How to cite:
Nailis Shofita, Raushani Azza, Syahrozad Khunaifah (2021).
Childfree Problems and Their Solutions from an Islamic
Perspective. Journal Eduvest. 1(12): 1389-1396
E-ISSN:
2775-3727
Published by:
https://greenpublisher.id/
Eduvest – Journal of Universal Studies
Volume 1 Number 12, December 2021
p- ISSN 2775-3735 e-ISSN 2775-3727
CHILDFREE PROBLEMS AND THEIR SOLUTIONS FROM AN
ISLAMIC PERSPECTIVE
Nailis Shofita, Raushani Azza, Syahrozad Khunaifah
Islamic Studies Program, Istanbul University of Sabahattin Zaim, Turki
E-mail: nailisshofita901@gmail.com, raushaniazza5[email protected],
hunaifahsehrazat@gmail.com
ABSTRACT
Recently, there has been a childfree phenomenon that is being discussed,
especially in Indonesia. It causes various questions regarding the views of the
pros and cons of childfree itself, then how does Islam respond to it? What are
the childfree problems and their solutions from Islamic view? Islam is one of the
religions that can answer current problems based on the Al-Quran and Sunnah.
As the basis of religion, the Qur'an and the sunnah have discussed many
childfree problems. Therefore, this study is aimed to determine the problem of
childfree and its solution in the view of Islam. This research used the Library
Research method or literature review with a qualitative research approach. This
data collection technique was to identify discourse from books, articles,
journals, the web (internet), or other information related to this research. The
results of this study, in the view of Islam, married couples who choose childfree
include acts that are against nature because having children is a blessing and as
human nature. Islam also responds to child freedom with several arguments
about the primacy of kids in the family.
KEYWORDS
Childfree, Children, Islam
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons
Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International
INTRODUCTION
In Islam, marriage is sacred worship, following the Sunnah of the Prophet, and
carried out based on sincerity and responsibility (Wibisana, 2016). Marriage in Arabic
Nailis Shofita, Raushani Azza, Syahrozad Khunaifah
Childfree Problems and Their Solutions from an Islamic Perspective 1390
namely An-nikah which has several meanings. According to the language, the word
marriage means together, unite and relate.
Allah SWT has explained in the Qur'an, that He will give to His servants who
marry because of Him. Allah says in Surah An-Nur 32:
Means: And marry the women and men and the improved ones of your male slaves
and your female slaves among you who are single. If they are poor, Allah will enrich them
out of His Virtue. And Allah is All-Embracing (His Bestowals, His Blessings are
abundant), All-Knowing.
Marriage is a worship that is highly recommended and encouraged by the Prophet
SAW to his people to multiply offspring (Rukmana, n.d.). Imam Ghazali in his book Ihya
Ulumuddin explained that efforts to have children (marriage) become worship from four
sides, namely seeking Allah's pleasure by producing offspring (Aslami, 2016), seeking the
love of the Prophet SAW by increasing the human population that he is proud of, blessings
from a pious child after he dies, hoping for intercession because of the death of a small
child who preceded him, and last is strong enough that the importance of offspring in a
marriage.
Having a child is a blessing and a human nature (Islam, n.d.). The fear of married
couples to have children, the current phenomenon is called childfree. According to Henri
Salahuddin, senior researcher at the Institute for the study of Islamic thought and
civilizations (INSISTS), childfree is a product of the short-sighted generation. The term
childfree is the intention to get married but do not want to have children.
In Islam, pious children become investments in the afterlife for parents. And also
be a charity for their parents. Of course, this priority is not obtained by the childfree
concept. Some of the reasons for childfree include personal, financial, family background,
concerns about the child's growth and development, and the environment. Al-Qur'an has
explained that among the purposes of marriage is to find peace in one's life between
husband and wife (litaskunu ilaiha). In addition to obtain tranquility and peace, it can also
maintain offspring (hifdzu al-nasli). Allah SWT said (QS an-nahl: 72).
Means: “And Allah hath given you wives of your kind, and hath given you, from
your wives, sons, and grandsons, and hath made provision of good things for you. Is it then
in vanity that they believe and in the grace of Allah that they disbelieve?"
Based on the description of the problem of free children, there are concerns in
terms of finance, environment, and other factors, the researcher's curiosity arises to further
discuss children's problems and their solutions from an Islamic perspective. The focus of
discussion in this study is the issue of child freedom in the view of Islam in addressing the
issue of child freedom. This research is expected to provide new insights and new views
regarding childfree in the perspective of the Islamic religion.
