Fulfilling the Sexual Needs of the Husband

Is it Obligatory to Consummate One’s Marriage?


Shafi'i Fiqh

Answered by Shaykh Irshaad Sedick

Question

I would like to know if consummating one’s marriage is an obligation in Islam. If not, is it permissible for a husband and wife (had nikah) to sleep together even though they have not moved into their own home or consummated the marriage?

Answer

In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful and Compassionate.

May Allah alleviate our difficulties and guide us to what pleases Him. Amin.

Yes. After nikah, the husband and wife have full rights of (sexual) access to the other and to be alone together. It is permissible if the couple agrees to forgo that right of their own volition. If either partner demands their rights after agreeing to forgo them, then the rights must be fulfilled, and Allah knows best. [Nawawi, al-Majmu‘]

Please refer to this related answer.

I pray this is of benefit and that Allah guides us all.
[Shaykh] Irshaad Sedick
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Shaykh Irshaad Sedick was raised in South Africa in a traditional Muslim family. He graduated from Dar al-Ulum al-Arabiyyah al-Islamiyyah in Strand, Western Cape, under the guidance of the late world-renowned scholar Shaykh Taha Karaan.

Shaykh Irshaad received Ijaza from many luminaries of the Islamic world, including Shaykh Taha Karaan, Mawlana Yusuf Karaan, and Mawlana Abdul Hafeez Makki, among others.

He is the author of the text “The Musnad of Ahmad ibn Hanbal: A Hujjah or not?” He has served as the Director of the Discover Islam Centre and Al Jeem Foundation. For the last five years till present, he has served as the Khatib of Masjid Ar-Rashideen, Mowbray, Cape Town.

Shaykh Irshaad has thirteen years of teaching experience at some of the leading Islamic institutes in Cape Town). He is currently building an Islamic online learning and media platform called ‘Isnad Academy’ and has completed his Master’s degree in the study of Islam at the University of Johannesburg. He has a keen interest in healthy living and fitness.