Is it permissible to fondle one's wife while she is menstruating or in a state of postpartum bleeding?

A man's intimacy with his menstruating or post-natal wife falls into three categories:

The first, intercourse in the vagina, which is forbidden by the consensus of Muslims.

The second, intimacy above the navel and below the knee, which is permissible by the agreement of scholars.

The third, intimacy between the navel and the knee, excluding the front and back passages. Scholars have differed on this, but the preferred and most strongly supported view is that it is permissible.

The evidence for its permissibility:

- Allah Almighty's saying: (So keep away from women during menstruation. And do not approach them until they are pure) Al-Baqarah/222. "Menstruation" here refers to the vagina, and specifying the place of blood for avoidance indicates the permissibility of what is other than it.

- The Hadith: "Do everything except intercourse," narrated by Muslim.

- The Hadith that the Prophet, peace be upon him, when he desired something from a menstruating woman, would place a cloth over her private parts, narrated by Abu Dawud.

- It is better for a man to instruct his wife to wear a garment that covers the area between the navel and the knee, and then engage in intimacy with her in other areas, as narrated by Aisha and Maymunah, may Allah be pleased with them.

The aforementioned rulings apply to both menstruating and post-natal women.