Hadeeth in Saheeh Al-Bukhaari and Muslim about ‘Azl (coitus interruptus)
22-8-2017 | IslamWeb
Question:
Assalaamu alaykum wa barakaatuhu. I need to ask you urgently for a complete explanation from Fath Al-Baari and Sharh An-Nawawi and other books about this hadith:
A man inquired, “We earn income from these bondwomen (other narratives mention prostitutes), so can we do coitus interruptus (‘Azl) with them?” The Prophet said, “There is no sin in doing that”. (Al-Bukhari Kitaab Al-Qadr 3:543)
As my knowledge of the Arabic language is still more or less poor, I have not have the chance yet to read it myself. I am still improving mine, so it is best to learn it as soon as possible, Allaah willing, so as to study it. However, the truth is that I have thought about the possibility that it says prostitutes in one of the narrations of the hadith, because in early Muslim societies, so I read, slavegirls were also known vulgarly as "prostitutes" although it is clear from the Sharia that prostitution/fornication is clearly forbidden and has nothing to do with the sexual relations of a master with his slavegirl. Also, I need to know, given the fact that Al-Waaqidi is truly trusted by the Fiqh scholars as a historian but totally rejected as a Hadith transmitter, whether the story of the destruction of Hubal narrated in Kitaab Al-Maghazi is sound or not. I thank you from the bottom of my heart.
Answer:
All perfect praise be to Allah, The Lord of the worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allah and that Muhammad 
is His slave and Messenger.
We did not find this narration that you mentioned with the wording ‘these prostitutes’ in any of the books of the Sunnah that we have at hand; let alone in Saheeh Al-Bukhaari.
As regards the hadeeth that you referred to, it was reported by Al-Bukhaari with its chain of narrators to ‘Abdullah ibn Muhayreez Al-Jumahi, who said that Abu Sa’eed Al-Khudri informed him that while he was sitting with the Prophet a man from the Ansaar came and said, “O Messenger of Allah, we get slave girls from the war captives and we love wealth (from selling them or from taking ransom for them); so what do you think about ‘Azl?” Allah's Messenger said, “Do you do that? It does not harm you if you do not do it, for there is no soul which Allah has ordained to come into existence but that it will be created.”
This hadeeth was reported by Muslim in his Saheeh with its chain of narrators from Ibn Muhayreez with the following wording:
“Abu Sirmah and I entered upon Abu Sa’eed Al-Khudri, and Abu Sirmah asked him, ‘O Abu Sa'eed, did you hear Allah's Messenger mentioning ‘Azl?’ He said, ‘Yes. We went out with Allah's Messenger on a military expedition to Al-Mustaliq and took some excellent Arab women as captives. We were suffering from the absence of our wives for a long time, but (at the same time) we wanted ransom (for the captives). So we wished to have sexual intercourse with them, but by observing ‘Azl. However, we said: We want to do this whereas Allah's Messenger is amongst us; why do we not ask him? So we asked the Messenger of Allah and he said, 'It does not matter if you do not do it, for every soul that is to be born up to the Day of Resurrection will be born.'’”
An-Nawawi, may Allah have mercy on him, said in Sharh Muslim:
“His words ‘some excellent Arab women’ means the most noble amongst them; ‘we were suffering from the absence of our wives for a long time, (but at the same time) we wanted ransom’ means that we needed to have sexual intercourse but we were afraid of conception as, in this case, the woman would become a mother of a child and it would be forbidden for us to sell her or take a ransom to free her.’ What can be concluded from this is that it is forbidden to sell the mother of a child, and that was well-known amongst them. The saying of the Prophet ‘It does not matter if you do not do it, for every soul that is to be born up to the Day of Resurrection will be born,’ means that there is no harm on you for not observing ‘Azl because every soul that Allah decreed to create, He will create it whether or not you observed ‘Azl; and what Allah did not will to create, then it will not happen (will not be created) whether or not you practiced ‘Azl, so there is no use in observing ‘Azl because if Allah decreed to create it, then you will ejaculate before you withdraw, so your zeal to prevent the creation will be of no use.
This hadeeth also indicates the view of the majority of the scholars, that Arabs may be enslaved just as non-Arabs may be enslaved, and that if they were polytheists and were taken as captives, it would be permissible to consider them as slaves, because the people of Al-Mustaliq were pure Arabs from Khuzaa’ah and they enslaved them and had sexual intercourse with their female captives and considered selling them as lawful and took a ransom for freeing them. This is the view of Maalik; Ash-Shaafi’i in his new, correct opinion; and the majority of the scholars, but Abu Haneefah and Ash-Shaafi'i, in his old view, said that slavery does not apply to them due to their honor.”
The explanation of An-Nawawi is enough, Allah willing, and this is most of what Ibn Hajar said in Al-Fat'h on the issue of the ruling on ‘Azl and the difference of opinion of the scholars on it.
As for citing the explanation of the scholars on this hadeeth and collecting them altogether in this fatwa, then this is contrary to the nature of the fatwa; it has to be short and according to the need only, without prolonging it.
Also, the policy of our site is to only answer the first question when more than one question is asked; so we ask you to send your other question separately, and we apologize for not answering it.
Allah knows best.