Had Sex with Wife in Her Confinement Period

7-11-1999 | IslamWeb

Question:

Please help me. My wife had a baby 3 weeks ago. She and I were playing together, and we had sex. I know in Islam that is not allowed until after 40 days. I have made a big mistake. Tell me what to do and how to repay Allah for my sin.

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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.

All Muslim scholars agree upon the fact that it is forbidden to have sex with a wife who is in her confinement period before she has completely stopped bleeding. The blood could stop before the forty days, which a woman should spend after giving birth without her husband having sex with her. In this case, she should purify herself (i.e. perform Ghusl) and pray. But her husband has better not to have sex with her before she completes the forty days. If you have had sex with her before the blood stopped, you should repent and ask Allah for forgiveness from this sin.

There are different views about the expiation. Imam Ahmad said it was obligatory, as Ibn ‘Abbas narrated that Prophet Muhammad stated that a man who has sex with his wife while she is in her menstruation period, that he should give charity, as he said: “He should give a dinar or half a dinar as alms.” [Ahmad, Abu Daawood, At-Tirmithi, An-Nasaa’i, Ibn Maajah; and Al-Haakim classified it as sound].

Imam Ahmad said: “How nice and good a Hadith it is!.” Somebody asked him: “Will you go for it?”. He replied: “Yes”. There is no doubt that giving this expiation, which equals four grams of gold or two grams or their equivalent, is better in order to be on the safe side.

If you have had sex with her after the blood had stopped but before she completed the forty days, then you haven’t done the best but you are not obliged to pay the expiation.

Allah knows best.