that their aim in resorting to this practice could be countered by a convincing reply that would deter them from persisting in it. He explained that Allah, exalted be He, has already decreed every measure: your action cannot avert a soul whose creation and existence Allah has inscribed, for He has preordained both causes and their effects. When He wills to fashion a new being from a man’s fluid, it slips—without the man’s even sensing it—into its secure resting place.
Lessons Drawn from the Ḥadith
1- The ruling on coitus interruptus and the scholarly disagreement over it will be discussed shortly, God willing.
2- The ḥadith censures practising withdrawal with the intent of avoiding a child, for that rests solely on secondary causes and ignores the Creator.
3- No soul comes into being except by Allah’s decree; the report thus affirms belief in predestination—whatever Allah wills occurs, and whatever He does not will never occurs.
This does not suspend the role of means, for He has decreed things and decreed the means that lead to them. One must therefore make use of those means, while Allah ordains what He wishes and does what He wills. Thus, abandoning the means and denying their efficacy, or depending on them alone—both stances are blameworthy. The sound, middle course is to believe in Allah’s decree while acknowledging that causes have effects; this is the doctrine of Ahl al-Sunnah, in which rational and textual proofs converge. All praise is due to Allah.
The Fourth Ḥadith
Jābir (may Allah be pleased with him) said: “We used to practise withdrawal while the Quran was being revealed; had it been something forbidden, the Quran would have forbidden us from it.”
Overall Meaning
Jābir ibn ʿAbd Allāh (may Allah be pleased with him) relates that they would practise coitus interruptus with their wives and female slaves during the lifetime of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, and that he approved of it; were it not lawful, he would not have approved. It is as though someone objected, “Perhaps your practice never reached him?” He replied, “If it had not reached him, then Allah—exalted is He—certainly knows it, and He is the One who sends down the Quran. Had it been something He forbade, the Quran would have prohibited it and the Lawgiver would not have allowed us to continue.”
Lessons Drawn from the Ḥadith
1- The Companions practised withdrawal during the Prophet’s lifetime while Allah, exalted be He, was fully aware of their action and still approved it. Whether the narrator is Jābir or Sufyān, the point is that withdrawal existed in the very era of legislation; since no revelation came about it, this proves its permissibility and that the Lawgiver allowed His servants to do so—thereby dispelling the puzzlement voiced by Ibn Daqīq al-ʿĪd. It is further related in Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim that the Prophet was informed of the practice, for Jābir said, “The Prophet ﷺ was informed of it, yet he did not forbid us.”