Resorting to birth control due to a health risk for the wife

Fatwa no. 15121 All praise be to Allah Alone, and peace and blessings be upon the final Prophet.The Permanent Committee for Scholarly Research and Ifta' has examined the letter sent to His Eminence, the President from His Excellency the Manager of King Khaled Hospital located in Najran. The letter referred to the Committee by the General Secretariat of the Council of Senior Scholars under no. 230 on 13/1/1413 A.H. Reads as follows:Kindly, find attached the medical report of a Saudi twenty-four years old patient. The doctors decided that she needs to have tubal ligation surgery. The approval letter signed by the patient and her husband is enclosed. We hope you will review the documents and advise in this regard.The attached report signed by three doctors and the hospital's manager is as follows: (Part No. 19; Page No. 317) The patient who is pregnant for the fourth time visited the hospital on 23/12/1412 A.H. during her eighth month. Her history states that she underwent three cesarean sections and her condition requires this type of delivery for the forth time and for any future pregnancy. She is at risk of having her uterus burst due to these procedures. Accordingly, the tubal ligation surgery is necessary to prevent any risk to the patient's life. It should be noted that the patient has three living children.

After studying the matter, the Committee gave the following answer: The tubal ligation surgery for this patient is approved to avoid the risk described above in the report. May Allah grant us success. May peace and blessings of Allah be upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family, and Companions.