Chapter on the Permissible Duration for Abstaining From Intercourse for One Who Has a Young Free Wife
Man Lā Yaḥḍuruh al-Faqīh|Volume 3|Book 3|Chapter 24
Man Lā Yaḥḍuruh al-Faqīh
Volume 3, Book 3, Chapter 24
Chapter on the Permissible Duration for Abstaining From Intercourse for One Who Has a Young Free Wife
سَأَلَ صَفْوَانُ بْنُ يَحْيَى أَبَا اَلْحَسَنِ اَلرِّضَا عَلَيْهِ اَلسَّلاَمُ: عَنِ اَلرَّجُلِ تَكُونُ عِنْدَهُ اَلْمَرْأَةُ اَلشَّابَّةُ فَيُمْسِكُ عَنْهَا اَلْأَشْهُرَ وَ اَلسَّنَةَ لاَ يَقْرَبُهَا لَيْسَ يُرِيدُ اَلْإِضْرَارَ بِهَا يَكُونُ لَهُمْ مُصِيبَةٌ يَكُونُ فِي ذَلِكَ آثِماً قَالَ "إِذَا تَرَكَهَا أَرْبَعَةَ أَشْهُرٍ كَانَ آثِماً بَعْدَ ذَلِكَ إِلاَّ أَنْ يَكُونَ بِإِذْنِهَا".
Safwan ibn Yahya asked Imam Ali ibn Musa Ar-Ridha عليه السلام, about a man who has a young wife and refrains from approaching her for months or even a year, not intending to harm her but due to some hardship or difficulty they are facing. Is he considered sinful for this? The Imam عليه السلام replied: "If he refrains from her for four months, he is sinful after that unless it is with her consent."
- Ṣaḥīḥ al-Faqīh, p. 272