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BY DR JAVED JAMIL
Director
Centre for Applied Studies of Islam &
Program for Ethical, Academic &
CUltural Enterprises (PEACE)
Quazi Street, Saharanpur
PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION
The subject of Family Planning has been one of the major centres of attention of the intellectuals in the twentieth century. The recent conference at Cairo has brought it into a sharper focus. Despite the fact that the Muslim masses all over the world have been greatly confused over the permissibility or non permissibility of various programmes related with the Family Planning or Welfare, especially the methods used to limit the size of the family, unfortunately, the Islamic ulama have not been able to provide clear and explicit guidelines. The natural corollary to this is that while a large percentage of people are adopting these methods without knowing whether they are right or wrong, others avoid them against their wish because they think their use to be forbidden in Islam. The situation definitely needs redress. The masses have the right to know in detail about the various aspects of the family planning. It was with this aim that I decided to write on the subject. I will like to make it clear that my discussion is based on the little knowledge that I have of Medicine and Islam. It is only the right of the Ulama however, to give the final decision.
I wish to thank all those friends and relatives who have helped me in publishing this book.
I hope that the booklet will help the Ulama and intellectuals to arrive at the right decision. May Allah guide us on the right path! Amen
Dr. Javed Jamil (M.B.B.S)
Director
Program for Ethical, Academic & Cultural Enterprises (PEACE)
Centre for Applied Studies of Islam
Quazi Street, Saharanpur (U.P.)
CONTENTS OF THE BOOK
I. Introduction
II. Meaning of family planning and scope
III. What has the holy Qur’an to say?
IV. What has hadith to say?
V. The position taken by different schools
VI Concept of haram and halal
VII. Various contraceptives and their permissibility?
VIII. Mother care, child care and contraceptives.
IX. Indo-Islamic Model of Family Welfare
X. Family Welfare in Muslim Countries
XI. The last word.
In the name of Allah, The bounteous, the Merciful
INTRODUCTION
It is the unshakeable belief of a Muslim that Islam is the religion of God revealed through His messengers time to time all over the world and perfected through Muhammad (Peace by upon him), the Seal of the Prophets. Islam literally means peace. But in Islamic sense, this word is not the same as understood commonly in the modern world; for, it is not limited to a state of law and order where there is no violence in society or a state of no war at the borders. “Islam” in fact encompasses all forms and dimensions of peace——peace (which includes the physical, mental and social peace) at the individual, the family, the community, the national and the world level. The first and foremost message of Islam, that is, absolute faith in God, is in fact aimed at achieving peace at all these levels; for it is God alone who knows best the ways by which the mankind can achieve peace; and therefore, faith in Him is absolutely essential. It also follows that unless the whole world submits to the will of God peace will remain elusive. God, the Bounteous and the Merciful, has modelled Islam in a way that is easy to understand and follow; it ensures peace not only in the Hereafter but also in this world. The Qur’an says:
On no soul does Allah
Place a burden greater
Than it can bear.
It gets every good that it earns,
And it suffers every ill that it earns.
(Pray:) “Our Lord!
Condemn us not
If we forget or fall
Into error: our Lord!
Lay not on us a burden
Like that which You
Did lay on those before us;
Our Lord! Lay not on us
A burden greater than we
Have strength to bear………..” (2.286)
This is why God has permitted all such things as are good for men and has forbidden all such things and acts as are harmful for them. The area of permissibility in Islam is extraordinarily large and the boundary of the prohibition starts only where the peaceful existence of individual or society as a whole is in danger.
Islam, being the religion of God, recognises the strengths and weaknesses of human beings; permissibility, obligation, exhortation, dislike and prohibition are governed by the benefit or harm of the materials and acts. This makes Islam the most scientific religion of the world. There are a large number of subjects where the modern science has reached a stage of development where it can explain the Islamic injunctions. (Still there are some issues where the science has to develop further to explain them). For example, Islam has prohibited alcohol, forbidden pork, declared fornication and homosexuality unlawful, adopted the custom of circumcision, made washing of the exposed organs five times a day followed by Namaz obligatory and directed men and women to cleanse their parts after micturition. Each one of them has definite scientific evidences in its favour. Thus to understand Islam properly, ceaseless scientific researches are necessary. The vice versa is even truer, that is, to achieve scientific advancement, the study of Islam is essential.
