking hands with elderly women where no desire is aroused; but no school permits touching a young fiancée.
Sources
Narrated by al-Bukhari and Muslim (the hadith of Aishah on the women's pledge of allegiance)