If husband want children and wife say that she is not ready for another one now...maybe after 5-6 years due to the busy schedule...
Mu' meneen Brothers and Sisters,
As Salaam Aleikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh.
(May Allah's Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon all of you)
One of our brothers/sisters has asked
this question:
As-salamualaikum
Warehmatullahi Wabarakatuhu
Burhan,
May Allah give you all what you need in life here and make you successful in
the Aakhira Aameen....Brother my question is...if husband want children and
wife say that she is not ready for another one now...maybe after 5-6 years due
to the busy schedule...no health issues with wife...both are very happy with
each other...can you please tell us what Quran and Hadith tells us about
this...should wife obey the husband and have as many babies as husband wants or
is it her right to have another baby whenever she wants...what is correct and
what is not please explain...Jazak-Allah..your brother Abdullah
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Answer:
The spacing of children
In the name of Allah, We praise Him, seek His help and ask
for His forgiveness. Whoever Allah guides none can misguide, and whoever
He allows to fall astray, none can guide them aright. We bear witness that
there is none worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness that
Muhammad (saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.
Allah says in the Holy
Quran Chapter 6 Surah Anaam verse 140:
Most surely they became
losers, who, in their folly and ignorance killed their own children; and made unlawful what Allah had provided
them as sustenance, falsely ascribing
prohibitions to Allah. Surely, they
went astray and were not at all rightly guided.
Allah says in the Holy
Quran Chapter 6 Surah Anaam verse 151 (part):
You should not kill your children for fear of poverty; for We provide sustenance for you and will provide sustenance for them also.
Allah says in the Holy
Quran Chapter 17 Surah Israa verse 31:
Do not kill
your children for fear of want; for it is We Who
provide for them, and for you as well. Indeed,
their killing is a heinous crime!
If the intention behind ones reasoning to limit or stop
having more off-spring is their fear or concern of how they will be able to
provide for them, then the stopping of having further off-spring would be
absolutely against the guidance of Allah and His Messenger (saws), and a grave
sin in the Sight of Allah Subhanah.
If one fears for the health of the mother, or if one
wishes that the mother would be better able to feed and nurture their child if
there was a reasonable gap or space between the births of their children, etc.,
the majority of the scholars in Islam are of the opinion that under such
circumstances there is allowance in Shariah and no harm if the parents wish to
space their children for a reasonable period of weaning, which is approximately
two years.
But to limit the number of children or permanently to stop
the having of children because one fears for their sustenance would, without an
iota of a doubt, be absolutely against the guidance of Allah and His Messenger
(saws).
Your Question:
...should wife obey the husband and have as many babies as husband wants or is
it her right to have another baby whenever she wants...what is correct and what
is not please explain...
Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 4 Surah
Nisaa verse 34:
34 Men are the protectors and maintainers of women because Allah has
given the one more than the other, and because they (the men) support them
(their women) from their means. Therefore
the righteous women are devoutly obedient and guard in (the husband's)
absence what Allah would have them guard (their honor, their chastity, the
property of the husband, etc.)
Al-Tirmidhi Hadith 3272 Narrated by Abu Hurayrah
When Allah's Messenger (saws) was asked which
woman was best, he (saws) replied, "The one who pleases (her husband) when
he looks at her, obeys him when he gives a (lawful) command, and
does not go against his wishes regarding her person or property by doing
anything of which he disapproves."
Islam has commanded and made it an obligatory duty upon
the righteous believing woman to devoutly obey her husband whenever he gives
her a lawful command; for the reward of a righteous believing woman who
worships Allah Alone and devoutly obeys the lawful commands of her husband is
nothing short of
Al-Tirmidhi Hadith 3254 Narrated by Anas ibn Malik
Allah's Messenger (saws) said, "When a
woman observes the five times of prayer, fasts during Ramadan, preserves her
chastity and obeys her husband, she may enter by any of the
gates of
If the wife can convince her husband and obtain his
consent to allow her to space the birth of their children for a reasonable
period, there is no harm; but if the husband does not consent, it would be akin
to piety and righteousness on the part of the wife to obey the lawful commands
of her husband, and thus seek her rewards for her obedience from Allah
Subhanah.
If one trusts, obeys, and follows the guidance and
commands of Allah and His Messenger (saws),
one can be assured of never ever being misled; but if one believes, obeys and follows any
other guidance, other than that of Allah and His Messenger (saws), one can be
assured of being led astray.
Whatever written of Truth and benefit is only due to
Allah’s Assistance and Guidance, and whatever of error is of me alone. Allah Alone Knows Best and He is the Only
Source of Strength.
Your brother and
well wisher in Islam,
Burhan