The Childfree Phenomenon in Indonesia in Contemporary Islamic Studies: Study of Takhrij and Syarah Hadith

This study aims to discuss the hadith about childfree. This research uses a qualitative approach by applying the descriptive-analytical method. The formal object of this research is the science of hadith, while the material object is the hadith about childfree in Imam Ahmad's narration No. 12152. The results and discussion of this study indicate that the status of this hadith is of sahih quality which is maqbul ma'mul bih as an evidence. This study concludes that the Hadith narrated by Imam Ahmad No. 12152 is relevant to be used as a proof in answering the phenomenon of childfree as a form of contribution to contemporary Islamic studies.


Introduction
The National Survey of Family Growth notes that less than 15% and 24% of men choose not to have children. The General Social Survey (GGS) in 2001 recorded that 7% of people in Canada aged 20-34 decided they intended not to have children. While 4% of people in Canada stated that marriage is also important but they are not interested in having children. The background conditions for childfree in Canada are medical problems that do not allow it, the existence of unconduciveness to raise children, a brilliant career and other reasons. Not only abroad, childfree began to be discussed in Indonesia, initially because a statement appeared from an influencer who decided to choose childfree because there was no desire to become a mother with full support from her husband. According to them, happiness does not always have to be by having offspring. Of course this reaps a variety of pros and cons with assumptions childfree supporters use arguments in terms of science and psychology while childfree opponents use arguments in terms of religious glasses. It is also very contradictory to the noble culture of Indonesian society which believes that having children can bring sustenance and receive positive social validation from society (Oktafriani & Abidin, 2021). Therefore, this study is interested in examining the phenomenon of childfree from an Islamic perspective, especially the view of hadith.
Previous research results have been presented by a number of researchers related to childfree. Among them are , "Analysis of the Childfree Phenomenon in Society: Study of Takhrij and Syarah Hadith with an Islamic Law Approach," Gunung Djati Conference Series. This research uses a qualitative approach through the takhrij method and hadith syarah with an analysis of Islamic law, it is also explained that childfree is a subject that can be classified as a reproductive right for women if the process of childbirth can cause harm, but the view of childfree when caused by fear of inability to educate children or due to the desire to achieve a better career, or other reasons that are not based on 'illat (emergency). The results of the study concluded that childfree is makruh which can change to mubah if there is 'illat according to the perspective of Islamic law .
The current research and the results of previous research have in common that they discuss hadith about childfree. However, there are differences between current research and previous research. Previous research discussed childfree according to the hadith narrated by an-Nasa'i No. 3175 ), Ibn Majah No. 1853(Mubarak et al., 2022, and Abu Daud 2050 (Maulana, 2022), while the current research discusses childfree according to the hadith narrated by Imam Ahmad No. 12152.
