Asalamu Aleikum Warahmatullahi Wabarakaatahu, Dear Brothers in Islam, I'm a Muslim man, married for about 15 years now and Alhamdulilah with 8 children. With 8 children alive, my wife aborted 3 times because of some weakness in her ovary as she had delivered children continuously without child spacing. We have tried to naturally plan our family by refraining sex during the evolution period i.e. the 14th day starting from the day of menstruation that is when scientists say that it is the time when the ovary is ready. We have failed with this method twice and my wife got pregnant and aborted both times with serious labour difficulties that threatened her life. Now it seems that it is getting compulsory that I have to totally abandon having sex with her without contraception. While it is said that contraceptive tablets and injections cause severe side effects with long term diseases like a cancer in the ovary or damage to the wife’s fertility for future child production. In that context, and bearing in mind that we previously failed with other natural method to plan our family, and very much concerned with my wife’s health, can you advise me if anal intercourse could be applied in this difficult situation and if medically approved that my wife can not currently bear a child in her ovary and if she gets pregnant that might risk her life as we have seen twice previously. I have read more carefully about anal intercourse and I understand the position of Islam on anal sex and have seen the Quranic Verse and Hadiths, but at this critical stage of our family and in the light that contraceptive medicine causes severe disease namely cancer or infertility can we temporarily plan our family in diverting to anal intercourse for a temporary period due to the health and vitality of my wife. I’m scarred and don’t know what to do, so can you please help us safe our family from collapse, I personally don’t have another wife and I’m not in a position to marry another wife.

All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, is His slave and Messenger.

As you know, anal sex (even if it is with one’s wife) is forbidden and it leads to many health problems as mentioned by doctors in the past and in the present time. Therefore, it is not permissible for you to resort to anal sex in any case. For more benefit, please refer to Fataawa 84137 and 86457.

Instead, we advise you to practise coitus interruptus [withdrawing before ejaculation] or use condoms, as these may prevent -Allaah willing –any health problems which you mentioned in the question and at the same time achieve the sought objective.