552 – ʿĀʾishah (may Allah be pleased with her) reported: “The Prophet ﷺ used to kiss while he was fasting and would engage in physical contact while he was fasting, yet he was the most self-restrained of you with respect to his desire.” Agreed upon; the wording is that of Muslim. One narration adds: “during Ramadan.”(1)

Glossary of the ḥadīth
• yubāshir (physical contact): taken from the root referring to the outer skin. Here it denotes kissing and touching for the sake of desire; the author lists it after “kissing,” so the latter is the specific act and “physical contact” the more general.
• irbah: pronounced with a kasrah on the hamzah, sukūn on the rāʾ, and kasrah on the bāʾ. In this context it refers specifically to the male organ, meaning that he ﷺ had full mastery over his passion. Al-Nawawī said: this word is reported with both kasrah and fatḥah on the hamzah and rāʾ. With either vocalization it signifies “need,” and it is also used for a bodily limb, here intended to mean the male organ in particular.
• amlakakum (the most self-restrained of you): the superlative form of malaka (“to control, to restrain”). Al-Muḥīṭ states: “He restrained himself at the time of desire,” meaning he was able to hold it back.

Points derived from the ḥadīth

1. The report proves that a man may kiss his wife while he is fasting in Ramadan, provided he is certain that such a kiss will not arouse his desire.
2. It likewise proves that a man may engage in other forms of physical intimacy with his wife while fasting, on the condition that he trusts himself—and her—not to become sexually aroused.