According to Islamic tradition, their is a competition among the prophets of Allah about who will get the most followers by the day of resurrection. This can be found in multiple hadiths such as this one:

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Al-Tabarani 6881:

Narrated Sumurah bin Jundab: The prophet said, “There is a cistern¹ for every prophet, and they compete to be the one with the greatest number of followers coming into it. I hope that I will have the greatest number.” [1]

Hadith Grade:

(Sahih) according to Al-Albani ¹. A pool in paradise besides which the prophet’s followers will gather, and whose water they will drink on the day of resurrection.

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Muhammad explains that each prophet gets a cistern in Paradise. This is a large basin of water where all the followers will gather and drink from on the Day of Resurrection. Muhammad’s cistern is called al-Kawthar (Abundance), which is fed by Muhammad’s river in Paradise, also called al-Kawthar. Muhammad says regarding the Muslims who will drink at his Cistern:

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Sahih-Bukhari 7050:

Narrated Sahl bin Sa`d: I heard the Prophet saying, “I am your predecessor at the Lake-Fount (Kawthar), and whoever will come to it, will drink from it, and whoever will drink from it, will never become thirsty after that. There will come to me some people whom I know and they know me, and then a barrier will be set up between me and them.” [2]

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So naturally because of this competition, Mohammad actively began to compete by instituting policies designed to entice people to Islam and produce high birth rates. The extent of these policies are unclear however it is known he demanded death for leaving Islam and promised rewards for fighting and dying for God. One of his policies, is the prohibition on marrying an infertile woman.

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Sahih Ibn Hibban 4028:

Narrated Anas bin Malik: The Messenger of Allah enjoined men to marry, and he emphatically disallowed celibacy. He said, “Marry one who is loving and fertile, for I will boast of your great numbers to the Prophets on the Day of Resurrection.” [3]

Hadith Grade:

(Sahih) According to Al-Albani

(Sahih) According to Shuayb Arnaut

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Musnad Ahmad 12202:

It was narrated that Anas ibn Malik said: The Messenger of Allah used to say: “Marry the one who is loving and fertile, for I will feel proud of your large numbers before the other Prophets on the Day of Resurrection.” [4]

Hadith Grade:

(Sahih) According to Ibn Hibban

(Sahih) According to al-Haythami

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Sunan Abu dawud 2050:

Narrated Ma’qil ibn Yasar: A man came to the Prophet (ﷺ) and said: I have found a woman of rank and beauty, but she does not give birth to children. Should I marry her? He said: No. He came again to him, but he prohibited him. He came to him third time, and he (the Prophet) said: Marry women who are loving and very prolific, for I shall outnumber the peoples by you. [5]

Hadith Grade:

(Hasan-Sahih) According to Al-Albani

(Qawi) According to Shuayb Arnaut

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So Muhammad forbids a man from marrying an infertile woman because she can’t create more Muslims for Muhammad. While Muhammad forbids the man from marrying her, consensus of the ulama is that marrying an infertile woman is not haram (forbidden), but rather is makruh (reprehensible.) [4]



So because of Muhammad, infertile women:



1. Cannot experience the love of a husband

2. Cannot experience motherhood—because Muhammad banned adoption in order to marry his adopted son’s wife (Quran 33:4-5, see this article for more details)

3. Cannot have sex by any legal means

A prime example of the affects of this policy can be found in the example of Umar, one of Muhammads companions and the second caliph of Islam.

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Musnad Al-Faruq 499:

It was narrated from Umar that he married a woman, had intercourse with her, and found that her black hair was streaked with white hair. He divorced her and said, “A mat in a house is better than a woman who cannot bear children, by Allah, that which is your most ardent wish. Nonetheless, I heard the Messenger of Allah ﷺ say, ‘Marry one who is loving and fertile, for I will boast of your great numbers before the nations on the Day of Resurrection.’” [6]

Hadith Grade:

(Sahih) According to Shuayb Arnaut

(Sahih) According to Al-Basarah

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So basically, Umar has sex with his new wife. Presumably because she wasn’t wearing head covering, Umar discovers she has salt and pepper hair. Umar, astutely realising his new wife must be infertile because of her grey hair, divorces her. He tells her: “A mat in a house is better than a woman who cannot bear children.” Umar recognizes that his new wife wants very much to have children, but he explains that he must nevertheless divorce her because Muhammad said: “Marry one who is loving and fertile, for I will boast of your great numbers before the nations on the Day of Resurrection.”

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Source dump:

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[1] https://archive.org/stream/WAQ15954/mtk07#page/n255/mode/1up

[2] http://www.gowister.com/hadith/bukhari/6906/

[3] http://shamela.ws/browse.php/book-1734/page-8019

[4] https://www.google.com/amp/s/islamqa.info/amp/en/answers/73416

[5] https://quranx.com/Hadith/AbuDawud/DarusSalam/Hadith-2050/

[6] https://archive.org/stream/FP110402/02_110402#page/n131/mode/1up