It is Not Permissible to Touch One's Wife Before Making the Atonement

Question :

An argument took place between my wife and I while I was in Egypt, and before I traveled to the Kingdom (of Saudi Arabia) I swore an oath of Zihar to her. Then I came to know lately, after arriving in the Kingdom, from listening to the program Nur Ala Ad-Darb, that the atonement for this is to fast sixty days consecutively, but because the month of Ramadhan was neare and after Ramadhan, I traveled to Egypt to spend a month and a half with my wife, as she does not live with me in the Kingdom, which made it impractical for me to fast the two months while I was with her in Egypt. So is it permissible for me to make love with her before I fast the two months, then after arriving in the Kingdom to fast, or what should I do?

Answer:

It is an obligation upon one who has uttered Az-Zihar to his wife or declared her forbidden, to free a believing slave before touching his wife. If he is unable to do so, then he must fast for two consecutive months. If he cannot do that, then he must feed sixty poor persons, giving each poor person half a Sa' of the staple food of of that that country, such as dates, rice or anything else. In weight, the amount of it is approximately one and a half kilograms. The evidence for this is in the Words of Allah, the Almighty, the All-Powerful:
And those who make unlawful to them (their wives) by Zihär and wish to free themselves from what they uttered, (the penalty) in that case is the freeing of a slave before they touch each other. That is an admonition to you (so that you may not repeat such an ill thing). And Allah is All-Aware of what you do. And he who finds not (the money for freeing a slave) must fast two successive months before they both touch each other. And he who is unable to do so, should feed sixty Masäkin (poor).

So it is not permissible for you to approach her until you have performed this atonement, according to the above-mentioned sequence. May Allah grant you success and make your affairs easy.

Source:
Ibn Baz
Fatawa Islamiyah, Vol. 6 Pages 81-82