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﴿ فَاسْأَلُوا أَهْلَ الذِّكْرِ إِن كُنتُمْ لَا تَعْلَمُونَ ﴾

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Is it permissible to regulate pregnancy for the woman's health?

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Question : O Shaykh Muhammad, this questioner, a sister, in her first question says: If pregnancy harms the woman, can she regulate her pregnancy?

Answer : Regulating pregnancy is from Allah the Mighty and Majestic. If He wills that a woman becomes pregnant, nothing prevents it, and if He does not will that she becomes pregnant, nothing brings it about. The matter is entirely in the hand of Allah.
And the two spouses are required to have many children. Because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “Marry women who are loving and fertile, for I shall be boasting of you before the nations.”
And on this basis, it is not befitting for a woman or her husband to reduce their offspring, and the more children there are, the more provision there is. By the saying of Allah Blessed and Exalted is He:
And do not kill your children for fear of poverty. We provide for them and for youوَلَا تَقْتُلُوا أَوْلَادَكُمْ خَشْيَةَ إِمْلَاقٍ نَّحْنُ نَرْزُقُهُمْ وَإِيَّاكُمْ
[Al-Isra 17:31]
. And by His saying Blessed and Exalted is He:
And there is no creature on earth but that upon Allah is its provisionوَمَا مِن دَابَّةٍ فِي الْأَرْضِ إِلَّا عَلَى اللَّهِ رِزْقُهَا
[Hud 11:6]
.
And if we look at the hardship of life among those who have many children, that is only due to their weakness in relying upon Allah the Mighty and Majestic, and the doubt of some of them in the promise of Allah the Mighty and Majestic. If they had relied upon Allah with true reliance, He would have provided for them.
And in the hadith from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him):
the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) say: `If you were to put your trust in Allah as you should, you would be given provision like the birds: they go out hungry in the morning and come back with full bellies in the evening.”صلى الله عليه وسلم لو أنكم توكلون على الله حق توكله لرزقكم كما يرزق الطير تغدو خماصا وتروح بطانة،
Musnad Ahmad 205[lts isnad is qawi] (Darussalam)
meaning she goes out in the morning hungry and returns in the evening full. Should she not regulate her pregnancy? So leave the matter to Allah, Lord of the worlds. And ask Allah to provide her with good offspring. May Allah benefit her with them and benefit the Muslims with them.
And I warn my Muslim brothers on this occasion from the false calls that dull the activity of Muslims in having many children. Because our enemies want us to be a small, weak group, so that they can do with us whatever they wish. The numerous nation is strong. And the multitude of the nation is a blessing from Allah. As Shu'ayb said to his people:
And remember when you were few and He increased youوَاذْكُرُوا إِذْ كُنتُمْ قَلِيلًا فَكَثَّرَكُمْ
[Al-A'raf 7:86]
. And Allah the Exalted said, bestowing a favor upon the Children of Israel: “And We made you the most numerous.”
And we see in our era today that the nation with a large number is respected and awe-inspiring, even if it is weak in terms of industry and production. We ask Allah to grant this nation strength and activity in the religion of Allah. O Allah, amen. And manifestation and victory over the enemies of Allah. O Allah, amen.
Source قناة «فضيلة الشيخ محمد بن صالح العثيمين»، 1974- هل يجوز تنظيم الحمل لصحة المرأة؟/سؤال على الهاتف 📞 /ابن عثيمين — youtube.com

The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.

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