Wife wants more children but husband wants to delay that

21-6-2017 | IslamWeb

Question:

Assalaamu alaykum, Shaykh. My husband and I have been married for almost 9 years and have three children who are 4, 6, and 7 years old. My children and I live in an Islamic country, and my husband works in a non-Muslim country and tries to save money so we can reunite again, and we do not know when that will be. My children and I have been living abroad for about 2 years now. I feel that I want to have more children, and I am 37 years old, and all doctors say that waiting for a few years more is not good because then there are increased risks related to pregnancies for women as well as for the child. I am trying my best with our three children to give them a good Islamic education as well as other things. My husband forbids me to get pregnant until we are reunited, but that is not possible because of my age and because we do not even know when that will be. I feel that by not allowing me to have more children, my husband is hurting me and not giving me my rights in islam. Please advise. Ramadan mubarak.

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Answer:

All perfect praise be to Allah, the Lord of the worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allah and that Muhammad is His slave and Messenger.

Your husband has no right to prevent you from having children, because having children is a common right to both spouses, and neither of them has the right to prevent the other from it without a sound excuse.

We advise you to try to reach mutual understanding with your husband and not to differ in this regard.

For benefit, please refer to fatwas 82274, and 84472.

Allah knows best.