Is It a Sin for Not Being Able To Afford a Proper Hospital Birth for My Wife and Deliver the Child Myself?
Question:
If one cannot afford to give his wife a birth in the hospital and neither a midwife to help her, and all he is able to do with his means is to learn himself how to be the so-called “midwife”, would this man be forgiven for not being able to pay for medical bills for his wife?
Answer:
Assalamu alaykum,
Thank you for your question. I commend you for doing your best with your family and for being concerned with your wife’s rights over you. Allah provides in whichever way He wills, and I admire your submission to His will.
Options
It is obligatory to pay for the medical expenditures connected to childbirth for your wife, although other medical fees are not obligatory to pay. [Reliance of the Traveller, m11.4] If I were in your position, I would consider getting medical insurance, taking a loan, or speaking to someone at your local mosque to discuss acquiring a charitable donation for the cause. There are many routes to take before trying to deliver the baby yourself, which can be risky. I might even approach a doctor or midwife from the community and ask them to deliver your wife’s baby in exchange for a skill or service that you might provide.
As long as you are trying your best for your wife and exhausting every resource, you will not be sinning. By His grace, you will be rewarded eternally for your intention and sincerity; may Allah bless you all with the best of this world and the next.
Please see the details here:
https://islamqa.org/shafii/qibla-shafii/33410
[Ustadha] Shazia Ahmad
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani
Ustadha Shazia Ahmad lived in Damascus, Syria for two years where she studied aqidah, fiqh, tajweed, tafseer, and Arabic. She then attended the University of Texas at Austin, where she completed her Masters in Arabic. Afterward, she moved to Amman, Jordan where she studied fiqh, Arabic, and other sciences. She recently moved back to Mississauga, Canada, where she lives with her family.
