Assalaamu alaykum,
one of my musallis asked the following question and i searched a number of websites but could not find a satisfactory answer. he wants to have another baby (he already has 4) and feels that he has enough wealth to do so. he is also young and so is his wife (both are ubder 40). his wife, on the other hand, uses contraceptive tablets to interrupt her menstrual cycles so that she cannot fall pregnant. he disapproves of this and has even printed out a 4 page fatwa explaining to her the impermissibility of this practice. she refuses to listen to him and continues doing so. he has even mentioned that he is prepared to adopt a child to fulfill his wish but feels dispondent because the process is so difficult. he also told her that he would like to get married a second time to fulfill his wish which obviously didn’t sit very well with his wife.
what should he do? is it permissible for her to continue despite his disapproval or is there some form of disciplinary action he can take within the boundaries of the shari’ah? should he be content with the 4 children he has and be patient?
In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
As-salāmu ‘alaykum wa-rahmatullāhi wa-barakātuh.
The musalli wishes to have another child. He already has four children. He cites the following reasons for having another child.
i) He has enough wealth.
ii) He and his wife are young.
iii) He has support of a four-page fatwa.
iv) He wishes to adopt a child.
v) He also wishes to remarry to have another child.
The musalli does not explain the reason why his wife does not want another child. You should enquire from him why his wife does not want another child. The issue may not be wealth. He may have sufficient wealth to take care of another child. It is challenging for a mother to raise four children at once. Is he assisting his wife physically in taking care of the four children? If he is not physically assisting his wife in taking care of the children, how does he expect her to bear another pregnancy and take care of the child? That may accordingly affect her health and the proper upbringing of the four children. According to Shariah, the musalli has a right to remarry. What guarantee does he have that the second wife will bear him a child or if the child will be healthy etc?
Advise your musalli to be content with his wife and four children. He should be patient and hope for reward from Allah for his patience. He should focus his energy on assisting his wife in taking care of his four children and raising them with proper Islamic values. He will be immensely rewarded for that.[1]
And Allah Taala Knows Best
Mehrazur Rahman
Student Darul Iftaa
Brooklyn, NY, USA
Checked and Approved by,
Mufti Ebrahim Desai.