English Translation

Abd al-Aziz ibn Yahya Abu al-Asbagh narrated to us, Muhammad, meaning Ibn Salamah, narrated to me from Muhammad ibn Ishaq, from Aban ibn Salih, from Mujahid, from Hadrat Ibn Abbas (may Allah be well pleased with them both), who said: Indeed Hadrat Ibn Umar (may Allah be well pleased with them both) — may Allah forgive him — was mistaken. The matter was that this clan of the Ansar — who were idol-worshippers — lived alongside this clan of the Jews — who were People of the Book — and they considered the Jews to be superior in knowledge, so they used to follow many of their practices. It was the custom of the People of the Book to approach women only from one side, and this was the most concealing position for the woman. So this clan of the Ansar adopted that practice from them. Meanwhile, this clan of Quraysh would be intimate with women in various positions — from the front, from behind, and lying down. When the Emigrants came to Madinah, one of them married a woman of the Ansar. When he wished to be intimate with her in that way, she refused and said: We were only approached from one side; either do that or leave me. The matter escalated until it reached the Beloved Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him), so Allah the Exalted revealed: 'Your wives are your tillage; so come to your tillage however you wish' — meaning from the front, from behind, and lying down — referring to the place of offspring (the front passage).