What Is Permissible in Marital Relations according to the Hanafi School? – Shaykh Bassem Itani

What is permissible in marital relations with the wife according to the Hanafi school?

All praise is due to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and blessings and peace be upon our master Muhammad, his Family, and all his Companions.

It is permissible for a man during marital relations with his wife to do anything that does not harm her, except that it is forbidden for him to have intercourse with his wife through her anus.

Allah (Most High) says:

“Your wives are like farmland for you, so approach them (consensually) as you please.” [Quran, 2:223]

This means: have intercourse with your wives in any position you desire, whether the wife is lying down, sitting, standing, or in any other position, as long as the intercourse is in the vagina, which is the place of cultivation. Cultivation is the act of placing the seed in the ground and preparing it for planting, meaning: approach your wives as you approach your lands that you want to cultivate from any direction you wish. [Nasafi, Tafsir al-Nasafi]

Anal intercourse, however, is not a place of cultivation.

There is a curse upon one who has intercourse with his wife through her anus. The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said:

“Cursed is the one who has intercourse with his wife in her anus.” [Abu Dawud]

The wife is lawful for the husband, and the husband is lawful for the wife. Sacred Law has permitted both parties to derive pleasure from each other, prohibiting only one thing: intercourse through the anus. Both should be aware of this to avoid the curse of Allah (Most High).

[Shaykh] Bassem Itani