Would the wife be sinful if she insisted on spacing out pregnancies due to the resulting physical and psychological exhaustion and its impact on her marital relationship, especially since the husband refuses to space them out and threatens not to cohabit with her? What is the ruling on the husband’s insistence on not spacing them out despite these reasons?

A woman is permitted to insist on not having repeated pregnancies if it causes her or her young children verifiable harm, as attested by trustworthy doctors. This is because averting the harm of detriment takes precedence over achieving the benefit of a large number of children, and because harm must be removed. The husband is not permitted to insist on procreation in this situation, due to the Prophet's (peace and blessings be upon him) saying: "There is no harm [to be inflicted] nor reciprocating harm." If she can avoid pregnancy through safe methods (such as intercourse during pregnancy, intercourse during infertile periods, coitus interruptus, and using contraceptives), then she is not allowed to refuse intercourse. However, if there is no harm, the woman sins by insisting on depriving her husband of his right to a child and by refusing intercourse, due to the Prophet's (peace and blessings be upon him) saying: "Marry the affectionate and fertile woman, for I will boast of your numbers before the nations."