Source: Fatāwā Amunpuri by Shaykh Ghulām Mustafa Zaheer Amunpuri
What is the Islamic ruling on anal intercourse (non-natural intercourse) with one’s wife?
By the immense grace and mercy of Allah, a woman is meant to be a source of tranquility and peace for her husband. This tranquility vanishes when the man violates her sanctity through non-natural (anal) intercourse, which is a grave transgression against the commands of Sharīʿah and an affront to morality and honor.
Such a vile act is rejected by sound reason and unsupported by revelation. A Muslim of upright nature and pure disposition would never commit such a heinous deed.
It is one of the most horrific and disgraceful sins, striking a blow to both intellectual and physical faculties. Its consequences are nothing but disgrace, destruction, and loss. The one who commits it is repeatedly humiliated and fails in both worldly and spiritual life. It is worse than fornication and comes immediately after disbelief in terms of severity. Its harms to society are greater than that of murder. Declaring it permissible is an attack on the pure teachings of Islam, a desecration of the sanctity of marriage, a threat to human health, and a theft of spiritual purity.
إِنَّ اللَّهَ يُحِبُّ التَّوَّابِينَ وَيُحِبُّ الْمُتَطَهِّرِينَ
[Surah al-Baqarah: 222]
Translation:
“Indeed, Allah loves those who constantly repent and those who purify themselves.”
Imām al-Maẓharī al-Zaydānī al-Ḥanafī رحمه الله said:
"Anal intercourse is forbidden in all religions."
Al-Mafātīḥ fī Sharḥ al-Maṣābīḥ: 4/54
Imām Ibn al-Qayyim رحمه الله said:
"Anal intercourse was never permissible in the law of any Prophet. Whoever attributes permissibility to any of the Salaf is a liar."
Zād al-Maʿād: 4/257
Ḥāfiẓ al-Baghawī رحمه الله said:
"Anal intercourse is ḥarām. Whoever does it out of ignorance must be stopped. If he repeats it, he is to be punished with taʿzīr."
Sharḥ al-Sunnah: 6/9
Ḥāfiẓ Ibn Kathīr رحمه الله stated:
"This act resembles the deeds of the people of Lūṭ. The scholars have unanimously declared it ḥarām, except for a deviant view from one among the Salaf. Numerous ḥadīths have prohibited it."
Tafsīr Ibn Kathīr: 3/183
Imām Ibn Nujaym al-Ḥanafī رحمه الله said:
"To consider anal intercourse with one’s wife as ḥalāl is disbelief (kufr) according to the majority."
Al-Ashbāh wa al-Naẓāʾir, p. 191
Shaykh al-Islām Ibn Taymiyyah رحمه الله said:
"Anal intercourse is ḥarām according to the Qur’ān, Sunnah, and the consensus of the Salaf and Khalaf. In fact, it is a form of sodomy."
Majmūʿ al-Fatāwā: 32/266–267
ʿAṭāʾ رحمه الله said:
"It is kufr. The people of Lūṭ started with this; first, they committed it with women, then moved to men."
Masāwī al-Akhlāq by al-Kharā’iṭī: 425 – ḥasan sanad
Ṭāwūs رحمه الله narrated from ʿAbdullāh ibn ʿAbbās رضي الله عنهما:
"It is kufr."
Al-Sunan al-Kubrā by al-Nasāʾī: 9004 – ṣaḥīḥ sanad
In another narration, when Ibn ʿAbbās was asked about it, he said:
"This man is asking me about kufr?"
Muṣannaf ʿAbd al-Razzāq: 11/442, ḥadīth: 20953 – ṣaḥīḥ sanad
Ḥāfiẓ Ibn Kathīr and Ḥāfiẓ Ibn Ḥajar رحمهم الله graded the chain as authentic.
Tafsīr Ibn Kathīr: 1/593
Talkhīṣ al-Ḥabīr: 3/390
Also reported:
"Approach your tilth (wife) from where the crop grows."
Al-Sunan al-Kubrā by al-Bayhaqī: 7/196 – ṣaḥīḥ sanad
Ṭāwūs رحمه الله was asked and replied:
"It is disbelief."
