What is the Ruling on Anal Intercourse with One’s Wife? In the Light of Hadith
Source: Fatāwā Amunpuri by Shaykh Ghulam Mustafa Zaheer Amunpuri
What is the ruling on anal intercourse with one’s wife?
Anal intercourse is a disgusting and immoral act that is explicitly prohibited (ḥarām) and classified among the major sins (kabāʾir). It leads to severe wrath from Allah, and there is no doubt regarding its prohibition.
❀ ʿAllāmah Mazhari Zaydānī Ḥanafī رحمه الله (d. 727 AH) said:
"Anal intercourse with a woman is prohibited in all religions."
[Al-Mafātīḥ fī Sharḥ al-Maṣābīḥ: 4/54]
❀ Imām Ibn al-Qayyim رحمه الله (d. 751 AH) wrote:
"Anal intercourse with a woman was never permissible in the law of any Prophet. Whoever attributes permissibility of this act to the Salaf is a liar."
[Zād al-Maʿād: 4/257]
❀ Imām al-Baghawī رحمه الله (d. 510 AH) said:
أما الإتيان في الدبر فحرام، فمن فعله جاهلاً بتحريمه، نُهي عنه، فإن عاد عُزِّر.
"Anal intercourse with one’s wife is ḥarām. If someone does it out of ignorance, he should be prohibited. If he repeats it, he should be punished with taʿzīr (disciplinary punishment)."
[Sharḥ al-Sunnah: 9/6]
❀ Imām Ibn Kathīr رحمه الله (d. 774 AH) said:
"This act resembles the deeds of the people of Lūṭ and is unanimously deemed ḥarām by scholars, except for a deviant, solitary opinion among the Salaf. However, there are numerous aḥādīth prohibiting this act."
[Tafsīr Ibn Kathīr: 3/183]
❀ Imām Ibn Nujaym al-Ḥanafī رحمه الله (d. 970 AH) said:
"Considering anal intercourse with one’s wife to be ḥalāl is an act of disbelief (kufr) according to the majority of scholars."
[Al-Ashbāh wa al-Naẓāʾir, p. 191]
❀ The Shīʿah cleric Khomeinī wrote:
الأقوى والأظهر جواز وطء الزوجة في الدبر على كراهة شديدة.
"The stronger and more apparent view is that anal intercourse with one’s wife is permissible, though highly disliked."
[Taḥrīr al-Wasīlah: 2/241]
"Anal intercourse with a woman is ḥarām according to the Qur’an and Sunnah. This is also the view of the majority of earlier and later scholars. In fact, it is a filthy act similar to sodomy (liwāṭ)."
[Majmūʿ al-Fatāwā: 32/266–267]
❀ ʿAṭā’ رحمه الله was asked about this act, and he said:
تلك كفر، ما بدأ قوم لوط إلا بذلك، أتوا النساء في أدبارهن، ثم أتى الرجال الرجال.
"That is disbelief. The people of Lūṭ began their deviation by practicing anal intercourse with women, and then moved on to men."
[Masāwī al-Akhlāq by al-Kharāʾiṭī: 425 – sanad ḥasan]
❀ Ṭāwūs رحمه الله said regarding a man who committed this:
ذلك الكفر.
"That is disbelief (kufr)."
[Al-Sunan al-Kubrā by al-Nasā’ī: 9004 – sanad ṣaḥīḥ]
❀ A narration from the Prophet ﷺ regarding such a person states:
هذا يسألني عن الكفر؟
"This man is asking me about kufr?"
[Muṣannaf ʿAbd al-Razzāq: 11/442, ḥadīth 20953 – sanad ṣaḥīḥ]
Also verified by: Ibn Kathīr in Tafsīr Ibn Kathīr 1/593 and Ibn Ḥajar in Talkhīṣ al-Ḥabīr: 3/390
"أَتُوا حَرْثَكُمْ أَنَّىٰ شِئْتُمْ"
"Go to your tilth (wives) when and how you will."
But this is restricted by the Prophet ﷺ to only vaginal intercourse, even if from behind.
[Al-Sunan al-Kubrā by al-Bayhaqī: 7/196 – sanad ṣaḥīḥ]
❀ Abū Hurayrah رضي الله عنه said:
من أتى أدبار الرجال والنساء فقد كفر.
"Whoever commits this act with men or women has committed kufr."
[Al-Sunan al-Kubrā by al-Nasā’ī: 9021 – sanad ḥasan]
❀ Abū al-Dardā’ رضي الله عنه said:
هل يفعل ذلك إلا كافر؟
"Does anyone besides a disbeliever commit such an act?"
