A woman wants to have children, but her husband refuses; what should the woman do? A discussion on limiting and regulating family size.
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The questioner: A woman wishes to have children, but her husband also refuses to have many offspring and is content with some of his children. Is it permissible for her to order or do something that he would agree to having children, or something like that?
The Shaykh: For example, what can she do? First, agreeing to this husband's approach is not permissible in the Shari'ah. But what can this wife do? We must know the reasons for the situation.
The questioner: He is old in age, meaning.
The Shaykh : Yes?
The questioner: He is old in age, but he is capable of having children; he just does not want to.
The Shaykh: This is a repetition of your question. May Allah reward you. I hope for an answer to my direct question: What can this woman do regarding this husband who wants to limit or regulate family size? For example, if she wants to refuse him, we would say: No, it is not permissible, because that is his right? So, what do you want to do in this question? I do not think you have [a specific action in mind].
The questioner: ... offspring, she wishes ... .
Another questioner: Can the Shaykh, for example, order her to use a contraceptive?
The Shaykh : How?
Another questioner: It is possible ... regarding the contraceptive, for example, coitus interruptus or others, so she prevents him from doing this; this might be a way out.
The Shaykh: If she refuses something he imposes on her, and it is not permissible in the Shari'ah, then this refusal is valid. But this is not a positive action on her part; it is a negative action. I fear that there is something behind the question that contradicts the Shari'ah, as I gave an example earlier: that she refuses to comply with him in what he wants.
The important point is that limiting and regulating family size is not from Islam. There are, of course, specific rulings in certain circumstances concerning the wife, not the husband. If she is ill, for example, and has anemia, and her death is feared due to frequent childbirth, then it can be said that she may use some contraceptives that do not require her to expose her 'awrah (part of the body that must be covered). Within certain limits, this is possible. However, adopting a system as is common in this time is not permissible.
Another questioner: Our Shaykh, if he brought her contraceptive pills and told her: Drink them... and she did not drink them, would the situation be that she disobeyed his order?
The Shaykh: If it is within the limits we mentioned; for example, she is not ill.
Another questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh : Yes.
The Shaykh: For example, what can she do? First, agreeing to this husband's approach is not permissible in the Shari'ah. But what can this wife do? We must know the reasons for the situation.
The questioner: He is old in age, meaning.
The Shaykh : Yes?
The questioner: He is old in age, but he is capable of having children; he just does not want to.
The Shaykh: This is a repetition of your question. May Allah reward you. I hope for an answer to my direct question: What can this woman do regarding this husband who wants to limit or regulate family size? For example, if she wants to refuse him, we would say: No, it is not permissible, because that is his right? So, what do you want to do in this question? I do not think you have [a specific action in mind].
The questioner: ... offspring, she wishes ... .
Another questioner: Can the Shaykh, for example, order her to use a contraceptive?
The Shaykh : How?
Another questioner: It is possible ... regarding the contraceptive, for example, coitus interruptus or others, so she prevents him from doing this; this might be a way out.
The Shaykh: If she refuses something he imposes on her, and it is not permissible in the Shari'ah, then this refusal is valid. But this is not a positive action on her part; it is a negative action. I fear that there is something behind the question that contradicts the Shari'ah, as I gave an example earlier: that she refuses to comply with him in what he wants.
The important point is that limiting and regulating family size is not from Islam. There are, of course, specific rulings in certain circumstances concerning the wife, not the husband. If she is ill, for example, and has anemia, and her death is feared due to frequent childbirth, then it can be said that she may use some contraceptives that do not require her to expose her 'awrah (part of the body that must be covered). Within certain limits, this is possible. However, adopting a system as is common in this time is not permissible.
Another questioner: Our Shaykh, if he brought her contraceptive pills and told her: Drink them... and she did not drink them, would the situation be that she disobeyed his order?
The Shaykh: If it is within the limits we mentioned; for example, she is not ill.
Another questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh : Yes.
Source
www.al-albany.com
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.