First, it should be clarified that sexual intercourse during menstruation is totally prohibited. Allah Almighty says, “They ask you concerning menstruation. Say: that is an Adha (a harmful thing for a husband to have a sexual intercourse with his wife while she is having her menses), therefore, keep away from women during menses.” (Al-Baqarah 2:222)

With this in mind, we call upon the husband to fear Allah and to consider his wife’s feelings by avoiding intercourse during her period as this is contrary to Allah’s Ordinances and harmful to his wife’s feelings as well. If the husband insists on doing this, he is subject to Allah’s punishment because of his stark violation to Allah’s Rules. In addition, he will fall an easy prey to fatal diseases as a result.

With this in mind, we call upon the wife to resist her husband’s physical appeal to sexual intercourse during her period in order to prevent him from falling into that which is unlawful. In addition, she should remind him that doing that will make him be exposed to several diseases and health hazards. Furthermore, the wife should try her best to please her husband away from actual insertion into the vagina by enabling him to satisfy his sexual urge without insertion.

Having said this, we can say that there is no sin upon the wife if she resists her husband from doing that using all possible tools. The sin will be on the husband. However, the wife should help her husband get professional counseling or enable him to get further guidance from a local scholar or imam.

Having clarified the above, we think that it is worthy mentioning here the scientific harms of sexual intercourse during menstruation:

“Scientific studies in this field have disclosed to us some of the harm that is referred to in the aforementioned verse, but they have not managed to describe all the harms that are referred to in the Qur’anic text.

Dr. Muhiy al-Deen al-‘Alabi said: “It is essential to refrain from having intercourse with a menstruating women because doing so leads to an increase in the flow of menstrual blood, because the veins of the uterus are congested and prone to rupture, and get damaged easily; and the wall of the vagina is also susceptible to injury, so the likelihood of inflammation is increased, which leads to inflammation in the uterus and in the man’s penis, because of the irritation that occurs during intercourse. Having intercourse with a menstruating woman may also be off-putting to both the man and his wife, because of the presence and smell of blood, which may make the man impotent (i.e., uninterested in sex).

Dr. Muhammad al-Baar said, speaking of the harm that may be caused to the menstruating woman: The lining of the uterus is shed during menstruation, and the uterus is scarred as a result, just like when the skin is flayed. So it is vulnerable to bacteria and the introduction of the bacteria that are to be found at the tip of the penis poses a great danger to the uterus.

Hence the penetration of the penis into the vagina at the time of menstruation is no more than the introduction of germs at a time when the body is unable to fight them.

Dr. al-Baar thinks that the harm is not limited to what he describes of the introduction of germs into the uterus and vagina which is difficult to treat, rather it also extends to other things, namely:

-The spread of infection to the fallopian tubes, which may then become blocked, which in turn may lead to infertility or ectopic pregnancy, which is the most dangerous kind of pregnancy.

-The spread of infection to the urethra, bladder and kidneys; diseases of the urinary tract are usually serious and chronic.

-Increase of germs in the menstrual blood, especially gonorrhea germs.

-The menstruating woman is also in a physical and psychological state that is not conducive to intercourse, so if it takes place it will harm her a great deal and cause her pains during her period, as Dr. al-Baar said:

-Menstruation is accompanied by pains, the severity of which varies from one woman to another. Most women experience pains in the back and lower abdomen. For some women the pain is unbearable and has to be treated with medication and painkillers.

-Many woman suffer depression and stress during their period, especially at the beginning, and their mental and intellectual state is at the lowest level during menstruation.

-Some women suffer migraines just before their period starts, and the pain is severe and causes visual disturbances and vomiting.

-Women’s sexual desire decreases, and many woman have no interest at all in sex during their periods. The entire reproductive system is in a state that is akin to sickness, so intercourse at this time is not natural and serves no purpose, rather it can cause a great deal of harm.

-A woman’s temperature drops during menstruation, as does her pulse and blood pressure, which makes her feel dizzy, exhausted and lethargic.

Dr. al-Baar also mentions that the harm is not only caused to the woman by having intercourse with her, rather the man is also affected by this action, which may cause infection in his reproductive system which may lead to sterility as a result. The severe pains suffered as a result of this infection may be even worse than the sterility it causes.

And there are many other harmful effects, some of which have not yet been discovered.”