Is it permissible for the suitor to express his love to his fiancée, knowing that she is a non-mahram to him and he is about to marry her, and would this be considered among the "appropriate speech" (قول معروف) that does not imply "I love you and adore you," according to Ibn Abbas's interpretation of the verse: "unless they speak appropriate words" (إلا أن يقولوا قولًا معروفًا)?
The suitor is a stranger to his fiancée, so it is forbidden for him to be alone with her. He may speak with her in the presence of one of her mahrams (unmarriageable kin) and in a manner that does not lead to corruption. Scholars have prohibited a stranger from offering condolences to a young, unrelated woman. It is forbidden for an unrelated woman to initiate a greeting of peace (salam), and it is disliked for a man to initiate salam with an unrelated woman according to the Shafi'is and some other scholars. Therefore, for the suitor to say to his fiancée, "I love you" or "I adore you," contains an enticement that could lead to what is forbidden, and this must be avoided.
Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026
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