RESEARCH METHOD
The method used in this research is library research or literature review. This
research used qualitative research by using a descriptive qualitative approach because the
data collected is in the form of written words. It is a series of activities related to the
methods of collecting library data, reading and taking notes, and processing research
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materials. This data collection technique was to identify discourse from books, articles,
journals, the web (internet), or other information related to this research. To analyze the
data, the researcher used content analysis, which is a method that can be used to analyze
all forms of communication including concepts, opinions, theories, principles, newspapers,
books, poetry, films, folklore, regulations, statutes, or scriptures.
RESULT AND DISCUSSION
A. Child-free problems in the view of Islam
The child-free trend which is a life choice or agreement between a husband and
wife not to have children after marriage, whether biological children, stepchildren, or
adopted children continue to be discussed and becomes interesting discussion material. Of
course, many people agree with this and some are against it with their arguments and
reasons. What must be questioned now is the problem of what will happen if the childfree
trend continues to be applied in life. Humans are indeed extraordinarily complex creatures,
every human being has experienced existential anxiety, was born struggled, and finally
died. That's how humans life, then many questions will arise, who are we? where did we
come from? After death where will we go? why is there life and death? why so and so? and
there were still many questions that keep raging inside.
Therefore, many people find themselves in absurd situations, fixated on these
absurd questions, as a result, many are trapped in that absurd state, which will later be
referred to as nihilism, which assumes that nothing in this world is meaningless. There was
no meaning, there was no essence, and of course, the impact is on the despair and
indifference among the nation's generation.
Despair and indifference are one of the causes of the emergence of the childfree
trend, in essence, the problems, challenges, tests, and trials in marriage are to increase our
belief towards haqqul yaqiin (true belief), especially if all human beings understand the
purpose of marriage is towards sakinah mawaddah wa rahmah.
From many arguments, of course, we have to draw a common thread to be able to
reflect on the main problem of the childfree trend if it continues in our lives in the view of
Islam.
In a hadith about the phases of human creation, narrated from Abu Abdurrahman
Abdullah bin Mas'ud, he said, The Messenger of Allah said, when the spirit is breathed into
man, Allah commands the angels to determine four things, namely: determining his
sustenance, his death, his deeds and his accident or happiness (Al-Bugha & Mistu, 2017).
The sustenance here means something that brings benefits to humans. Sustenance
is divided into two: sustenance to uphold the body and sustenance to uphold religion. The
sustenance for upholding the body is eating, drinking, clothing, housing, etc, while the
sustenance for upholding religion is knowledge and faith (Muhammad, 2012).
Muslims believe that Allah SWT is a form of the Richest, Most Perfect, which of
course does not need anything. Therefore, why was man created? what was the purpose of
his creation? Does God's creation have a purpose? If it doesn't have a purpose, it means
that God's actions are in vain?
In reality, Allah created nothing in vain, no product failed in His creation,
everything has a meaning and purpose. As Allah said:
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Childfree Problems and Their Solutions from an Islamic Perspective 1392
"Then do you think that We created you to play (without any purpose and that you will not
be returned to us?"
In Al-Qur'an Allah SWT explained at least some verses of the Qur'an that have
indications about the purpose of the creation of humans, some words which are contained
in the Qur'an such as the expression: al-Ibadah, al-khilafah (caliphate), and al-amanah.
These three words, namely al-Ibadah, al-khilafah (caliphate) and al-amanah which
are contained in the Qur'an regarding the purpose of human creation, then the most
appropriate thing to be associated is fitrah, human nature after a long process of creation,
fitrah is a tendency innate nature from birth, which since the first creation, humans have a
natural innate nature, namely the nature of monotheism, because Islam itself is a religion
of nature.
It becomes urgent for humans to understand their nature, because with that, humans
is aware to take care of them, so they don't deviate and stay straight on their holy nature
until they return to their Lord. Because if humans deviate from the nature, then humans
must be responsible for the nature that has been given by Allah SWT.
In the Qur'an, it is clearly stated how Allah created humans with His power. None
other than to worship Him by making humans as caliphs on earth. In the Qur'an Surah Ad-
dzariyat verse 56, Allah said:
"And I did not create the jinn and human except that they might worship Me."
