I am a married man with six children, boys and girls, praise be to Allah. During my wife’s most recent delivery, the labor was difficult, which forced me to take her
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The questioner : I am a married man with six children, boys and girls, praise be to Allah. During my wife’s most recent delivery, the labor was difficult, which forced me to take her to the hospital, and she underwent a cesarean section. The operation was successful, praise be to Allah. During the operation, the doctor who performed the procedure suggested that he tie off the uterus so that she would not become pregnant again, because pregnancy is difficult for her. I agreed to this. Now I am in a state of confusion. I ask for your guidance: does this sin attach to me as a result of that? What should be done now? And what is the extent of the permissibility or impermissibility of this?
The Shaykh : Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and may blessings and peace be upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and his Companions and those who follow them in excellence until the Day of Judgment. As for what follows, it has previously been stated from this pulpit that it is incumbent upon the Muslim community to strive to increase its numbers, for in that lies strength and the opening of opportunities for diverse works. As for this procedure you performed, which is tying off the uterus so that water does not reach it and she does not become pregnant: if it is established that this causes harm to the mother and there is fear for her from it, then there is nothing wrong with it. But mere difficulty and weakness is a matter that is unavoidable, as Allah the Exalted said:[Luqman 31:14] And He the Exalted said: [Al-Ahqaf 46:15] This is a matter that is unavoidable in pregnancy.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : There must be difficulty, and there must be fatigue in pregnancy, during delivery, and after that. It is not permissible to perform an operation that absolutely prevents pregnancy merely because of the difficulty of pregnancy or childbirth. However, if it is established that there is harm to the mother and there is fear for her from it, then there is nothing wrong with it, provided the mother consents to it.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : Yes.
The questioner : He has another question, he says.
The Shaykh : Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and may blessings and peace be upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and his Companions and those who follow them in excellence until the Day of Judgment. As for what follows, it has previously been stated from this pulpit that it is incumbent upon the Muslim community to strive to increase its numbers, for in that lies strength and the opening of opportunities for diverse works. As for this procedure you performed, which is tying off the uterus so that water does not reach it and she does not become pregnant: if it is established that this causes harm to the mother and there is fear for her from it, then there is nothing wrong with it. But mere difficulty and weakness is a matter that is unavoidable, as Allah the Exalted said:
And We have enjoined upon man [care] for his parents. His mother carried him, [increasing her] in weakness upon weakness
ووصينا الإنسان بوالديه حملته أمه وهنا على وهنAnd We have enjoined upon man, to his parents, good treatment. His mother carried him with hardship and gave birth to him with hardship
ووصينا الإنسان بوالديه إحسانا حملته أمه كرها ووضعته كرهاThe questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : There must be difficulty, and there must be fatigue in pregnancy, during delivery, and after that. It is not permissible to perform an operation that absolutely prevents pregnancy merely because of the difficulty of pregnancy or childbirth. However, if it is established that there is harm to the mother and there is fear for her from it, then there is nothing wrong with it, provided the mother consents to it.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : Yes.
The questioner : He has another question, he says.