Islamic views on anal sex

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Youth conversing with suitors
Miniature illustration from the Haft Awrang of Jami, in the story A Father Advises his Son About Love. Freer and Sackler Galleries, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC.

Anal sex (or sodomy) in Islam refers to anal intercourse between individuals of the same sex or the opposite.

Contents

[edit] Texts: Quran and Hadiths

[edit] Quran

The basic text of Islam is the Quran, believed by Muslims to represent the direct revelation of God to his prophet Muhammad. In terms of a direct reference in the Qur'an, anal intercourse is identified with liwat, the "sin of Lot's people."[1] While the Quran clearly disapproves of the sexual practices of the "people of Lot," ("What, of all creatures do ye come unto the males, and leave the wives your Lord created for you?"),[2] only one passage, sura 4:16, can be interpreted as taking a particular legal position towards such activities, and even then the punishment is restricted to members of the Islamic community: "As for the two of you who are guilty thereof, punish them both; and if they repent and improve, then let them be. Lo, Allah is relenting, merciful."[3] Although the Quran expresses clear disapproval of lutis (described as male homosexuals rather than as sodomites), it does not contain a specific punishment or guidance for a luti. Many hadiths, the reported sayings of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, prescribe harsh punishments for homosexuality, and this is reflected in the majority of shariah, the Islamic legal codes. In practice, only a few Muslim countries actually carry out such punishments, and cultural norms in different Muslim countries vary from acceptance to condemnation.

[edit] Hadiths

The hadith are reports of Muhammad's sayings and deeds from those close to him in his lifetime. Hadiths on the subject of anal intercourse between individuals clearly state that it is strictly forbidden. The majority in Islam, the four Sunni schools unanimously disapprove anal intercourse [4][5] as several hadith state:

- "If anyone [resorts to a diviner and believes in what he says (according) to the version of Musa) or] has intercourse with his wife (according to the agreed version) when she is menstruating, or has intercourse with his wife through her anus, he has nothing to do with what has been sent down to Muhammad." - Narrated by Abu Hurairah, Book of Divination and Omens, Sunan Abu Dawood, 3895.[6]
- "Allah is not shy to tell you the truth: do not have intercourse with your wives in the anus." - Narrated by Imam Ahmad, 5/213
- "On the day of resurrection, Allah will not look at a man who had intercourse with his wife in her anus" - Narrated by Ibn Abi Shayba, 3/529; narrated and classed as sahih by Sunan al-Tirmidhi, 1165
- "[Make love to your wife] from the front or the back, but avoid the anus and intercourse during menstruation" - Reported by Ahmad and Sunan al-Tirmidhi
- "He who has intercourse with his wife through her anus is accursed" - Narrated by Abu Hurairah, Book of Marriage, Sunan Abu Dawood 2157[7]

[edit] In Marriage

Since Islam does not approve homosexual relationships, anal intercourse is strictly forbidden on all grounds and under all circumstances. The same ruling applies for heterosexual relationship (i.e. married couple) when performed as 'an alternative' while the wife is menstruating and when performed in order to keep virginity intact before marriage. According to internet hoaxes, the latter is 'allegedly' found in many culture(s) while Islam forbids all sorts of premarital sexual activities. When married, it is rightful and obligatory for the husband and the wife to mutually fulfill their needs but only by upholding the guidance of Hadith and the Qur'an.[8] The Quran says:

- "And they ask thee concerning menstruation. Say, 'It is a harmful thing, so keep away from women during menstruation, and go not in unto them until they are clean. But when they have cleansed themselves, go in unto them as Allah has commanded you. Allah loves those who keep themselves clean.'" (2:222)

Anal intercourse is forbidden even if husband and wife mutually agree on it because mutual agreement does not allow something that has been made forbidden.[9][10][11]

Yusuf al-Qaradawi, a contemporary Sunni Muslim scholar, states that anal intercourse is prohibited and a wife must abstain from it should her husband demand it, and may seek divorce over it if her husband persists or tries to force her,[12][13] as the act is forbidden. However, it doesn't nullify the marriage, and the wife must seek divorce in order to separate from the husband. [14]

