Fatwa ID:05344

Answered by: Maulana Irfan Ali

Question

A lady has 3/4 children and doesn’t want to have more children, She doesn’t get any help with parenting and taking care of the children; the husband is busy with work and doesn’t have time to help. The husband still wants to have more children; does the wife have the right to say that they have enough children?

In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful

Answer:

One of the purposes of marriage is to have offspring. The Quran promotes the concept of nikah very highly. It states “marry from amongst the women you like two, three or four but if you cannot do justice the only one” (Quran Surah Nisa verse 3)

In another verse of the Holy Quran, it states “Do not kill your children from the fear of poverty for verily we provide for you and them” (Quran Surah Bani Israaeel verse. 32)

In a narration of hadith the Prophet SAW  mentioned “marry women who are loving and childbearing” (Sunan Abi Dawood Hadith 2050)

Keeping all these factors in mind one should only stop thinking of having children if there are health factors involved. But if the reason for not having children is solely based on money, beauty, and pressures of society then this will not equate to an Islamic reason to stop having children. (Jadeed Fiqhi Masail vol.1  p.202)

Only Allah knows best

Written by Maulana Irfan Ali

Checked and approved by Mufti Mohammed Tosir Miah

Darul Ifta Birmingham