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Is it permissible for a wife to take contraceptives without her husband's permission, knowing that she gets pregnant and gives birth annually, and fears for her health and well-being due to successive pregnancies and births?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

Procreation is one of the purposes of marriage and a right for both spouses. Neither spouse is permitted to prevent the other from it except with the latter's consent. However, if the woman is harmed by closely spaced pregnancies and births, she has the right to refuse, and the husband may not compel her, due to the Prophet's (peace and blessings be upon him) saying: "There shall be no harm or reciprocating harm." If she is harmed by successive pregnancies, there is no sin upon her in taking contraceptives, even without her husband's permission, while observing the Sharia-compliant regulations.

Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026

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