[Zawāʾid Musnad Aḥmad: 2/210 – sanad ṣaḥīḥ]
Imams Ṭāwūs, Saʿīd ibn al-Musayyib, Mujāhid, and ʿAṭā’ ibn Abī Rabāḥ رحمهم الله all prohibited this and said:
هو كفر.
"It is kufr (disbelief)."
[Sunan al-Dārimī: 1185 – sanad ḥasan]
كان يكره إتيان الرجل امرأته في دبرها، ويعيبه عيباً شديداً.
"He used to dislike a man having anal intercourse with his wife and severely condemned it."
[Sunan al-Dārimī: 1178 – sanad ṣaḥīḥ]
﴿يُحِبُّ التَّوَّابِينَ وَيُحِبُّ الْمُتَطَهِّرِينَ﴾
(“Allah loves those who repent and those who purify themselves.”) — [Surah al-Baqarah: 222]
He commented:
من أتى امرأته في دبرها، فليس من المتطهرين.
"Whoever has anal intercourse with his wife is not among the pure."
[Al-Sunan al-Kubrā by al-Nasā’ī: 9022, Tafsīr al-Ṭabarī: 3/743 – sanad ḥasan]
ما علمته حراما.
"To my knowledge, it is ḥarām (forbidden)."
[Al-Sunan al-Kubrā by al-Nasā’ī: 9128 – sanad ṣaḥīḥ]
Note: There is a minor wording difference in some editions due to manuscript variation.
① Anal intercourse with one’s wife is strictly forbidden in Islam.
② It is considered a major sin and resembles the actions of the people of Lūṭ (Lot).
③ Many classical scholars and companions deemed it tantamount to kufr.
④ Those who permit it, such as some Shīʿah authorities, deviate from the mainstream Ahl al-Sunnah wal-Jamāʿah.
⑤ The ruling is supported by Qur’an, Sunnah, and the consensus of the Ummah.
Source: Fatāwā Amunpuri by Shaykh Ghulam Mustafa Zaheer Amunpuri
❖ Question:
What is the ruling on anal intercourse with one’s wife?
❖ Answer:
Anal intercourse is a disgusting and immoral act that is explicitly prohibited (ḥarām) and classified among the major sins (kabāʾir). It leads to severe wrath from Allah, and there is no doubt regarding its prohibition.
◈ Scholarly Consensus & Classical Statements
❀ ʿAllāmah Mazhari Zaydānī Ḥanafī رحمه الله (d. 727 AH) said:
"Anal intercourse with a woman is prohibited in all religions."
[Al-Mafātīḥ fī Sharḥ al-Maṣābīḥ: 4/54]❀ Imām Ibn al-Qayyim رحمه الله (d. 751 AH) wrote:
"Anal intercourse with a woman was never permissible in the law of any Prophet. Whoever attributes permissibility of this act to the Salaf is a liar."
[Zād al-Maʿād: 4/257]❀ Imām al-Baghawī رحمه الله (d. 510 AH) said:
أما الإتيان في الدبر فحرام، فمن فعله جاهلاً بتحريمه، نُهي عنه، فإن عاد عُزِّر.
"Anal intercourse with one’s wife is ḥarām. If someone does it out of ignorance, he should be prohibited. If he repeats it, he should be punished with taʿzīr (disciplinary punishment)."
[Sharḥ al-Sunnah: 9/6]❀ Imām Ibn Kathīr رحمه الله (d. 774 AH) said:
"This act resembles the deeds of the people of Lūṭ and is unanimously deemed ḥarām by scholars, except for a deviant, solitary opinion among the Salaf. However, there are numerous aḥādīth prohibiting this act."
[Tafsīr Ibn Kathīr: 3/183]❀ Imām Ibn Nujaym al-Ḥanafī رحمه الله (d. 970 AH) said:
"Considering anal intercourse with one’s wife to be ḥalāl is an act of disbelief (kufr) according to the majority of scholars."
[Al-Ashbāh wa al-Naẓāʾir, p. 191]◈ The Deviant Shīʿah View
❀ The Shīʿah cleric Khomeinī wrote:
الأقوى والأظهر جواز وطء الزوجة في الدبر على كراهة شديدة.
"The stronger and more apparent view is that anal intercourse with one’s wife is permissible, though highly disliked."
