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Is it permissible for a woman to take birth control pills before marriage to avoid pregnancy in case the marriage does not continue? Is she obliged to inform her husband about this on the wedding night? Is it permissible to use these pills for this reason in the first year of marriage?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

It is impermissible to use birth control pills if it is medically proven that they cause harm to the woman, whether before or after marriage, based on the Almighty's saying: (And do not kill yourselves) and (And do not throw yourselves with your own hands into destruction), unless it is possible to produce pills free from harm.

As for preventing pregnancy by non-harmful means at the beginning of marriage, in anticipation of marital failure, this involves several reservations, including:

It may stem from pessimism and an expectation of failure. It could lead to poor marital relations and mistrust between the two parties, as one of the most important purposes of marriage is procreation. It negatively affects a woman's feelings of tenderness and affection towards her husband and children. Jurists stipulate the permission of the other party for coitus interruptus (withdrawal) or contraception, as each of them has a right to offspring. The fear of marital failure should not be addressed by preventing pregnancy, but rather by choosing the right spouse and enabling the suitor to perform the permissible viewing (nazar shar'i).

Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026

Read the full answer on Ftawy