Previous research is very helpful for the author in preparing a framework to answer the phenomenon of childfree in the perspective of hadith. The term childfree originated in English in the late 20th century. The decision of a married couple not to have children for various reasons is a definition of childfree (Siswanto & Neneng Nurhasanah, 2022). St Augustine was a believer that childbearing was an immoral behavior. Therefore, according to his belief system, it is like trapping souls in impermanent bodies. In this case, the decision not to have children is a joint decision between husband and wife and the parents of both parties (Siswanto & Neneng Nurhasanah, 2022). In general, couples who do not have children are categorized into two parts. First, couples are childless due to urgent reasons, such as infertility, HIV, or other medical problems. While they actually have the desire for it. Second, couples who voluntarily decide not to have children even though they are actually very capable and have the potential to have offspring (Patnani et al., 2021). The phenomenon of childfree can be explained through hadith, which is anything that comes from the Prophet Muhammad, both scattered in the books of hadith and actualized in society, known as sunnah (Soetari, 1994). Hadiths about keeping one's gaze are abundant, including the Hadith narrated by Imam Ahmad No. 12152. The discussion of hadith related to childfree is a field of study of hadith science. Hadith science is the science of hadith (Soetari, 1994). Hadith related to childfree can be explained through the science of hadith regarding the status, understanding, and practice of hadith (Darmalaksana, 2018). Based on this discussion of hadith science, conclusions can be drawn regarding childfree according to the hadith. The theoretical foundation is needed for the theoretical foundation in conducting the discussion. This research applies the theory of hadith science. In the science of hadith, there is the science of dirayah hadith (Soetari, 2005), which is the science whose material objects are the narrator, sanad, and matan of hadith. The narrator is the hadith narrator, the sanad is the chain of hadith narrators, and the matan is the text of the hadith (Darmalaksana, 2018). Hadith science establishes the conditions for the authenticity of a hadith, namely: The narrator must be 'adl (possessing praiseworthy personality qualities) and dhabit (possessing qualified scientific capacity) and tsiqah (possessing undoubted integrity), which is a combination of 'adl and dhabit; The sanad must be connected (muttashil) in the sense that it cannot be disconnected (munfashil); and the Matan must not be awkward (syadz) and must not have defects ('illat) (Darmalaksana, 2020). If all the conditions of authenticity are met, the status of the hadith is called sahih, while if one of these conditions is not met, the quality of the hadith is called dhaif (Darmalaksana, 2020). According to the science of hadith, a sahih hadith is maqbul (accepted), while a dhaif hadith is mardud (rejected) (Soetari, 2005). However, a naïve hadith can be upgraded to hasan li ghairihi if there are shahid and mutabi (Soetari, 2015). Shahid is the text of another hadith while mutabi is the sanad of another hadith (Mardiana & Darmalaksana, 2020). However, not every maqbul hadith can be practiced (ma'mul bih), in the sense that there is a category of maqbul hadith but cannot be practiced (ghair ma'mul bih) (Soetari, 2005), this depends on the context in terms of situations and conditions.
The main problem of this research is that there are hadith about childfree. The formulation of this research problem is how the hadith related to childfree. This study aims to discuss hadith related to childfree. Theoretically, this research is expected to be useful as a scientific review, especially in the science of hadith. Practically, this research is expected to be useful as knowledge of childfree according to hadith.

Research Methods
This research uses a qualitative approach by applying the descriptive-analytical method (UIN Sunan Gunung Djati Bandung, 2020). This type of research data is qualitative data that is not a number. The data sources of this research include primary sources and secondary sources. The primary data source is the Encyclopedia of Hadith Kitab 9 Imam (Saltanera, 2015). While secondary data sources are literature related to the topic of this research sourced from journal articles, books, and others. Data collection techniques were carried out through library research. Data analysis techniques are taken through the stages of inventory, classification, and interpretation (Darmalaksana, 2022). Specifically, the descriptive-analytical method in this study is drawn from the field of hadith science, especially the method of takhrij hadith and the method of hadith commentary. Hadith takhrij is the process of retrieving traditions from the hadith books to scrutinize their authenticity (Darmalaksana, 2020). While hadith commentary is an explanation of the matan (text) of the hadith to obtain an understanding (Soetari, 2015). Finally, interpretation in the analysis stage will use logic, both deductive logic and inductive logic (Sari, 2017), until a conclusion is drawn.

Result
After searching for the hadith with the keywords "The recommendation to have offspring" on the Encyclopedia of Hadiths Kitab 9 Imam application, Imam Ahmad's hadith No. 12152 Chapter Musnad Anas bin Malik r.a. The redaction of the hadith text is as follows: Husayn and Affan reported that Khalaf ibn Khalifah reported that Hafs ibn Umar reported that Anas ibn Malik reported that the Messenger of Allah (saw) said: "Marry a woman who is affectionate and produces many offspring, for indeed I am competing to multiply the Ummah with the prophets on the day of Resurrection." (Ahmad No. 12152). The narrators and sanads of the hadith-reports of the recommendation to multiply offspring are detailed in the following  Table 1 shows that Imam Ahmad's hadith No. 12152 is narrated by six narrators whose year of death is known only. None of the scholars have commented negatively on the narrators. However, Khalaf b. Khalifah b. Sha'id according to Ibn Hajar al-'Asqalani was shaduuq mixed in his memorization at the end of his life.
