Fatwa ID: 07698

Answered by: Maulana Ahmed Bodhania  

Question: 

Asalamualikum!
My question is, are parents allowed to caress their kids to make them fall them asleep faster? Especially for the opposite gender like a mom doing it to her son or a father doing it to his daughter? Is it allowed because kids get used to it for the long term? Is it good for them to get caressed?

Also, kindly mention apart from private or inner body parts apart from that, are they allowed to do it on One’s back even over the clothing.
What about the forehead or head massages or tingling their feet?

Also, if it is allowed, when is it allowed till? Like my kid is 7 yr old, she asks us to do it on a daily basis. She is habituated to being caressed on the back of her clothing by both her parents, is this allowed? Is there no harm for her to ask her parents to caress her on her back?

In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful 

Answer 

Wa’alaikum salaam 

Caressing your children on non-private parts like the back, forehead, feet etc. is no problem especially if it is in a way of expressing your love towards them. 

However, if there is a fear of fitnah or unnatural and unhealthy feelings developing then it will be advised to refrain from this. 

Older children should not get into the habit of receiving this, and from an early age it’s advisable that children should be slowly weaned off from this and not put into the habit of receiving this  

Only Allah knows best.

Written by Maulana Ahmed Bodhania

Checked and approved by Mufti Mohammed Tosir Miah

Darul Ifta Birmingham 

وَلَا تَقْرَبُوا۟ ٱلزِّنَىٰٓ ۖ إِنَّهُۥ كَانَ فَـٰحِشَةًۭ وَسَآءَ سَبِيلًۭا 

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