Question:
The following message reached the program from Kuwait, Salmiya, sent by our brother Khalid Muhammad Manahi. Our brother has two questions. His first question says: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: ‘No worry, grief, or sadness afflicts a believer, even the prick of a thorn, except that Allah expiates his sins because of it.’ I hope to be informed about the authenticity of this Hadith. If it is authentic: Is infertility—meaning the inability to have children—considered an expiation for the sins of the children of Adam? This is because infertility is a cause of sadness for a person due to the absence of children, and Allah has made children and wealth among the adornments of the life of this world. Please guide me, and may Allah reward you with goodness.
Answer:
Yes, this Hadith is authentic; it was recorded by Muslim in his Sahih. It is among the blessings and grace of Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, that whatever afflicts a servant—be it worry, grief, fatigue, sickness, or harm, even the prick of a thorn—Allah expiates his sins because of it.
There is no doubt that infertility is among the calamities; therefore, it is something through which sins are expiated. Infertility is an affliction that causes the servant sadness and distress, and Allah, Majestic and Most High, expiates errors and misdeeds through it, just as He expiates them through worry, grief, sickness, fatigue, and the like. Indeed, it is greater than many other calamities. So, if the servant seeks reward from Allah, remains patient, and hopes for the recompense that lies with Him, he shall have much goodness from Allah. Yes.