Al-Sunan al-Kubrā by al-Nasāʾī: 9006 – ḥasan sanad
Sayyidunā Abū Hurayrah رضي الله عنه said:
"Whoever commits this act with men or women has committed kufr."
Al-Sunan al-Kubrā by al-Nasāʾī: 9021 – ḥasan sanad
Sayyidunā Abū al-Dardāʾ رضي الله عنه said:
"Can anyone besides a disbeliever do such a thing?"
Zawāʾid Musnad Aḥmad: 2/210 – ṣaḥīḥ sanad
The Tābiʿīn – Ṭāwūs, Saʿīd ibn al-Musayyib, Mujāhid, and ʿAṭāʾ ibn Abī Rabāḥ رحمهم الله – said:
"They used to forbid anal intercourse and said it is kufr."
Sunan al-Dārimī: 1185 – ḥasan sanad
Imām ʿIkrimah narrated from Ibn ʿAbbās رضي الله عنهما:
"He disliked anal intercourse strongly and condemned it severely."
Sunan al-Dārimī: 1178 – ṣaḥīḥ sanad
Imām Mujāhid رحمه الله said in the tafsīr of the verse:
"Whoever approaches his wife from the back is not among the purified."
Al-Sunan al-Kubrā by al-Nasāʾī: 9022
Tafsīr al-Ṭabarī: 3/743 – ḥasan sanad
Imām Mālik رحمه الله said:
"To my knowledge, it is ḥarām."
Al-Sunan al-Kubrā by al-Nasāʾī: 9128 – ṣaḥīḥ sanad
➤ Anal intercourse is harām (forbidden) in all divine laws.
➤ Its prohibition is established by the Qur’ān, Sunnah, and the consensus of the scholars from both early and later generations.
➤ It is akin to the practice of the people of Lūṭ, may Allah’s curse be upon them.
➤ Many of the Salaf have equated it with disbelief (kufr).
➤ Declaring it permissible is considered kufr by the majority of scholars.
➤ It is a disgraceful, unnatural, and spiritually destructive act, with far-reaching physical and societal harms.
❖ Question:
What is the Islamic ruling on anal intercourse (non-natural intercourse) with one’s wife?
✿ Answer:
By the immense grace and mercy of Allah, a woman is meant to be a source of tranquility and peace for her husband. This tranquility vanishes when the man violates her sanctity through non-natural (anal) intercourse, which is a grave transgression against the commands of Sharīʿah and an affront to morality and honor.
Such a vile act is rejected by sound reason and unsupported by revelation. A Muslim of upright nature and pure disposition would never commit such a heinous deed.
It is one of the most horrific and disgraceful sins, striking a blow to both intellectual and physical faculties. Its consequences are nothing but disgrace, destruction, and loss. The one who commits it is repeatedly humiliated and fails in both worldly and spiritual life. It is worse than fornication and comes immediately after disbelief in terms of severity. Its harms to society are greater than that of murder. Declaring it permissible is an attack on the pure teachings of Islam, a desecration of the sanctity of marriage, a threat to human health, and a theft of spiritual purity.
✦ Qur’anic Reference:
إِنَّ اللَّهَ يُحِبُّ التَّوَّابِينَ وَيُحِبُّ الْمُتَطَهِّرِينَ
[Surah al-Baqarah: 222]Translation:
“Indeed, Allah loves those who constantly repent and those who purify themselves.”
✦ Scholarly Statements:
Imām al-Maẓharī al-Zaydānī al-Ḥanafī رحمه الله said:
"Anal intercourse is forbidden in all religions."
Al-Mafātīḥ fī Sharḥ al-Maṣābīḥ: 4/54Imām Ibn al-Qayyim رحمه الله said:
"Anal intercourse was never permissible in the law of any Prophet. Whoever attributes permissibility to any of the Salaf is a liar."
Zād al-Maʿād: 4/257Ḥāfiẓ al-Baghawī رحمه الله said:
"Anal intercourse is ḥarām. Whoever does it out of ignorance must be stopped. If he repeats it, he is to be punished with taʿzīr."
