Is it permissible for a woman to refuse intimacy with her husband or to seek divorce because he refuses to have a third child?
The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, encouraged having many children, saying: "Marry the loving and fertile, for I shall boast of your large numbers before the nations." Therefore, spouses should be keen on this. It is permissible to delay childbearing for a verified benefit, such as the wife's illness. However, it is not permissible out of fear of poverty or difficulty in raising children, as this indicates a poor opinion of Allah. The Islamic Fiqh Council has unanimously agreed that it is not permissible to practice birth control or contraception out of fear of destitution, unless there is a verified harm approved by Sharia or a trustworthy Muslim physician. It is permissible to use condoms and perform coitus interruptus (ejaculating outside the vagina), provided the wife agrees, based on the hadith of Jabir: "We used to practice coitus interruptus during the time of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, and when that reached the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, he did not forbid us." The husband is not allowed to do so without his wife's consent. If the husband insists on his position while the wife desires children, the wife should not refrain from his bed, because disobedience should not be met with disobedience. The wife should fulfill her duties, supplicate, be patient, continue to advise, and maintain her home, believing that whatever children Allah has decreed will come to be despite any obstacles, for the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said: "There is no soul that will exist until the Day of Judgment except that it will exist."
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- Original fatwa ID
- 8427
- Imported
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