Dua before intimacy, from the Sunnah.

Before intimacy, a husband or wife says Bismillah, Allahumma jannibnash-shaytana wa jannibish-shaytana ma razaqtana. The Prophet ﷺ said that if a child is decreed from that union, Satan will never harm it.¹ It is a short dua that brings Allah's name into the most private part of married life.

When to say it

Say it just before, quietly. Either spouse may say it, and it is good for both to. If you forget, there is no sin. Try to make it a habit, as you say Bismillah before eating.

Why a dua at such a moment?

Islam does not treat married intimacy as something shameful or outside worship. Saying Allah's name before it, as before eating or sleeping, makes it an act done with Him in mind, asks for protection for any child that may come, and keeps Satan's share out of the home.

Intimacy in marriage is rewarded

The Prophet ﷺ told the Companions that a man's intimacy with his wife is a charity. They asked how fulfilling a desire could be rewarded, and he said that if it were done unlawfully it would be a sin, so done lawfully it brings reward.²

Manners from the Sunnah

• Be gentle and kind, and think of your spouse's needs as well as your own.
• Keep what happens between you private. The Prophet ﷺ warned against a man who spreads his wife's secrets.³
• Intimacy is not allowed during menstruation or post-natal bleeding (Quran 2:222), or during the fasting day in Ramadan. At night in Ramadan it is allowed: see intimacy in Ramadan.
• Afterwards, ghusl is required before the next prayer. If you want to sleep first, or to be intimate again, wash and make wudu.⁴ See how to do ghusl.

1. Sahih al-Bukhari 141; Sahih Muslim 1434.
2. Sahih Muslim 1006.
3. Sahih Muslim 1437.
4. Sahih al-Bukhari 288; Sahih Muslim 308.
5. Sahih al-Bukhari 141; Sahih Muslim 1434

The rulings on this page are pending review by the scholars on our team.