According to the theory of hadith science, the first narrator means the last sanad and the first sanad means the last narrator (Soetari, 2015). The above Hadith is muttashil (continuous) in terms of sanad continuity. The requirement for sanad continuity is liqa (meeting) between teacher and student (Soetari, 2015). Liqa can be seen from their existence as contemporaries and in one region. Judging from the country, they were in neighboring areas. Teachers and students can be said to be contemporaries although most of them have unknown birth years. According to the theory of hadith science, hadith narrators can be assumed to be around 90 years old (Darmalaksana, 2020). So it is predicted that the narrators in the hadith chain may have met as teachers and students. The text of the above hadith is not odd or flawed. It is not odd in the sense that it does not contradict the Qur'an, stronger traditions, and common sense, while it is not flawed in the sense that there are no insertions, subtractions, and changes (Soetari, 2015). Although not in the same wording, Ahmad's Hadith No. 12152 is supported by the content of other traditions, namely an-Nasa 'i No. 3175, Ibn Majah No. 1853, Abu Daud 2050, and others (Saltanera, 2015. In other words, the hadith has shahid and mutabi (Mardiana & Darmalaksana, 2020).
Hadith narrated by Bukhari No. 6832 is qualified as sahih. Hadith sahih hadiths are valid for the practice of Islam.

Discussion
Hadith narrated by Imam Ahmad No. 12152 is maqbul or accepted as evidence. It is known that recently the notion of childfree has become a phenomenal issue, especially among the millennial generation. This phenomenon is very unrelated to one of the purposes of marriage in Islam, namely to perfect half of the religion and have pious offspring. The author emphasizes that the phenomenon of childfree which was discussed by netizens and that all phenomena that occur in society will always be answered in the content of Islamic teachings, including the perspective of hadith. Hadiths that explain the recommendation to multiply offspring include the Hadith narrated by Imam an-Nasa'i No. 3175 Kitab Sunan an-Nasa'i Chapter on Marriage, as follows: "Abdur Rahman bin Khalid has narrated to us, he said; Yazid bin Harun has narrated to us, he said; al-Mustalim bin Sa'id has narrated to us, from Manshur bin Zadzan, from Mu'awiyah bin Qurrah, from Ma'qil bin Yasar, who said: A man came to the Messenger of Allah (saw) and said: "I have found a woman who has position and wealth, but she is barren, can I marry her?" So he forbade him, then he came to him a second time and he forbade him, then he came to him a third time, then he forbade him and said: "Marry fertile and loving women, for I am proud of your many children" . Furthermore, the Hadith narrated by Ibn Majah No. 1853 with the translation, "Ya'qub ibn Humaid ibn Kasib said, 'Abdullah ibn al-Harith al-Makhzumi from Talhah from 'Atha from Abu Hurairah said, "The Messenger of Allah said, "Get married, for I will multiply the Ummah with you" (Mubarak et al., 2022).