In the sentence Illa liya'buduun the meaning of worship here is very broad, so we
cannot say that worship is only obligatory worship that has been prescribed by Allah, such
as prayer, zakat, and fasting. However, the meaning of worship here is all practices whose
purpose is lillah, including the concept of marriage and having offspring which are human
nature, then the childfree trend means that it is contrary to human nature. Moreover, getting
married and having children is the sunnatullah and his messenger, so in a hadith from Aisha
r.a, she said, Rasulullah SAW said:
"Marriage is part of my sunnah, whoever does not practice my sunnah, then he is not
following my path. Get married, because I make you proud of the rest of the people,
whoever has wealth, then get married, and whoever can't afford it, let him fast, because
fasting is a shield for him (Narrated by Ibn Majjah).
Indeed, getting married and having children is a choice and a right for each human
being. In fact, in Islam, there is nothing that is forced, all good deeds must be present with
the intention of the heart
which means there is no compulsion in (adhering
to) the religion of Islam. So, getting married and having children is not a compulsion, but
a form of worship to the Lord of its creator.
The meaning of the family itself in Islam is the smallest unit that is responsible for
realizing the creation of a peaceful and civilized society (Amri & Tulab, 2018). The family
must be a fortress that provide protection because building a family is the same as half a
religion, keeping it is the implementation of faith, fighting all plagues that threaten it is a
form of jihad, caring for the fruit that is born from it is a form of religious symbols.
By getting merried, humans also continue to maintain their nature, and develop the
potentials that Allah SWT has given to humans through their nature. How can a person be
able to apply a lifestyle to refuse to give birth or have offspring even though he is given
healthy reproductive abilities? Maintaining this nature will certainly support the
implementation of the function of his caliphate on earth. So in Surah al-Baqarah verse 30,
Allah says:
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“And when thy Lord said unto the angels: I am about to place a viceroy in the earth, they
said: Wilt thou place therein one who will harm therein and will shed blood, while we, we
hymn Thy praise and sanctify Thee? He said: Surely I know that which ye know not.”
The word ja'ala means to make something that already existed before. Then in the
sentence that Allah made humans on earth as caliphs, named after
his creation on earth.
Being a caliph on earth, of course, there is a burden of mandate on the shoulders
of each human being, because the caliph is a substitute for Allah who regulates His affairs
in human life. In addition, the caliphate can also be understood as "a regeneration that takes
turns in which they are tasked with prospering the earth". Thus, the caliph is a servant of
Allah who is assigned to be the benefit and welfare of the world. So, of course, humans
have a great mandate on their shoulders as caliphs on this earth. As explained in the Qur'an
Surah Al Ahzab Verse 72 Allah says:
“Surely We did offer the Trust (the Spirit) to the heavens and the earth and the mountains
but shrank from bearing it and feared from it and human under-took it. Surely it (the soul)
very tyrants, very ignorant.”.
From the verse above, it is clearly commands humans to fulfill the mandate, a
mandate that cannot be given to any other creature. Because humans have been given the
advantage of reason by their Lord, reason to carry out the mandate to be leaders and enforce
the law in the fairest way possible on this earth. For this reason, every human being must
be aware, whether male or female, to better understand his nature and maqoom, both as an
imam or as a mother in a family. Considering the important role of a family for the future
of the ummah is as a da'wah baton. For this reason, collaboration is the most important
thing in building a sakinah, mawaddah, warohmah families.
So, with a bit of the phenomenon of the end of time and the real problems that are
happening now, as the young generation of Islam living in Indonesia, we should be firm
and not swallow down on the emerging trends, one of which is childfree, in fact, human
thoughts and conditions always change over time because humans are dynamic. So, it
would be better if we didn't make a fuss about things that can change (Luthfi, 2018).
Because the future of world civilization depends on the future of young women
who will start it from home. Getting married and having children is not an easy thing, an
educated wife will lead to the success of her husband, a broad-minded mother will give
birth and educate a generation to be proud of (Tanjung, 2021). And of course, the presence
of children is the hope of the people to continue the da'wah relay struggle.
B. Islamic solutions in addressing childfree problems
In practice, childfree is not new in this world. Childfree has long been used by
westerners who don't want to have children during their marriage. In Islam, childfree is also
not a new thing. Many scholars have discussed and concluded whether it is permissible or
not. But most Muslims prefer to have children than not, because of the many virtues in
educating children and can also lead them to heaven from the child's good deeds (Zarman,
2011). That is why so many Muslims do not approve of the childfree.
In the Qur'an, Allah does not force anyone to follow His teachings without
understanding the contents of these teachings (Muhammad Quraish Shihab, 2008). Every
command and prohibition that Allah has sent down has been written in the Quran and
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Childfree Problems and Their Solutions from an Islamic Perspective 1394
Sunnah along with their explanations (Qardhawi, 2010). Even if it's about understanding
to have children or not to have children.