Sharḥ al-Sunnah: 6/9Ḥāfiẓ Ibn Kathīr رحمه الله stated:
"This act resembles the deeds of the people of Lūṭ. The scholars have unanimously declared it ḥarām, except for a deviant view from one among the Salaf. Numerous ḥadīths have prohibited it."
Tafsīr Ibn Kathīr: 3/183Imām Ibn Nujaym al-Ḥanafī رحمه الله said:
"To consider anal intercourse with one’s wife as ḥalāl is disbelief (kufr) according to the majority."
Al-Ashbāh wa al-Naẓāʾir, p. 191Shaykh al-Islām Ibn Taymiyyah رحمه الله said:
"Anal intercourse is ḥarām according to the Qur’ān, Sunnah, and the consensus of the Salaf and Khalaf. In fact, it is a form of sodomy."
Majmūʿ al-Fatāwā: 32/266–267ʿAṭāʾ رحمه الله said:
"It is kufr. The people of Lūṭ started with this; first, they committed it with women, then moved to men."
Masāwī al-Akhlāq by al-Kharā’iṭī: 425 – ḥasan sanadṬāwūs رحمه الله narrated from ʿAbdullāh ibn ʿAbbās رضي الله عنهما:
"It is kufr."
Al-Sunan al-Kubrā by al-Nasāʾī: 9004 – ṣaḥīḥ sanadIn another narration, when Ibn ʿAbbās was asked about it, he said:
"This man is asking me about kufr?"
Muṣannaf ʿAbd al-Razzāq: 11/442, ḥadīth: 20953 – ṣaḥīḥ sanadḤāfiẓ Ibn Kathīr and Ḥāfiẓ Ibn Ḥajar رحمهم الله graded the chain as authentic.
Tafsīr Ibn Kathīr: 1/593 Talkhīṣ al-Ḥabīr: 3/390Also reported:
"Approach your tilth (wife) from where the crop grows."
Al-Sunan al-Kubrā by al-Bayhaqī: 7/196 – ṣaḥīḥ sanadṬāwūs رحمه الله was asked and replied:
"It is disbelief."
Al-Sunan al-Kubrā by al-Nasāʾī: 9006 – ḥasan sanadSayyidunā Abū Hurayrah رضي الله عنه said:
"Whoever commits this act with men or women has committed kufr."
Al-Sunan al-Kubrā by al-Nasāʾī: 9021 – ḥasan sanadSayyidunā Abū al-Dardāʾ رضي الله عنه said:
"Can anyone besides a disbeliever do such a thing?"
Zawāʾid Musnad Aḥmad: 2/210 – ṣaḥīḥ sanadThe Tābiʿīn – Ṭāwūs, Saʿīd ibn al-Musayyib, Mujāhid, and ʿAṭāʾ ibn Abī Rabāḥ رحمهم الله – said:
"They used to forbid anal intercourse and said it is kufr."
Sunan al-Dārimī: 1185 – ḥasan sanadImām ʿIkrimah narrated from Ibn ʿAbbās رضي الله عنهما:
"He disliked anal intercourse strongly and condemned it severely."
Sunan al-Dārimī: 1178 – ṣaḥīḥ sanadImām Mujāhid رحمه الله said in the tafsīr of the verse:
"Whoever approaches his wife from the back is not among the purified."
Al-Sunan al-Kubrā by al-Nasāʾī: 9022 Tafsīr al-Ṭabarī: 3/743 – ḥasan sanadImām Mālik رحمه الله said:
"To my knowledge, it is ḥarām."
Al-Sunan al-Kubrā by al-Nasāʾī: 9128 – ṣaḥīḥ sanad
Summary:
➤ Anal intercourse is harām (forbidden) in all divine laws.
➤ Its prohibition is established by the Qur’ān, Sunnah, and the consensus of the scholars from both early and later generations.
➤ It is akin to the practice of the people of Lūṭ, may Allah’s curse be upon them.
➤ Many of the Salaf have equated it with disbelief (kufr).
➤ Declaring it permissible is considered kufr by the majority of scholars.
➤ It is a disgraceful, unnatural, and spiritually destructive act, with far-reaching physical and societal harms.
