The ruling on removing the womb to prevent pregnancy out of fear of poverty
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
Question:
This is a letter from the questioner Abu 'Adil, who resides in Riyadh. He says: Honorable Shaykh, my wife has given birth to three children, and I asked the doctor to have her womb tied off because we do not want a large number of children, as my salary is limited and we need care, money, and expenses. After my wife recovered, we performed an operation to remove the womb out of fear of pregnancy. What is the ruling in Islamic law regarding this action of ours? Are we sinners, given the circumstances we mentioned at the beginning of the letter?
Answer:
If the question had been asked before the procedure was performed, it might have had a valid aspect. But asking after you have already done it does not permit you anything. It is not permissible to prevent offspring or prevent pregnancy out of fear of poverty. This is from the age of ignorance (Jahiliyyah). This is from the age of ignorance. It is a bad opinion of Allah (Mighty and Majestic), and having many children is required by the Shari'ah to expiate the sins of the community, as the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) encouraged it. Your proceeding with this act without a fatwa from the scholars is a great error.
The presenter:
Yes, may Allah reward you. The sister who asked the question.
This is a letter from the questioner Abu 'Adil, who resides in Riyadh. He says: Honorable Shaykh, my wife has given birth to three children, and I asked the doctor to have her womb tied off because we do not want a large number of children, as my salary is limited and we need care, money, and expenses. After my wife recovered, we performed an operation to remove the womb out of fear of pregnancy. What is the ruling in Islamic law regarding this action of ours? Are we sinners, given the circumstances we mentioned at the beginning of the letter?
Answer:
If the question had been asked before the procedure was performed, it might have had a valid aspect. But asking after you have already done it does not permit you anything. It is not permissible to prevent offspring or prevent pregnancy out of fear of poverty. This is from the age of ignorance (Jahiliyyah). This is from the age of ignorance. It is a bad opinion of Allah (Mighty and Majestic), and having many children is required by the Shari'ah to expiate the sins of the community, as the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) encouraged it. Your proceeding with this act without a fatwa from the scholars is a great error.
The presenter:
Yes, may Allah reward you. The sister who asked the question.
Source
نور على الدرب - الفوزان - 03/165 — archive.org (3:14)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.