. (Ibnu khalifah,1996)
The above hadith describes a person who came to the Prophet to ask whether it is
permissible if he marries a woman who is beautiful but he cannot have children, and the
Prophet did not allow it and at the end of the hadith the Prophet said "marry you to a woman
who is full of love and fertile because I am proud of the number of my people". The purpose
of this hadith is a recommendation to marry and have children or multiply offspring.
However, this hadith is widely opposed by the current situation of many Muslims
and also the many divisions between them. This is one of the reasons a Muslim chooses to
be childfree or not have children.
Several verses in the Qur'an also explain the responsibility of parents to their
children, which means that if you are unable, you do not need to have it (M Quraish Shihab,
1996).
As in the letter At-Taghabun verse 14 which reads:
“O, believers! Indeed, some of your spouses and children are enemies to you,1 so beware
of them. But if you pardon, overlook, and forgive ˹their faults˺, then Allah is truly All-
Forgiving, Most Merciful (At-Taghabun 64:14)”.
The verse above is an illustration of how the responsibility of Muslims if they
cannot educate and care for their spouses and children. Getting married and having children
is a choice that must be considered carefully so as not to cause harm later (Amalia, 2018).
Because like the verse above that wives and children can also be enemies for a Muslim.
The background of the revelation of this verse relates to the wife and children of a
person who is going to jihad and emigrate and they prevent it by feeling difficult to separate
(Fuadi, Antika, & Rofiudin, 2020). And if the person who will emigrate follows the words
of his wife and children, he will be left behind and cannot do good deeds. The verse is
followed by a verse:
"Indeed, your wealth and your children are only a trial (for you), and with Allah a great
reward (At-Taghabun 64:15).”
The verse is a continuation of the previous verse which explains that wealth and
children become a trial that can forget us from the afterlife (Safaat, 2018). Yet these things
are a great reward from Allah.
From the three arguments above, it can be explained that a person may choose not
to have children, due to their fear of responsibility for the child. Examples are fear that later
they will not be able to educate their children properly, or with the excuse that they do not
have enough assets to take care of their children.
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From the arguments above, it can be explained that the person had a choice to choose
childfree and they may choose it if they have good reason based on their capability and
condition of the parent.
However, from some of the things that have been explained above regarding the
absence of a childfree prohibition, there is not even a single verse that obliges a husband
and wife to have children but recommends it by explaining several virtues or in other words
a solution to the fear of people who choose not to have children. As already mentioned in
surah Al-Isra verse 31:
"And do not kill your children for fear of poverty. We are the ones who provide sustenance
to them and you. Killing them is indeed a great sin (Al-Isro '17:31).”
Some of them choose to be childfree because one of the reasons is the fear of
poverty or lack of wealth. The above verse answers people who choose not to have children
for fear of poverty. Allah SWT guarantees the sustenance of these children. Allah SWT
says in Surah Al-Kahf Verse 46:
"Wealth and children are the jewels of life." (Al-Kahf 18:46)
The point is that having children is not a disaster that results in poverty, but having
children is expensive jewelry that must be maintained and cared for properly.
.
In virtue of that, apart from being a valuable adornment for a child, a child can also carry
on a good reward after death. The above hadith says that after death a person will be cut
off from his deeds, except for three, one of which is a pious child who prays for his parents.
CONCLUSION
Every couple wants a perfect marriage to achieve mawaddah warrohmah. In Islam,
marriage is one of the sunnah of the Prophet Muhammad SAW and the Prophet SAW
encouraged his people to multiply offspring. Based on the discussion that has been
described, it can be concluded that the problematic form of child freedom in the Islamic
view is that parents who choose childfree are an act that has been against nature because
having a child is a blessing and as human nature. As for Islam addressing the problem of
childfree is as follows:
Islam recommends having children and multiplying offspring with a hadith that
reads,
The responsibility of parents to their children, Allah SWT says
Do not be afraid to have children for fear of poverty, indeed Allah is the provider of
sustenance, as Allah SWT has said in Surah Al-Isro verse 31
Children are expensive jewelry and a wisdom that has many benefits. Allah SWT
says in Surah Al Kahf verse 46.
A pious child who prays for his parents will be a recompense for him even though
Nailis Shofita, Raushani Azza, Syahrozad Khunaifah
Childfree Problems and Their Solutions from an Islamic Perspective 1396
he has died. The hadith of the Prophet SAW reads:
.
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