In this regard, a commonly misinterpreted and decontextualized verse from the Qur'an is most often cited as a ground to validate anal intercourse between husband and wife[15]:

- "Your women are a tilth for you (to cultivate) so go to your tilth as ye will, and send (good deeds) before you for your souls, and fear Allah, and know that ye will (one day) meet Him. Give glad tidings to believers, (O Muhammad)" Qur'an 2:223

This verse is indicative of the different positions a married couple may copulate in, or adopt, in sexual intercourse, and is fully permissible as long as intercourse takes place in the vagina and not anus. Also, the very word 'cultivate' has been interpreted by most Islamic jurists as impregnating the wife or nurturing wife as though a farmer cultivates a piece of land, but not as a means of performing forbidden practices.[16]

[edit] Law (Shariah)

[edit] Law (shariah) according to the Sunni opinion

Islamic law, or shariah, developed during the 8th and 9th centuries in several different "schools" based on varying interpretations of the Quran and the hadith.[17]

Shariah distinguishes between liwat (penetrative male-male sexual activity, the "sin of Lot's people") and non-penetrative male same-sex activity, considered only a minor sin; however, even the minor sin is regarded as a temptation to penetrative liwat, and therefore requiring chastisement.[18] Generally speaking, since sexual relations under shariah are only permissible within heterosexual marriage, it follows that sex outside such marriage is adultery and/or fornication, both of which attract punishments.[19] Homosexual sodomy, defined as adultery or fornication or both, thus attracts the same penalties as those crimes (flogging or death), although the exact punishment varies with schools and scholars.[20] In practice, few modern Muslim countries have legal systems based fully on shariah, and an increasing number of Muslims do not look to shariah but to the Quran itself for moral guidance.[21]

[edit] Law (shariah) according to the Shia opinion

The Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani, the highest Shiite cleric in Iraq, has stated that heterosexual anal intercourse, although undesirable, is permissible.[22] The majority of Shiite interpreters hold that (1) anal intercourse, while strongly disliked, is not haram (forbidden) provided the wife agrees, and (2), if the wife does not agree, then it is preferable to refrain: "Woman is a means of your pleasure, therefore do not harm her."[23]

[edit] See also

[edit] Further reading

[edit] References

  1. ^ Wafer, p88
  2. ^ Sura 26:165-167, quoted in Wafer, p.88
  3. ^ Sura 4:16, quoted in Wafer, p.88
  4. ^ [http://islamqa.info/en/ref/6792
  5. ^ http://www.islamawareness.net/Sex/fatwa_sex_008.html Does anal intercourse cancel the marriage contract?]
  6. ^ http://www.searchtruth.com/book_display.php?book=29&translator=3&start=0&number=3895#3895
  7. ^ http://www.searchtruth.com/book_display.php?book=11&translator=3&start=0&number=2155
  8. ^ http://www.wefound.org/texts/Ideal_Muslims_files/herhusband.htm
  9. ^ http://www.themodernreligion.com/misc/sex/sex_queries.htm
  10. ^ http://islamworld.net/docs/marriage.html
  11. ^ http://www.themodernreligion.com/misc/sex/sex-shariah.html
  12. ^ Does anal intercourse cancel the marriage contract?
  13. ^ When Husband Insists on Anal Sex with His Wife - IslamonLine.net - Ask The Scholar
  14. ^ Anal Sex with the Wife: Does It Nullify Marriage? - IslamonLine.net - Ask The Scholar
  15. ^ http://www.zawaj.com/tag/anal-sex-in-islam/
  16. ^ http://islamworld.net/docs/marriage.html#6
  17. ^ Jivraj&de Jong, p.2
  18. ^ Habib, p.287
  19. ^ Jivraj&de Jong, p.2
  20. ^ Jivraj&de Jong, p.2
  21. ^ Jivraj&de Jong, p.2
  22. ^ Jahangir, p.305
  23. ^ Al-Islam.org

[edit] Bibliography

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