The claim is that Prophet Muhammad ﷺ said coitus interruptus (ʿazl) is “hidden infanticide”, which sounds like burying a child alive in Sahih Muslim 1442b

But in another hadith, he denies the Jewish claim that ʿazl is like killing a baby, saying “the Jews lied” because if Allah wants a child to be born, withdrawal cannot stop it in Abu Dawud 2171.

So the claim is that these two hadiths contradict each other, and the question is whether the Prophet ﷺ was saying the same thing the Jews said, or disagreeing with them.

Lets investigate this claim and see how these hadiths should be understood

Reconciliation By At-Tahawi

At-Tahawi explains that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ may have described coitus interruptus as “the hidden burial” early on, when it was still allowed to agree with the People of the Book in matters where no specific revelation had come yet. Since the Jews followed a revealed scripture, and Allah had said: “They are the ones whom Allah guided, so follow their guidance” (al-Anam: 90), the Prophet ﷺ may have initially accepted what they said if he found it in the Torah or other previous scriptures.

So when the Jews described coitus interruptus as “the minor burial,” and the Prophet ﷺ accepted that description, it was based on what they claimed was in their Book. But when Allah revealed to him that they had lied, he rejected their statement and corrected the understanding. This was similar to what happened when the Jews denied the ruling of stoning in their law. They tried to hide the verse of stoning, but the Prophet ﷺ was informed by Abd Allah ibn Salam, and he exposed their lie and ruled by the correct punishment.

Likewise, Allah revealed verses in the Quran that explain when a human is actually created. He said: “And We created man from an extract of clay… then We made him a different creation. So blessed is Allah, the Best of creators” (al-Muminun: 12–14). From this, the Prophet ﷺ learned that the human is not considered a living soul until after a certain stage. Before that, it is not alive and cannot be buried. So the idea that coitus interruptus is “burial” is wrong.

Ali ibn Abi Talib, may Allah be pleased with him, explained this in a gathering with Umar ibn al-Khattab and other companions. When some mentioned that the Jews called it the minor burial, Ali said that it is not burial unless it passes through the full stages of creation mentioned in the Quran. Umar was impressed and praised him for his words.

Ibn Abbas also said the same as Ali. When some people asked him about coitus interruptus, he explained that it goes through stages before life begins. He showed that nothing visible is formed until after the soul is breathed into the body, and recited the same verse.

All of this shows that the Prophet ﷺ at first may have agreed with the description of “hidden burial” because he found it in earlier scriptures or accepted it from the People of the Book. But when Allah revealed the truth, he rejected their claim that it was like burying a child. The Prophet ﷺ declared that if Allah wants to create a child, coitus interruptus cannot stop it.

Al-Hafidh Ibn Hajar summarised this reconciliation, saying that the hadith of Judhamah came early, before revelation came about this issue, and that the Prophet ﷺ used to agree with the People of the Book where no revelation had been sent. Once the truth was revealed, he corrected the description. He explained that calling it “the minor burial” makes it sound like an actual burial, while the hadith of Judhamah described it only as a “hidden burial” because it shares the intention of cutting off life.

Ibn al-Qayyim added that the Jews thought it was like burial because it aimed to stop creation, but the Prophet ﷺ corrected them, saying that no one can prevent what Allah wills to create. The act of coitus interruptus is hidden and based on intention, unlike real burial which is clear and external.

Translation: Clarifying What Is Difficult to Understand Regarding What Was Reported from the Messenger of Allah ﷺ about Coitus Interruptus, That It Is the Hidden Burial, and What Was Reported from Him Rejecting the One Who Said That

1912 – Aishah, may Allah be pleased with her, said: Judhama told me, and she said: Coitus interruptus was mentioned in the presence of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, and he said: “That is the hidden burial.” (Its chain is authentic according to the conditions of Muslim. Its narrators are trustworthy and are narrators of the two Shaykhs, except for Judhama the woman of the hadith. Muslim has narrated from her. It was narrated by Ahmad (6/361 and 434), Muslim (1442) (141), al-Tabarani (24/535), and al-Bayhaqi (7/231), through chains from Abdullah ibn Yazid Abu Abd al-Rahman al-Muqri’ with this same chain.

