Seclusion and its rulings

26-3-2006 | IslamWeb

Question:

What is being in seclusion? Is oral sex considered as being in seclusion with the woman, and this was under compulsion without the actual intercourse?

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Answer:

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 is His slave and Messenger. We ask Allaah to exalt his mention as well as that of his family and all his companions.

 

The majority of the scholars are of the view that being in seclusion with a woman with whom one signed a marriage contract leads to some consequences, like the dowry being due in full, the woman is obliged to observe a waiting period [if divorce happens], and other matters, but they differed with regard to the definition of real or correct seclusion. The Hanafi school defined being in seclusion as a seclusion in which there is no real, religious or natural obstacle for sexual intercourse. The Maaliki school defined seclusion as the state of during which one closes the curtains, or closes the doors and so forth. Whereas the Hanbali school defined it as totally being far from a distinct or adult person, when the husband is a man with whom a woman might have sexual intercourse, and the wife is a woman or girl with whom one can have sexual intercourse and she did not prevent him from it [sexual intercourse]. Therefore, the situation mentioned in the question is a correct seclusion which requires a full dowry and the woman is obliged to observe a waiting period like the waiting period of a divorced woman, and the fact of her consenting or objecting to the consummation of the marriage does not have any effect on what we discussed. 

Allaah Knows best.