[Taḥrīr al-Wasīlah: 2/241]◈ Statement of Shaykh al-Islām Ibn Taymiyyah رحمه الله (d. 728 AH):
"Anal intercourse with a woman is ḥarām according to the Qur’an and Sunnah. This is also the view of the majority of earlier and later scholars. In fact, it is a filthy act similar to sodomy (liwāṭ)."
[Majmūʿ al-Fatāwā: 32/266–267]◈ Reports from the Salaf
❀ ʿAṭā’ رحمه الله was asked about this act, and he said:
تلك كفر، ما بدأ قوم لوط إلا بذلك، أتوا النساء في أدبارهن، ثم أتى الرجال الرجال.
"That is disbelief. The people of Lūṭ began their deviation by practicing anal intercourse with women, and then moved on to men."
[Masāwī al-Akhlāq by al-Kharāʾiṭī: 425 – sanad ḥasan]❀ Ṭāwūs رحمه الله said regarding a man who committed this:
ذلك الكفر.
"That is disbelief (kufr)."
[Al-Sunan al-Kubrā by al-Nasā’ī: 9004 – sanad ṣaḥīḥ]❀ A narration from the Prophet ﷺ regarding such a person states:
هذا يسألني عن الكفر؟
"This man is asking me about kufr?"
[Muṣannaf ʿAbd al-Razzāq: 11/442, ḥadīth 20953 – sanad ṣaḥīḥ] Also verified by: Ibn Kathīr in Tafsīr Ibn Kathīr 1/593 and Ibn Ḥajar in Talkhīṣ al-Ḥabīr: 3/390◈ Qur’anic Guidance on Intercourse:
"أَتُوا حَرْثَكُمْ أَنَّىٰ شِئْتُمْ"
"Go to your tilth (wives) when and how you will."
But this is restricted by the Prophet ﷺ to only vaginal intercourse, even if from behind.
[Al-Sunan al-Kubrā by al-Bayhaqī: 7/196 – sanad ṣaḥīḥ]◈ Further Condemnations from the Companions and Tābiʿīn
❀ Abū Hurayrah رضي الله عنه said:
من أتى أدبار الرجال والنساء فقد كفر.
"Whoever commits this act with men or women has committed kufr."
[Al-Sunan al-Kubrā by al-Nasā’ī: 9021 – sanad ḥasan]❀ Abū al-Dardā’ رضي الله عنه said:
هل يفعل ذلك إلا كافر؟
"Does anyone besides a disbeliever commit such an act?"
[Zawāʾid Musnad Aḥmad: 2/210 – sanad ṣaḥīḥ]◈ Consensus Among the Tābiʿīn:
Imams Ṭāwūs, Saʿīd ibn al-Musayyib, Mujāhid, and ʿAṭā’ ibn Abī Rabāḥ رحمهم الله all prohibited this and said:
هو كفر.
"It is kufr (disbelief)."
[Sunan al-Dārimī: 1185 – sanad ḥasan]◈ Statement of ʿAbdullāh ibn ʿAbbās رضي الله عنه:
كان يكره إتيان الرجل امرأته في دبرها، ويعيبه عيباً شديداً.
"He used to dislike a man having anal intercourse with his wife and severely condemned it."
[Sunan al-Dārimī: 1178 – sanad ṣaḥīḥ]◈ Imam Mujāhid رحمه الله on the verse:
﴿يُحِبُّ التَّوَّابِينَ وَيُحِبُّ الْمُتَطَهِّرِينَ﴾
(“Allah loves those who repent and those who purify themselves.”) — [Surah al-Baqarah: 222]
He commented:
من أتى امرأته في دبرها، فليس من المتطهرين.
"Whoever has anal intercourse with his wife is not among the pure."
[Al-Sunan al-Kubrā by al-Nasā’ī: 9022, Tafsīr al-Ṭabarī: 3/743 – sanad ḥasan]◈ Imām Mālik رحمه الله (d. 179 AH) said:
ما علمته حراما.
"To my knowledge, it is ḥarām (forbidden)."
[Al-Sunan al-Kubrā by al-Nasā’ī: 9128 – sanad ṣaḥīḥ] Note: There is a minor wording difference in some editions due to manuscript variation.
Conclusion:
① Anal intercourse with one’s wife is strictly forbidden in Islam.
② It is considered a major sin and resembles the actions of the people of Lūṭ (Lot).
③ Many classical scholars and companions deemed it tantamount to kufr.
④ Those who permit it, such as some Shīʿah authorities, deviate from the mainstream Ahl al-Sunnah wal-Jamāʿah.
⑤ The ruling is supported by Qur’an, Sunnah, and the consensus of the Ummah.
