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

Answered by Shaykh Bassem Itani

Question

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

Answer

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

Shaykh Dr. Bassem Hussayn Itani was born in Beirut, Lebanon, in 1965. He earned his Ph.D. in Islamic Studies in 2005. Among his mentors were Shaykh Muhammad Taha Sukkar, Shaykh Adib al-Kallas, Shaykh Mulla Abdul ‘Alim al-Zinki, Shaykh Abdul Rahman al-Shaghouri, Shaykh Abdul Razzaq al-Halabi, Shaykh Dr. Mustafa Dib al-Bugha, Shaykh Dr. Wahba al-Zuhayli, Dr. Muhammad al-Zuhayli, and others, may Allah have mercy on them all. 

Shaykh Itani has a rich background in both academic and administrative fields. He has held significant positions in many governmental and non-governmental institutions in Lebanon and abroad. This includes his role as a member of the Academic Committee at SeekersGuidance and a senior teacher with the free online global seminary.

From 2020 to 2021, he served as the Dean of the College of Da‘wa – University for Islamic Studies (Lebanon) – Postgraduate Studies. He was the Director of Dar Iqra for Islamic Sciences from 1998 to 2018. Shaykh Itani is a well-versed teacher in several academic subjects, including Fiqh, Usul, Aqida, and Tafsir. He has supervised and examined numerous Master’s and Doctoral theses at various universities and colleges in Lebanon.

His contributions to Islamic sciences are also evident in his writings and research. His notable works include “The Relied-upon Statements of Imam Zufar in the Hanafi School,” “Collective Ijtihad: The Sublimity of Thought in the 21st Century,” and “Custom and its Impact in Islamic Jurisprudence.” Shaykh Itani has actively participated in numerous scientific conferences and seminars, both in Lebanon and internationally. He is linguistically adept, excelling in Arabic, proficient in French, and comfortably conversant in English.