Is it permissible for a woman married to a man who abandons prayer to use birth control pills?
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The Shaykh : Yes
The questioner : The honorable scholar, a woman has five children from a husband who does not pray and does not fast. He travels to a neighboring country and commits sins. He beats his wife, insults her, and does not treat her well. The question is whether it is permissible for her to use a contraceptive, such as pills, because she does not want to continue with him. She says that this husband is merely playing with her and that she will not care about him or give him any consideration, and that she will use the contraceptive without his knowledge.
The Shaykh : I say that if the matter is as stated in the question, that her husband does not fast and does not pray, then he is not her husband. That is, it is not permissible for her to remain with him, because one who does not pray is a disbeliever in a disbelief that takes him out of the religion, may Allah protect us from that. And if he is a disbeliever in a disbelief that takes him out of the religion, and she is a believer, then Allah the Exalted said regarding the believing emigrant women:[Al-Mumtahanah 60:10] It is obligatory for her in this case to go to her family and to ask the authorities who have the ability to separate them to request separation between her and her husband. It is not permissible for her to remain under a disbeliever who does not believe in Allah and does not uphold the laws of his religion. This one who does not pray might say, "I believe in Allah, Mighty and Majestic," but he says that only with his mouth. He says with his mouth what is not in his heart, because it is not possible for a person who has faith in Allah to then persist in abandoning prayer, may Allah protect us from that, while he knows its importance, its care, and the evidence regarding the disbelief of one who abandons prayer in the Book of Allah and in the Sunnah of His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), and also in the statements of the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them). Even Abdullah ibn Shaqiq (may Allah have mercy on him) said: Mishkat al-Masabih 579 Yes.
The questioner : If he repents, O Shaykh?
The Shaykh : As for if he repents, if he repents before the waiting period expires, then he is her husband. And if the waiting period has expired, some scholars hold that she is not lawful to him except with a new contract, while others hold that it is permissible for her to return to him without a contract.
The questioner : ... contraceptive
The Shaykh : It is not permissible for her to remain with him in the first place. How can she take a contraceptive?!
The questioner : ...
The Shaykh : She should not remain. If I say it is permissible for her to take a contraceptive, that means I have approved her remaining with him, and it is not permissible for her to remain with him in the first place. Yes.
The questioner : The honorable scholar, a woman has five children from a husband who does not pray and does not fast. He travels to a neighboring country and commits sins. He beats his wife, insults her, and does not treat her well. The question is whether it is permissible for her to use a contraceptive, such as pills, because she does not want to continue with him. She says that this husband is merely playing with her and that she will not care about him or give him any consideration, and that she will use the contraceptive without his knowledge.
The Shaykh : I say that if the matter is as stated in the question, that her husband does not fast and does not pray, then he is not her husband. That is, it is not permissible for her to remain with him, because one who does not pray is a disbeliever in a disbelief that takes him out of the religion, may Allah protect us from that. And if he is a disbeliever in a disbelief that takes him out of the religion, and she is a believer, then Allah the Exalted said regarding the believing emigrant women:
And if you know them to be believers, then do not return them to the disbelievers; they are not lawful [wives] for them, nor are they lawful [husbands] for them
فإن علمتموهن مؤمنات فلا ترجعوهن إلى الكفار لا هن حل لهم ولا هم يحلون لهنthe companions of God’s Messenger did not consider the abandonment of any good deeds but prayer to be infidelity
إن أصحاب النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم لا يرون شيئا من الأعمال تركه كفر غير الصلاةThe questioner : If he repents, O Shaykh?
The Shaykh : As for if he repents, if he repents before the waiting period expires, then he is her husband. And if the waiting period has expired, some scholars hold that she is not lawful to him except with a new contract, while others hold that it is permissible for her to return to him without a contract.
The questioner : ... contraceptive
The Shaykh : It is not permissible for her to remain with him in the first place. How can she take a contraceptive?!
The questioner : ...
The Shaykh : She should not remain. If I say it is permissible for her to take a contraceptive, that means I have approved her remaining with him, and it is not permissible for her to remain with him in the first place. Yes.