Mutual Agreement to Delay Pregnancy
Question
As-Salamu `Alaykum. I am 26 years old, married and I am currently studying. My husband and I agree to postpone begetting children. However, we fear that such an action is Haram. Could you please furnish us with a comprehensive Fatwa regarding the issue? Jazakum Allahu Khyaran.
Answer
Wa`alaykum As-Salaamu Warahmatullahi Wabarakatuh.
Wa`alaykum As-Salaamu Warahmatullahi Wabarakatuh.
In The Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.
All praise and thanks are due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon His Messenger.
Dear sister in Islam, thank you very much for having confidence in us, and we hope our efforts, which are purely for Allah’s Sake, meet your expectations.
In Islam, begetting children is a shared right between the husband and wife, in the sense that none of the spouses is permitted to refrain from making anything that may jeopardize that right without entering into a mutual agreement with the other partner. Thus, if your husband agrees to postpone having children for the time being until you complete your studies, then there is nothing wrong in this.
Here below are the `Ulama’s Fatwas regarding the issue:
Firstly: The late Azharite scholar and the head of the Sunni Egyptian Institutions in Egypt, Dr. Fu`ad Mukhaymar, may Allah rest his soul in peace, states the following:
“One of the best fruits of marriage in Islam is to beget children. However, if there are certain hindering elements that render both the husband and wife unable to beget children, and both of them agree to remain compassionate and affectionate to each other without having children, then they are permitted to do so, and Allah will reward them generously for their patience and perseverance.”
Secondly: Sheikh Faysal Mawlawi, deputy chairman of the European Council for Fatwa and Research, states:
“ The majority of Muslim scholars agree that the husband is permitted to exercise Al-`Azl or coitus interruptus (i.e. the withdrawal of the penis from the vagina just before ejaculation) if his wife agrees to do so. However, some of them maintain that the husband is permitted to carry out Al-`Azl even without his wife’s permission. It is well known that Al-`Azl, is one of the primary reasons that help hinder pregnancy, and thus control the number of having children.
In addition, the majority of Muslim scholars agree that any scientific means that help achieve the same result gained through Al-`Azl is permissible, especially when resorting to this scientific means is driven by a religiously acceptable reason. However, if the wife agrees not to beget children, then all forms of Al-`Azl becomes permissible according to all scholars.”
Thirdly: The prominent Muslim scholar and Da`iyah, (caller to Islam) Sheikh `Abdul-Khaleq Hasan Ash-shareef, states:
“ No doubt that begetting children is one of the primary objectives of marriage in Islam. Allah Almighty has permitted Muslims to marry in order to populate the earth and to quench their sexual urge through a legal channel.
The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, is reported to have permitted his Companions, may Allah be pleased with them all, to practice Al-`Azl. In addition, he told them that whatever Allah Almighty destines will inevitably happen. On the basis of the aforementioned evidence, Muslim scholars have permitted both the husband and wife to carry out Al-`Azl as long as both of them agree to it. However, they go against the issue in case the wife does not agree to Al-`Azl. The scholars state that the husband has no legal right to deny his wife the right to beget children and her right to motherhood, which is one of the basic innate characteristics of women."
Fourthly: the world renowned scholar, Sheikh Yusuf Al-Qaradawi, concludes:
“The preservation of the human species is unquestionably the primary objective of marriage, and such preservation of the species requires continued reproduction. Accordingly, Islam encourages having children and has blessed both male and female progeny. However, it allows the Muslim to plan his family due to valid reasons and recognized necessities.
The common method of contraception at the time of the Prophet, peace and blessings be on him, was Al-`Azl. The Companions of the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, engaged in this practice during the period of the Qur’anic revelation. Jabir, may Allah be pleased with him, states, “We used to practice coitus interruptus during the time of Allah’s Messenger, peace and blessings be upon him, while the Qur’an was being revealed.” (Reported by Al-Bukhari and Muslim)
Another version of this Hadith, which is narrated by Muslim, reads, “We used to practice coitus interruptus during the time of Allah’s Messenger, peace and blessings be upon him. He came to know about it, but he did not prohibit it.”
In a gathering at which `Umar was present, someone remarked, ‘Some say that Al-`Azl is a minor form of burying a child alive.’ To this Ali replied, ‘This is not so before the completion of seven stages (of reproduction): being a product of the earth, then a drop of semen, then a clot, then a little lump of tissue, then bones, then bones clothed with flesh, which then become like another creation.’ ‘You are right,’ said `Umar. ‘May Allah prolong your life.'"
