Analytical Review of 8 Narrations Regarding Intercourse in a Wife's Anus
Taken from: Fatāwā ad-Dīn al-Khāliṣ, Vol. 1, p. 200❖ Question:
Is the usage of the term "Liwāṭah" (لِواطت) permissible in Islamic jurisprudence?
❖ Answer:
Wa ʿalaykum as-Salām wa raḥmatullāhi wa barakātuh!
Alḥamdulillāh, peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah. To proceed:
Shaykh al-Sayyid ʿAbd al-Salām Rustamī ḥafiẓahullāh has highlighted several aḥādīth from which the permissibility of using the term “Liwāṭah” can be derived. Below are some important narrations and reports which clearly show that this word was used by the Salaf and that its usage is legally acceptable.
✿ 
Narrations from Imām Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal رحمه الله
Musnad Aḥmad (2/2100186)Chain of Narration:
ʿAbdullāh → His father → ʿAbd al-Raḥmān → Hammām → Qatādah → ʿAmr ibn Shuʿayb → His father → His grandfather
Text of Ḥadīth:
"Indeed, the Prophet ﷺ said: This is minor Liwāṭah – when a man approaches his wife in her anus."
Another report by Imām Aḥmad:Chain of Narration:
ʿAbdullāh → His father → ʿAbd al-Ṣamad → Hammām → Qatādah → ʿAmr ibn Shuʿayb → His father → His grandfather
Text of Ḥadīth:
"Indeed, the Prophet ﷺ said: Whoever comes to his wife from her anus, it is minor Liwāṭah."
Further Details:In another narration, Qatādah was asked about a man who has intercourse with his wife through her anus, and he related the same statement.
This narration was also cited by Imām Aḥmad, al-Bazzār, and al-Ṭabarānī in al-Awsaṭ.
The narrators in Aḥmad and al-Bazzār's chains are narrators of authentic aḥādīth.
✿ Opinions of the Hadith Scholars
Imām Ibn Kathīr رحمه الله – Tafsīr Ibn Kathīr (1/263)
"This is a mawqūf report, i.e., it is the statement of ʿAbdullāh ibn ʿAmr, and that is what I consider correct."
Imām al-Bayhaqī رحمه الله – As-Sunan al-Kubrā (7/19)
He recorded the same narration marfūʿan (ascribed to the Prophet ﷺ) with a sound chain.
Shaykh al-Albānī رحمه الله – Ghāyat al-Marām, Ḥadīth No. 234
"This was narrated by Imām Aḥmad in sections 712–210."
Al-Haythamī and al-Mundhirī's Views:
They criticized ʿAmr ibn Shuʿayb and his forefathers for not being narrators in the Ṣaḥīḥayn, but this is an unusual and weak objection.
✿ Another Report by Imām Aḥmad
Musnad Aḥmad (1/3179)Chain of Narration:
ʿAbdullāh → His father → Yaʿqūb → His father → Ibn Isḥāq
Text:
"Ibn ʿAbbās رضي الله عنهما said: The Messenger ﷺ mentioned the matter of Liwāṭah three times."
Clarification:
Although Ibn Isḥāq is a mudallis, he explicitly used the term "ḥaddathanā", indicating that the report is authentic.
✿ Narration from Imām Abū Dāwūd رحمه الله
Sunan Abī Dāwūd (2/257) – Kitāb al-Ḥudūd, Ḥadīth No. 4463Chain of Narration:
Isḥāq ibn Ibrāhīm ar-Rāhūyah → ʿAbd al-Razzāq → Ibn Jurayj → Ibn Khuthaym → Saʿīd ibn Jubayr, Mujāhid → Ibn ʿAbbās رضي الله عنهما
Hadith Text:
"If an unmarried man is caught committing Liwāṭah, he should be stoned."
Clarification:
This is a mawqūf narration but with an authentic chain, as also verified in Ṣaḥīḥ Abī Dāwūd (3/844).
✿ Other Sources and References:
- Juzʾ Ibn ʿAsākir: Discusses the prohibition of passive Liwāṭah.
- Kitāb Abū Muḥammad: A treatise titled "Dhamm al-Liwāṭ".
Both books are published and accessible. - Ibn Abī Shaybah (5329): Includes āthār supporting this position.
- Muṣannaf ʿAbd al-Razzāq (7/426) and Al-Muḥallā by Ibn Ḥazm (11/115):
Both works address the same issue and support the view that the use of the word "Liwāṭah" is Sharʿīly acceptable.
✔ Conclusion:
From all these narrations and reports, it becomes clear that the term "Liwāṭah" was indeed used in the speech of the Ṣaḥābah, Tābiʿīn, and muḥaddithīn, and that there is Sharʿī allowance for its usage.
It has not only been linguistically recognized, but is also mentioned in authentic narrations.
❖ Hādhā mā ʿindī, wallāhu aʿlam biṣ-ṣawāb.