All of them include, at the beginning of the narration—except for Ahmad in 6/361—that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: “I almost forbade ghilah, but then I looked at the Byzantines and Persians and saw that they practise ghilah with their children and it does not harm them in any way.” This part was narrated by Ibn Hibban in his Sahih (4196) from the narration of Judhama. See its documentation there. Ghilah is intercourse with a nursing woman. The hadith indicates the Prophet considered forbidding it, but did not due to observing it did not cause harm in other nations.)

1913 – Judhama narrated from the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, and he mentioned the same.
(Its chain is sound. Abu Zur‘ah—whose name is Wahb Allah ibn Rashid—is reliable. See hadith no. 1885. Those above him are trustworthy narrators from the two Shaykhs except for Judhama, and Muslim narrated from her.  It was narrated by al-Hakim (4/69) from the path of Muhammad ibn Isma‘il, from Sa‘id ibn Abi Maryam with this chain.)

A questioner said: These reports you have narrated make it appear that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ likened coitus interruptus to the hidden burial, but you have also narrated from him what contradicts that.

1916 – Abu Sa‘id al-Khudri, said that a man came to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and said: “O Messenger of Allah, I have a slave girl, and I practise coitus interruptus with her. I dislike that she becomes pregnant, but I desire what men desire. And the Jews say that it is the minor form of burying alive.”

So the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: “The Jews have lied. If Allah, Mighty and Majestic, wills to create someone, you will not be able to turn it away.”  (In al-Tahdhib 12/405, al-Daraqutni said: Her name is with the letter jim and dal without dots. Whoever says it with the letter dhal with a dot has made a mistake. Al-Askari also mentioned that it was transmitted with dhal from some people. Muslim in his Sahih 2/1066 said: As for Khalaf, he said: from Judhama al-Asadiyyah, and the correct version is what Yahya ibn Yahya al-Naysaburi said, with dal. Al-Suhayli in al-Rawd al-Unuf 2/218 said: The correct name is Judhama with dal. It may also be said with shaddah: Jaddama. Jaddamah means sugarcane.

Then he transmitted from Abu Umar al-Zahid al-Mutarraz, by his chain, that Jaddamah with shaddah means the tip of a palm leaf, and that is the origin of the woman’s name. The Hadith is authentic. Abu Rafi‘ah, also called Abu Muti‘, is Rafi‘ah ibn ‘Awf al-Ansari. He narrated only from Abu Sa‘id, and no one else narrated from him except Muhammad ibn Abd al-Rahman—who is ibn Thawban. Abu Dawud and al-Nasa’i narrated from him. Al-Hafiz said in al-Taqrib: He is accepted when supported, otherwise he is soft in hadith. I say: He was supported. The rest of the narrators in the chain are trustworthy and from the narrators of the two Shaykhs except for Abu Dawud—he is Sulaiman ibn Dawud al-Tayalisi—who is from the narrators of Muslim.)

1918 – Yūnus narrated to us. He said: Ibn Wahb informed us. He said: ʿAyyāsh ibn ʿUqbah al-Ḥaḍramī informed me, Musa Ibn Wardan from  Abu Sa‘id al-Khudri, said: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ was informed that the Jews say: Coitus interruptus is the minor form of burying alive. So the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: “The Jews have lied.” And the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: “If you release it (the fluid), it will not be anything but…” (Hadith is hasan. Mūsā ibn Wardān hasan in his narration, and the rest of the chain consists of trustworthy narrators.)

1919 –  Muhammad ibn Ishaq, from Muhammad ibn Ibrahim, from Abu Salamah ibn Abd al-Rahman and Abu Umamah ibn Sahl, from Abu Said al-Khudri who said: I brought my slave girl to the market of Banu Qaynuqa. A Jew saw me and said: “What is this slave girl?” I said: “She is my slave girl.” He said: “Do you have intercourse with her?”

