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To what extent is the hadith "If a man wishes to have intercourse with his wife, the infant should be taken out of the room" authentic?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

Modesty (Hayaa’) is part of faith and innate disposition (fitra). It has many manifestations, including covering oneself during intercourse from the sight or hearing of others. This is because it involves exposing private parts, arousing desires, and revealing household secrets. The religious texts indicate the obligation to cover oneself during intercourse. Jurists have stated that the presence of a discerning, awake person violates the requirement of covering oneself. The majority of scholars hold that the presence of an infant does not violate this requirement, due to the hardship involved. Ibn Umar's statement about removing the child from the cradle is an exaggeration in covering oneself, not a binding legal ruling. Some Maliki scholars are of the opinion that the presence of an undiscerned person (non-discerning) also violates the requirement of covering oneself, while the majority view that there is no harm in the presence of an infant during intercourse.

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

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