Is it permissible for a suitor to speak to his fiancée over the phone?

The Shaykh : There remains an issue that was not possible in the past but is possible now, which is speaking to her on the telephone. Is it permissible for him to speak to her on the telephone? The answer is no, it is not permissible, because she is still a non-mahram (foreign woman) to him. Speaking to one’s fiancée, in my opinion, is never free from enjoyment or pleasure. It is never free of it, even if he says to you, “I only speak to her to see how she is, what qualifications she has, what her thoughts are, and so on.” Glory to Allah the Great. Her qualifications are known; ask her family. Her thoughts, you will learn them. But do you speak with her from eight at night until four in the morning, saying, “I just want to see what kind of woman she is and what her goal is”? I tell you, this is a reality. People ask, and when asked why, they say, “I just want to see how she is, what she has, what her opinions are, and what her thoughts are.” I believe, and Allah knows best, that this is a lie, and that the conversation, especially a long one like this, is never free from enjoyment or pleasure. Either he enjoys her and finds himself at ease, or he takes pleasure in her and finds his desire stirred. This is inevitable. Therefore, we see that it is not permissible for a suitor to speak to his fiancée over the phone because of the fitnah (trial, discord or temptation) involved. She is not yet his wife for him to enjoy her speech and take pleasure in it. Until now, she is a non-mahram, like a woman in the market. That is all.