Majma al-Zawaid — Hadith 1439

Sayyiduna Rifa'ah bin Rafi' (may Allah be pleased with him), who had the honour of taking part in the Pledge of Aqabah and the Battle of Badr, narrates: I was with Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) when he was told that Sayyiduna Zayd bin Thabit (may Allah be pleased with him) was giving the people a fatwa in the mosque, based on his own opinion, that a person who has intercourse and does not ejaculate is not required to take a ritual bath (ghusl). Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "Bring him to me quickly." He was brought, and Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "O enemy of yourself! I have learned that you give the people fatwas in the mosque of the Messenger of Allah based on your own opinion?" He said: "I have not done so; rather, my paternal uncles narrated a hadith to me from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)." Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) asked: "Which of your paternal uncles?" He replied: "Sayyiduna Ubayy bin Ka'b (may Allah be pleased with him), Sayyiduna Abu Ayyub al-Ansari (may Allah be pleased with him) and Sayyiduna Rifa'ah bin Rafi' (may Allah be pleased with him)." Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) turned to me and said: "What is this boy saying?" I said: "In the blessed time of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) we used to do that." Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) asked: "Did you ask the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) about it?" Sayyiduna Rifa'ah (may Allah be pleased with him) said only: "In the blessed time of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) we used to do this." The narrator said: Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) gathered the people, and the people agreed that the ritual bath is required only by the emission of semen, except for Sayyiduna Ali bin Abi Talib (may Allah be pleased with him) and Sayyiduna Mu'adh bin Jabal (may Allah be pleased with him); these two said: "When the private part passes the private part, the ritual bath becomes obligatory." The narrator said: Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "O Commander of the Believers, the ones with the most knowledge of this matter will be the wives of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him)." Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) sent a message to Sayyidah Hafsah (may Allah be pleased with her), and she said: "I have no knowledge of this." Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) sent a message to Sayyidah Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her), and she said: "When the private part passes the private part, the ritual bath becomes obligatory." Then Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) showed his anger and said: "If I now learn that anyone has done this, I will punish him."
Ahmad, and al-Tabarani in al-Mu'jam al-Kabir, recorded it. The narrators of Ahmad are thiqat (trustworthy), except that the narrator Ibn Ishaq is a mudallis (one who conceals defects in the chain), though otherwise he is thiqah. Part of this report is narrated in the "Sahih". Al-Tabarani recorded these words in al-Mu'jam al-Kabir: Then they began to discuss coitus interruptus ('azl), and they said that there is no harm in it. A man spoke something in a whisper to his companion, and he (Umar) asked: "What is this whispering about?" One of the two said: "He is saying that this is a lesser form of burying alive." Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "It cannot be burying alive until it has passed through seven stages. Allah Almighty has said: 'And We created man from an extract of clay; then We placed him as a drop of fluid in a firm resting place,' up to: 'So blessed is Allah, the best of creators.'" The narrator said: So all the people dispersed convinced of the verdict of Sayyiduna Ali bin Abi Talib (may Allah be pleased with him), that there is no harm in it (that is, in coitus interruptus).