I said: “Yes.” He said: “Perhaps she has a trace of you in her womb.” I said: “I practise coitus interruptus with her.” He said: “That is the minor form of burying alive.”

So I went to the Prophet ﷺ and told him, and he said: “The Jews have lied, the Jews have lied.” (Its chain is hasan except for the issue of tadlis by Muhammad ibn Ishaq. The rest of the narrators are trustworthy and from the narrators of the two Shaykhs, except for Ayyash ibn al-Walid al-Raqqam who is from the narrators of al-Bukhari. Muhammad ibn Ibrahim is ibn al-Harith al-Taymi.)

Reconciliation By At Tahawi

So our answer to him, by the success and help of Allah, is that it is possible the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said what we narrated from him in the first section of this chapter based on the previous agreement with the Jews on their law before Allah revealed something in His own law that abrogated it.

Since they were People of the Book following the one who brought their scripture, and since Allah revealed to him: “They are the ones whom Allah guided, so follow their guidance” (al-Anam: 90), meaning those prophets who came before, it is likely he accepted such statements from what he found in the Torah and other books of Allah that had been revealed to His prophets before him, peace be upon them.

So when they informed him that this was mentioned in their scripture as being “the minor burial,” and they lied to him, he said what was reported from him by Judhamah. Then Allah informed him that they had lied and that the truth was otherwise. This is just like when he asked them about the punishment for adultery in their Book, and they claimed it was flogging and public disgrace, and that there was no stoning in it.

They brought the Torah, and one of them placed his hand over the verse of stoning. Then Abd Allah ibn Salam informed the Prophet ﷺ that they had lied. So the Prophet ordered the Jew to lift his hand, and when he did, the verse of stoning was there, and the proof was established against them. So the Prophet ﷺ stoned the one they brought to him for judgment.

It was the same regarding coitus interruptus. When Allah revealed to the Prophet ﷺ the truth about their lie, he explained to his ummah that they had lied, and Allah revealed in His Book what made clear when the soul is created from a drop of fluid, as in His saying:
“And We created man from an extract of clay… then We made him a different creation. So blessed is Allah, the Best of creators.” (al-Muminun: 12–14)

So He informed the Prophet of the time when the drop becomes a living being, and from then it can be buried and considered dead. But before that, it is not living, it is like other things that have no life, and it is impossible to call something like that a buried one.

And Ali ibn Abi Talib, may Allah be pleased with him, once addressed Umar ibn al-Khattab, may Allah be pleased with him, on this issue, as we now mention:

Salih ibn Abd al-Rahman narrated to us. He said: Abd Allah ibn Yazid al-Muqri’ narrated to us. He said: Ibn Luhayah narrated to us, from Yazid ibn Abi Habib, from Mamar ibn Abi Habiyah, who said:

I heard Ubayd Allah ibn Rafaah al-Ansari say: The companions of the Prophet ﷺ discussed coitus interruptus in the presence of Umar ibn al-Khattab, may Allah be pleased with him, and they differed in opinion. So Umar said: “You differ even though you are the people of Badr, the best among the people. What about those who come after you?”

Then two men spoke in private, and Umar said: “What is this private talk?” One of them said: “The Jews claim it is the minor burial.” Ali, may Allah be pleased with him, said: “It is not burial until it passes through the seven stages,” and he recited the verse: ‘And indeed We created man from an extract of clay…’ until the end of the verse. Umar was amazed at his words and said: “May Allah reward you with good.”

Mamar ibn Abi Habiyah, from Ubayd Allah ibn Adi ibn al-Khayyar, who said: The companions of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ discussed coitus interruptus in the presence of Umar, may Allah be pleased with him. Then he mentioned the same narration exactly, except that he did not mention the words: “Umar was amazed at his words and said: May Allah reward you with good.”
(Its chain is authentic. Its narrators are trustworthy and from the narrators of the two Shaykhs except for Mamar ibn Abi Habiyah. Al-Tirmidhi narrated from him and he is trustworthy. Ibn Hajar considered the chain strong in Fath al-Bari 9/310.)