One of the efforts to understand a hadith is to know the asbabul wurud, namely the historical reasons for the appearance of a hadith. Just like the essence of asbabun nuzul in the Qur'an. As for the asbabul wurud hadith regarding the recommendation to marry a fertile woman who can produce many offspring, this is an incident experienced by a friend of the Prophet Muhammad. The friend met Rasulullah SAW and told him of his anxiety that he was in love with a beautiful, respectable woman, only that the woman was barren. Rasulullah SAW forbade this friend to marry her until friends asked repeatedly because they were dissatisfied with the answer of Rasulullah SAW. But still Rasulullah SAW gave the same answer. This shows how important it is to have children from marriage. Rasulullah Saw recommended marrying a fertile woman because Rasulullah SAW wanted to be proud in yaumul qiyamah later because he had many followers. Even in a hadith narrated by Imam al-Bukhari it is stated that Rasulullah SAW prayed for Anas bin Malik to have many offspring. Thus, choosing childfree cannot be said to be right because there is a prohibition on marrying infertile women and orders to multiply offspring. In the hadith of Imam Ahmad No. 12152 above, said the Prophet and loving women "Marry reads Saw means amar (command). Al-Saharanfuri (2006) provides advice in the book Badlz al-Majhud fi Halli Abi Dawud that infertile women can be known from previous marriages who have not had children and have not menstruated. Imam al-Ghazali in the book Ihya' Ulumuddin stated that the effort to have children is a worship (Maulana, 2022).
Al-Ghazali clearly answered that there are several motives for a person's unwillingness to have children, which needs to be underlined Journal of Takhrij Al-Hadith Husna Nabila, Fatih Gumus/The Vo. 2 No 1 (2023): 39-48 Childfree Phenomenon in Indonesia in Contemporary Islamic Studies that not all of these motives are prohibited by religion. First, in the past, human slavery was still in effect, so that the master, who incidentally was a man, only imitated his female slave by means of 'azl (spilling sperm outside the female vagina) so that he would not have children, under these conditions the master still made the female slave as property, such a motive is legal in fiqh. Second, to maintain the appearance of the wife and the quality of her body which during pregnancy or after giving birth the wife's shape and face change. Third, because they are worried that if they have children, they have to be even more active in earning a living and in the end they are afraid to do something that is unlawful. Then motives like this are legal. Even with a motive or you could say it is a reason, the most important thing is to keep trying and fearing Allah SWT (Umam & Akbar, 2021). The Messenger of Allah ordered his people to perfect half of their religion by getting married and having many offspring so that they could compete to increase the number of people with the Prophets on the Day of Judgment. In the writer's opinion, what is meant by competing with each other to increase the number of people here is for the continuation of the relay of da'wah mandate that must be carried out by humans as caliphs on earth. Even this is one of the efforts of a Muslim to be able to reach His pleasure and reach the love of the Prophet. The urgency of having offspring is getting various virtues, one of which is that parents can get a charity reward for having righteous off spring and later can become washilah to enter heaven. Meanwhile, what is meant by emphasizing men to marry women who are fertile in terms of reproduction means that Islam supports the reproduction of child births for married couples . It is different with married couples who do not have children due to infertility problems or other medical problems that can harm women's reproduction (Patnani et al., 2021), what is at issue is married couples whp choose to be childfree without foundation of 'illat (emergency conditions) because it is contrary to nature.
Indonesian sociological values provide a lesson that having children is an opportunity for a wife and husband to actualize their roles as a mother and father. Economically, children can be a source of income and insurance for old age. In terms of culture, children are the sustenance and heirs of their parents. In terms of religion, children are a mandate that must always be cared for and can be a coolant in the household. From a psychological perspective, with children there is satisfaction for the family (Oktafriani & Abidin, 2021). Thus, the hadith narrated by Imam Ahmad No. 12152 is not only accepted but accepted for Islamic practice. In particular, prevention of childfree behavior as long as there is no harmful cause.

Conclusion
Hadith narrated by Imam Ahmad No. 12152 is considered valid because it is valid or can be accepted as a proposition. The discussion of this research shows that the Hadith narrated by Imam Ahmad No. 12152 is relevant for the prevention of childfree behavior as long as there are no harmful causes. Theoretically, this research is expected to be useful as a scholarly review of hadith. Practically, this research is expected to be useful as childfree knowledge according to hadith. This research has limitations in conducting hadith syarah without in-depth interpretation, so this is an opportunity for further research by applying a comprehensive analysis. This study recommends to Islamic religious institutions that Islamic texts can become inspiration in answering contemporary problems such as the childfree phenomenon in Indonesia.