Question:
Asalamualaikum wa rahmatullahi. There is no shyness in knowledge Alhamdulillah. I wanted to know if oral sex is halal in Islam? I have heard too many saying and would love to just get a clear answer. I have heard that it is not permitted. I have also heard that it is as long as both husband and wife are not forced and I have heard that it is permitted as long as impurites are not swallowed. I heard that it is permitted in shafi’i madhab but I am hanafi and would love to get a clear and quick answer to this question. It is very much appreciated. Jazakallah khairan
Answer:
In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
As-salāmu ‘alaykum wa-rahmatullāhi wa-barakātuh.
If oral sex entails inserting the penis into the wife’s mouth to the extent that she swallows or takes impure or filthy substances such as semen (many) or pre-ejaculatory fluid (madhy) into the mouth, or the husband placing his mouth onto the wife’s vagina to the point that he takes her discharge in his mouth, then this is sinful. If there is fear of this, and this fear is at the level of likelihood, then it is also impermissible.
It is unlawful to intentionally swallow filthy and impure substances or to introduce them into the mouth. This includes all male and female genital excretions and sexual fluids such as urine, pre-ejaculatory fluid, semen and wady, a thick white, cloudy, fluid that exits either before or after urinating. Even though semen is not considered impure according to some scholars, for example the Shafi’Is, contrary to the Hanafis, they nevertheless hold its oral intake to be prohibited. As such, swallowing or consuming all forms of sexual fluids of the wife or husband is forbidden.
If oral sex is practiced and all precautions are taken to prevent sexual fluids from entering the mouth, for example if the couple are only gently kissing each other’s genitalia without any fear or likelihood of consuming sexual fluids, then it is permitted, although disliked and improper. It may be considered as a form of foreplay, similar to kissing other parts of the body and so permitted, but disliked, as placing one’s mouth on one’s spouse’s genitalia is against religious propriety.
The famous Hanafi Fiqh reference work, Al-Fatawa al-Hindiyya, states: “If a man inserts his penis into his wife’s mouth, it has been said that it is disliked ( makrilh), and others hold that it is not disliked.” (AlFatawa al-Hindiyya 5:372)
This clear passage in one of the major Hanafi Fiqh reference works indicates that there is a scholarly difference about the permissibility of a man inserting his penis into his wife’s mouth. According to some scholars it is disliked, whilst others permit it. It should· be remembered that both, those who allow it and those who consider it disliked, stipulate that no sexual fluids enter the spouse’s mouth as mentioned earlier.
For further reading you may refer to: Islamic Guide to Sexual Relations by Mufti Muhammad ibn Adam. http://www.macanj.org/wp-content/uploads/bsk-pdf-manager/Islamic_Guide_To_Sexual_Relations_by_Muhammad_ibn_Adam_al-Kawthari_4.pdf
And Allah Ta’āla Knows Best
Darul Iftaa, Jaamia Madinatul Uloom (Trinidad)