Abu Jafar said: This was a correct deduction from Ali ibn Abi Talib, may Allah be pleased with him, regarding this issue.

And this same view was narrated from Abd Allah ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with them both: As narrated to us by Bakkar, who said: Muammal ibn Ismail narrated to us. He said: Sufyan narrated to us. He said: al-Amash narrated to us, from Abu al-Wadak, that a group of people asked Ibn Abbas about coitus interruptus. He mentioned the same words as those of Ali in the previous two narrations. (Its chain is authentic except for Muammal ibn Ismail who had poor memory. Those above him are trustworthy and from the narrators of the two Shaykhs except for Abu al-Wadak—he is Jabr ibn Nawf—from the narrators of Muslim. It was also narrated by Abd al-Razzaq (12570) and al-Bayhaqi (7/230), from Sufyan al-Thawri, from al-Amash, from Abd al-Malik ibn Maysarah, from Mujahid, from Ibn Abbas. This chain is authentic according to the conditions of the two Shaykhs. A similar narration was reported by Abd al-Razzaq (12571) from Ibn Jurayj, from Ata, from Ibn Abbas. This chain is also authentic by their conditions. See what follows.)

And as narrated to us by Fahd. He said: Abu Nuaym narrated to us. He said: Muhammad ibn Sharik narrated to us. He said: I heard Ibn Abi Mulaykah say: Some people from Iraq came to Ibn Abbas asking him about coitus interruptus. They believed it to be a form of burial. So he said to his slave girls: “Tell them what I do.” It was as though they felt shy. Then he said: “I pour it in the bowl, then pour water over it, then say to one of them: ‘Look carefully, do not say that there is anything.’

Then he said: ‘It is a drop of fluid, then it becomes blood, then a clot, then a lump, then becomes bones, then is clothed in flesh, then it becomes as Allah wills until the soul is breathed into it.’ Then he recited the verse: ‘Then We made him into another creation, so blessed is Allah, the Best of creators.’ (al-Muminun: 14)” (Its chain is authentic. Its narrators are trustworthy and from the narrators of the two Shaykhs except for Muhammad ibn Sharik. Abu Dawud narrated from him and he is trustworthy. Abu Nuaym is al-Fadl ibn Dukayn, and Ibn Abi Mulaykah is Abd Allah ibn Ubayd Allah ibn Abd Allah ibn Abi Mulaykah.)

Abu Jafar said: So when the Messenger of Allah ﷺ realised that the Jews had lied about what they said regarding coitus interruptus, and that their view was false, he rejected their statement, and informed the people that whether they practise coitus interruptus or not, only what Allah has decreed will occur—either a child will result or not. (Al-Hafidh Ibn Hajar summarised the way of reconciling the two hadiths as concluded by Imam al-Tahawi in Fath al-Bari 9/309. He said: al-Tahawi said that the hadith of Judhamah likely reflects an early stage where the Prophet ﷺ agreed with the People of the Book in matters for which no revelation had come yet, and he used to prefer agreement with them when no revelation had yet been sent. Then Allah informed him of the correct ruling and revealed the truth, and so he declared the Jews to be liars in what they had said. Ibn Rushd and then Ibn al-Arabi objected, saying it is not possible for the Prophet to follow the Jews then later declare their statement a lie.

Al-Hafidh said: The way to reconcile is to say that calling it ‘the minor burial’ implies it is a real and external act, whereas ‘the hidden burial’ in Judhamah’s narration only means hidden in intention, not a legal burial. It was called a burial only because it cuts off the possibility of life. Ibn al-Qayyim in Tuhfat al-Mawdud 3/85 said:

The Jews thought that coitus interruptus is like burying alive because it removes the possibility of what might have been created. The Prophet declared that false and said that if Allah wants to create, no one can prevent it. As for calling it a hidden burial, it is because the man withdraws to avoid having a child, out of eagerness not to produce one. So his intention and desire resemble someone who buries a newborn, except that the actual burial is a physical action, while this is hidden in will and intention.)

Sharh Mushkil Al Athar By At Tahawi (5/168-177)