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Is a wife permitted to refuse sexual intercourse daily if she cannot tolerate it, and does the Hadith regarding the angels cursing apply to her in this case, and is sleep considered an excuse for not fulfilling the husband's desire?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

Originally, it is forbidden for a wife to refuse her husband's request for sexual intimacy daily. However, three exceptions may apply:

1. If the refusal is due to physical harm, based on a report from a trustworthy physician, then she is permitted to refuse, as the Prophet, peace be upon him, said: "There should be no harm nor reciprocating harm." 2. If it is due to actual physical incapacity, there is no blame on her, because ability is the basis of obligation. Allah Almighty says: "Allah does not burden a soul beyond its capacity." 3. However, if it is due to a psychological reason, such as an aversion to frequent intercourse or a diminished libido, this is not considered a legitimate excuse, and the woman who refuses falls under the warning [of punishment].

As for the need for sleep, it is generally not considered an excuse. However, if intercourse would cause the woman to lose sleep to an extent that results in significant harm, then it is considered an excuse. But claiming the need for sleep to evade the obligatory response due to lack of desire is a forbidden pretext and an unlawful stratagem.

Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026

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