Islam is not against family planning

The consensus emanating from over fourteen centuries of theological
and lived Islam is overwhelming

It is extremely unfortunate that the vice-chairman of the All India Muslim Personal Law Board, Maulana Kalbe Sadiq’s factual statement that Islam is not against family planning has received such a hostile reaction from certain Muslim circles. The not so well-informed maulvi saheb from a poor Muslim mohalla may be forgiven were he to counter the good Maulana with verses from the Koran such as: "Kill not your children for fear of want, We provide sustenance for them and for you, the killing of them is a great sin" (al-Isra, Sura 17:31). But the high priests of Indian Islam who have been as quick with their condemnation ought to know better.

The Koranic verses, they will be the first to tell us, are not an abstract treatise but verses revealed to Prophet Mohammed over a span of two decades as Allah’s directions to believers on particular issues in specific contexts. They must surely know that verses such as the above were Allah’s admonition to Muslims to desist from infanticide, particularly of the girl child, rampant in Arabia at the time: "And when one of them receives tidings of the birth of a female child (for him), his face darkens in sadness and disappointment… (He argues with himself) shall he keep it in contempt, or bury it alive? (al-Nahl, Sura 16:58, 59). Clearly, it is such practice that the Koran strictly forbids, calling it "a great sin".

It is true that through the centuries there have been Muslims who have equated family planning with infanticide and thus concluded it was forbidden in Islam. But as Professor Abdel Rahim Omran, the then chief population adviser to the world renowned Al-Azhar (Islamic) University, Cairo, pointed out in his outstanding survey encompassing Koranic teachings, the Traditions of the Prophet and over 1,400 years of Islamic theology, the overwhelming consensus is that Islam not only permits but actively encourages non-reversible forms of birth control. (Family Planning in the Legacy of Islam, Routledge, 1992).

"The most gruelling trial is to have plenty of children with no adequate means," says one of the well-authenticated Traditions of Prophet Mohammed. "A multitude of children is one of the two poverties (or causes of penury) while a small number is one of the two cases of ease," is another.

Another Tradition reported by Jabir bin Abdullah says: "We used to practice al azl (coitus interruptus) during the time of the Prophet. The Prophet came to know about it but did not forbid us (doing it)." And here is a clincher from the highly respected Abu Huraira: "The Prophet was asked about al azl. They (the Companions) said, ‘The Jews claim it is minor infanticide.’ He categorically denied such a contention by the Jews."

From the Koran and the Traditions of the Prophet, Professor Omran proceeds to make a detailed theological survey to show that between the 7th and 19th century, the majority opinion among all the major schools of Islamic jurisprudence – Hanafi, Maliki, Shafei, Hambali (all Sunni), Zaidi, Imami (Twelvers), Ismaili (all Shia) has been that al azl was permissible in Islam. For the large majority of Islamic jurists (jumhour al-ulema), health, economics, emotional well-being and cultural responsibilities were all valid grounds for preventing pregnancy. The only two schools opposed to it are the minor Zahiri and the Ibaddi (Kharijite) schools.

If al azl is okay, what about modern methods of contraception? Using analogous reasoning (qiyas), Islamic scholars of the modern period have consistently argued that current day methods of birth control such as contraceptive pills, IUDs, etc., are as acceptable "so long as the purpose is to prevent pregnancy". In fact, many are of the opinion that modern methods are preferable "because they allow normal and complete marital relations".

Admittedly, sterilisation that results in permanent loss of fertility is considered impermissible in Islam, except for health reasons, in which case the same is mandatory. And on the question of abortion there is difference of opinion: while for one school abortion is not permitted 40 days after conception, the time limit can stretch to until 120 days after conception.

On the Indian subcontinent there have been important voices in favour of planned families in recent centuries. "The use of medicines before or after coitus for preventing contraception is as lawful as al azl. Imam Shafei interpreted the Koranic verse (Sura 4:3-4) as a counsel to monogamy as the best way to avoid too many children", opined the highly respected Shah Abdel Aziz in in his famous 19th century Tafsir of the Koran. And the 500 religious scholars who codified Islamic law during the time of Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb were all agreed that contraception was permissible with the consent of one’s partner.

In recent decades, a series of international conferences on Islam and Family Planning (Rabat, Morocco, 1971; Banjul, Gambia, 1979; Dakar, Senegal, 1982; Aceh, Indonesia, 1990; Mogadishu, Somalia, 1990), attended by reputed and respected Islamic scholars from the Middle East, Asia, the Far East and Africa, ended with a consensus that not only does Islam permit certain forms of family planning, but in today’s circumstances Muslims must be encouraged to practice it.

For years now, family planning has been officially promoted in many proclaimed Islamic states, including Iran, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Indonesia. The highly successful examples of Shia-majority Iran and Sunni-majority Indonesia are referred to within the global population studies and birth control fraternity with a respect bordering on awe.

The consensus emanating from over fourteen centuries of theological and lived Islam is overwhelming. Should Indian Muslims locate themselves at the confluence of religion, reason, common sense and national concern, as Maulana Sadiq proposes, or should they continue to, among other things, denounce family planning as "a plot against Islam" as the late Maulana Maududi, founder of the Jamaat-e-Islami, did? Not a very difficult choice, it would seem. n