Troubled marriage due to lack of children

14-2-2005 | IslamWeb

Question:

My husband and I have been having troubling conceiving children and he is always depressed and upset and complaining about what he needs. He never considers what I may need. My actually question is should I give him a divorce? It has caused a large stress issue on our marriage due to his depression. I have offered him a divorce several times but he declined it, or sometimes never answered. Please respond at your earliest.

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Answer:

All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad is His slave and Messenger. We ask Allaah to exalt his mention as well as that of his family and all his companions.

First we ask Allaah to relieve your anxiety and sorrow and make your affairs easy. We advise you to be patient and continue the marital life between yourselves. Not conceiving children should not be a reason for asking a divorce. Most of the wives of the Prophet did not conceive children and he did not divorce them for this reason, and none of them asked to be divorced for this reason. Conceiving children is a bounty from Allaah; He gives it to whomever He wants Allaah says (which means): {He gives to whom He wills female [children] and He gives to whom He wills males. Or, He makes them [both] males and females, and He renders whom He wills barren. Indeed, He is Knowing and Competent.}[42:49-50]. We advise you to take the permissible means which help conceive children. However, if marital life is bad and the purpose of marriage is not achieved, then divorce would be more appropriate in this case.

Allaah knows best.