Short answer
Yes. Islam sets no list or number of positions. A husband and wife may be intimate in any position, facing each other or from behind, as long as intercourse is in the vagina and not the anus, and not during her period or postnatal bleeding. The four schools agree.
Every position is permissible (mubah) as long as penetration is in the natural place (the vagina). Anal intercourse is haram whatever the position, and so is intercourse during menstruation or nifas.
The four schools agree on this.
Explanation
Some Jews in Madinah used to say that if a man came to his wife from behind, the child would be born cross-eyed. Allah then revealed: "Your wives are a place of sowing of seed for you, so come to your place of cultivation however you wish" (2:223). The image of a field explains both the freedom and its limit: any approach is fine, but the place is the one where children are conceived.
Umar once came to the Prophet ﷺ upset, saying he had approached his wife from behind. The Prophet ﷺ recited this ayah and said: from the front or from behind, but avoid the anus and avoid her period. Hanafi scholars, like the other three schools, take this as the rule.
So the limits are few:
- Intercourse only in the vagina. Anal intercourse is haram at all times.
- No intercourse during her period or postnatal bleeding (2:222). Other closeness is allowed, with details in what is forbidden in intimacy.
- Nothing that harms either spouse, and no pressure. If one position is painful or unwelcome for one of you, the other should not insist.
- Privacy: no one may see or hear, and you do not tell others.
Some good manners come from the sunnah and the scholars: begin with the dua before intercourse, be gentle, and care about each other's pleasure, not only your own. During pregnancy, choose what is comfortable and follow medical advice. See intimacy during pregnancy.
The evidence
Quran, Surah Al-Baqara 2:223
نِسَآؤُكُمْ حَرْثٌۭ لَّكُمْ فَأْتُوا۟ حَرْثَكُمْ أَنَّىٰ شِئْتُمْ ۖ وَقَدِّمُوا۟ لِأَنفُسِكُمْ ۚ وَٱتَّقُوا۟ ٱللَّهَ وَٱعْلَمُوٓا۟ أَنَّكُم مُّلَٰقُوهُ ۗ وَبَشِّرِ ٱلْمُؤْمِنِينَ ﴿٢٢٣﴾
Your wives are a place of sowing of seed for you, so come to your place of cultivation however you wish and put forth [righteousness] for yourselves. And fear Allah and know that you will meet Him. And give good tidings to the believers.
Any position is allowed, in the place where children are conceived.
Quran, Surah Al-Baqara 2:222
وَيَسْـَٔلُونَكَ عَنِ ٱلْمَحِيضِ ۖ قُلْ هُوَ أَذًۭى فَٱعْتَزِلُوا۟ ٱلنِّسَآءَ فِى ٱلْمَحِيضِ ۖ وَلَا تَقْرَبُوهُنَّ حَتَّىٰ يَطْهُرْنَ ۖ فَإِذَا تَطَهَّرْنَ فَأْتُوهُنَّ مِنْ حَيْثُ أَمَرَكُمُ ٱللَّهُ ۚ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ يُحِبُّ ٱلتَّوَّٰبِينَ وَيُحِبُّ ٱلْمُتَطَهِّرِينَ ﴿٢٢٢﴾
And they ask you about menstruation. Say, "It is harm, so keep away from wives during menstruation. And do not approach them until they are pure. And when they have purified themselves, then come to them from where Allah has ordained for you. Indeed, Allah loves those who are constantly repentant and loves those who purify themselves."
Intercourse during the period is excluded.
Jami' at-Tirmidhi 2980
Grading to be checked... أقبل وأدبر واتق الدبر والحيضة ...
"From the front or from behind, but avoid the anus and avoid her period."
The Prophet ﷺ allowed every approach and named the two limits.
Where the ruling is recorded
- Radd al-Muhtar (Ibn Abidin), Kitab al-Nikah, on what a husband may enjoy of his wife. Enjoyment in any manner is allowed, with intercourse only in the front passage.
- al-Mughni (Ibn Qudama), Kitab 'Ishrat al-Nisa'. The Hanbali agreement that any position is allowed in the front passage.
Checked by our team. For a more accurate answer to your own situation, consult a scholar. Quran translation by Sahih International. Hadith Arabic from the standard editions of the six books and the Muwatta, with gradings as recorded there; the English is our own rendering. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.