Advanced search
Visit
32440
Last Updated: 2010/07/03
Summary of question
Given that anal intercourse has been forbidden according to a prophetic tradition, why do some jurisprudents consider it to be permissible?
question
Imam Khomeini says in his Tahrir al-Wasilah vol.1, p. 241 issue No.11: “The stronger and widely held opinion is that it is permissible to approach wife from behind.” This verdict contradicts a saying from the Holy Prophet (pbuh) who said: “Allah’s curse be upon he who approaches his wife from behind.” Please explain.
Concise answer
The narrations which have been transmitted and passed on to jurisprudents can be divided into two main categories:
First: Narrations which imply permissibility of anal intercourse.
Second: Narrations which not only do not imply permissibility but prohibition of anal intercourse and in which such a person has been cursed. Therefore, we must endeavor to, somehow, reconcile between these two sets of narrations. The best and most correct way is to accept that it is allowable under specific circumstances and forbidden under others.
a) If wife is consenting to it, it is permissible.
b) It is forbidden, if she is not consenting to it or when it takes place under coercion.
If we are to reconcile between these two sets of narrations, we would say that anal intercourse is abominable in the first instance and it is forbidden in the second.
 
Detailed Answer
First of all, we must say that abominableness (karaha) is something which is not desirable to God, the Almighty but it is also not forbidden. Therefore, one who commits an abominable action will not be punished or reprehended.
As for the narrations which are about anal intercourse, they can be divided into sets:
First, narrations which imply permissibility of anal intercourse, for example, Abdullah bin Abi Ya’fur says: I asked Imam Sadiq (a.s.) about a man who had sex with his wife from the back passage. The Imam answered, “There is no problem and it has been narrated from the Prophet (pbuh) that he said, ‘There is no problem’.[1]
Second, narrations which forbid anal intercourse and which curse the doer of the action[2]as you have mentioned in your message. Therefore, we must endeavor to, somehow, reconcile between these two sets of narrations. The best and most correct way is to accept that it is allowable under certain circumstances and forbidden under others.
a) If wife is consenting to it, it is permissible.
b) It is forbidden, if she is not consenting to it or when it takes place under coercion.
If we are to reconcile between these two sets of narrations, we would say that anal intercourse is abominable in the first instance and it is forbidden in the second. The narrations which forbid anal intercourse are applicable to the second instance.[3] For this reason, we see that some jurisprudents have said: “Anal intercourse is not permissible, as an obligatory precaution, without wife’s consent. If she is consenting, it would be strongly makrooh (abominable).”[4]
 
 
 

[1] Shaykh Hurr Amili, Wasail al-Shi’ah, vol.20, p. 146, hadith 25260, Aalulbayt Institute, Qom, 1409 A.H.
[2] - Shaykh Hurr Amili, Wasail al-Shi’ah, vol.20, p. 142.
[3] Shaykh Hurr Amili, Wasail al-Shi’ah, vol.20, p. 142,  Shaykh Hurr Amili and other scholars are of the view that this narration implies abominableness. They have mentioned two reasons for this.
A) Since there had been a non-Shia Muslim in the gathering, it is likely that the Imam (a.s.) had said that out of taqiya (dissimulation).
B) It is also probable that anal intercourse had been forbidden in the past but the ruling had been abrogated.
[4] Fazel Lankarani and Sistani, Tawzih al-Masail of Maraje’, vol.1, issue No. 450; Resalah Danishjuyee, Sayyid Mujtaba Husseini, question 389, p. 243.
Question translations in other languages
Comments
Number of comments 0
Please enter the value
Example : Yourname@YourDomane.ext
Please enter the value
Please enter the value

Thematic Category

Random questions

  • What is the meaning of self-consciousness according to the Holy Quran?
    17982 Exegesis 2015/04/18
    According to the Quran, self-consciousness means realization of one's own self through nourishing or nurturing and reviving one's own inner and inborn talents and potentialities followed by a profound understanding of the realities of the universe and divine attributes. Self-consciousness has various degrees and it is of ...
  • Is there a problem in paying off one's debt in the evening or after dark?
    7251 Laws and Jurisprudence 2009/03/12
    Continue... ...
  • Will a husband and wife, after leaving this world, live together in paradise?
    14652 Traditional 2009/10/22
    The specific conditions and details of how we will live in the next world are not completely known to anyone except the infallibles (masoomeen). With this in mind the relationship between a husband and a wife is something that is related to this world and pious women are ...
  • What is the meaning of mutawatir and ma'roof traditions?
    10523 Contextual study 2014/10/01
    For information about the meaning of mutawatir traditions and its various types, see index "the criterion for verbal, spiritual and ambiguous mutawatir traditions", question 2412. Ma'ruf Hadith Different definitions have been presented for Ma'ruf tradition: 1. A ma'ruf tradition is one whose text and it is content ...
  • How can I repent from an illegitimate sexual relationship I had with one whom I planned to marry?
    9030 Laws and Jurisprudence 2010/11/22
    Zina or fornication (in Islamic terms, which is the subject of certain Islamic laws) means for a man’s penis to enter the vagina or anus of a woman until the glans is completely enveloped without the two being married or at least ‘similar to married’ (“similar to married” ...
  • Is it permissible to eat chips containing porcine enzymes?
    8238 Laws and Jurisprudence 2012/01/19
    The grand maraji’ responded to this inquiry like this:The office of the grand Ayatullah Khamenei:In the case of the question it isn't permissible.The office of the grand Ayatullah Makarem Shirazi:It isn’t permissible.The office of the grand Ayatullah Safi Golpaygani:If ...
  • Please let me how to get rid of masturbation?
    10527 Practical 2015/01/05
    Sin is like a foul-smelling swamp full of sewage; the more one sinks into it, the less he senses its smell, because he actually loses his sense of smell and can't tell that he is drowning anymore. At the same time, anytime one makes a strong decision ...
  • Is the story of the wedding of Hadrat Qasim in Karbala true or false?
    31431 تاريخ بزرگان 2012/10/01
    One of the concocted stories regarding the epic of Ashura is the story of the marriage of Qasim bin Al-Hasan (as), a story which has no basis and which has not been related by any authentic and reliable sources. In addition, such a thing is not rationally ...
  • Do my feet become najis when I walk on wet pavement that a dog has walked on?
    10868 Laws and Jurisprudence 2008/07/21
    If rainwater or any other water gathers in a ditch and is less than kur (there is a difference of opinion on what amount is exactly kur, and there are different ways of measuring it, according to Imam Khomeini, one way is that if ...
  • What is the Sunni opinion on Bilal al-Habashi?
    14612 تاريخ بزرگان 2008/07/02
    What Sunni references say about the great sahabi, Bilal, is that he was freed by Abu Bakr, a resistant believer against the tortures of the Kuffar, the Prophet's Mu'adhin, and one of the Mujahidin (soldiers) of Islam in different battles alongside the Prophet (pbuh). After the Prophet's demise, he ...

Popular