It need not be emphasised that in Islam health occupies paramount importance, being an essential element in the comprehensive meaning of peace. Even spiritual elements in it are extremely useful in maintaining health. Not only at the physical level, at the mental and the psychological level also, firm believers and regular practisers of Islam show much better standard of health than do common men. It is, therefore, not surprising that the problems like suicides, insomnia and neuroses are much less common among Muslims. Furthermore, families having strong Islamic proclivities are almost free from the familial and social impact of alcoholism, gambling and extramarital relationships.
Thus, in order to study the application of Islamic principles
to the various aspects of the family planning and welfare, it is necessary
to understand fully well that:
(1) Islam is a religion of peace and peace includes welfare of the individual
as well as the family and society;
(2) Islam aims to achieve a state where all members of the family and
all the families forming society can live in harmony;
(3) Islam does not burden anybody with what it cannot bear; wherever there
is a threat to life or health, Islam eases its rules and restrictions.
Thus, if there is danger to life one can even pretend to be an unbeliever;
if there is imminent danger of dying from starvation and nothing else
is available, one can even eat pork; and if alcohol alone is necessary
to save one’s life, it also becomes permissible.
FAM ILY WELFARE— MEANING AND SCOPE
Let us first try to grasp the meaning of family welfare and its scope and dimensions, particularly in relation with Islam. It is important because the common man usually limits its meaning to the smallness of the family. This is also true that the current international programme rests mainly on the contraception and the concept of mother and child care have been added to it only to make it more attractive. In Islam, on the other hand, the meaning of family welfare is comprehensive that includes physical. mental, psychological and social well being of all members of the family and creation of an environment that helps in the achievement of this goal. How Islam can help in further improving the family welfare programmes and in removing their shortcomings will be discussed later.
It is not only desirable but is also incumbent on every individual that he should pass his life in a disciplined and well-planned manner. For this purpose, he has to clearly visualise his goal, the resources he requires for achieving the same, the various problems and side effects related with the course of action he chooses and the procedures by which he can minimise these side effects. Similarly, a healthy family, too, requires careful planning. This commences with the marriage. The first thing that an individual has to decide is the timing of his marriage. Obviously, before getting married, it is to be made sure that he has sufficient resources to meet the expenses of the marriage and the maintenance cost of his wife and expected children. Then, he has to make selection of the partner in accordance with the criteria formed by him. After marriage, the husband and wife have to decide the various aspects of their relationship in order to develop a healthy and peaceful atmosphere in the family. Thus to plan a family is in the every nature of every human being; one who does not plan his or her family cannot be regarded a wise person. If he or she makes any mistake, results tend to worsen. The family may not develop properly, the children may miss the kind of environment that is so essential for their physical and mental and social development and the family may even break.
The term “family welfare”, as it is used in India, includes the care of the mother and child, proper spacing between two issues and the limited size of the family. While there may be differences of opinion amongst the Islamic scholars on the size of the family, there can not be two opinions about the desirability of the maintenance of the health of the mother and child. It will be clearly seen in the following pages that the proper spacing between the children is in fact desirable, not just permissible.
It is to be pointed here that not only most of the programmes related to the family welfare are approved, their scope in Islam is even greater. Family welfare in Islam includes proper relationship between the husband and wife; between parents and children; between children themselves. Proper attitude towards life amongst all members of the family; their moral development; their relationship with their Creator; the feeling of sacrifice for others; and last but not the least, the art of socially useful communication with others are also essential. It can be safely argued that while the modern values having their origin in the West seek to destroy the family system, Islam seeks to preserve it and makes all the necessary arrangements in that direction. Islam knows pretty well that the key to a peaceful society is the peaceful family.
WHAT HAS THE HOLY QUR’AN TO SAY?
Under this heading, we have to find out:
(a) What are the rights of mother (in the prenatal, natal and the postnatal
period) and the newly born?
(b) What has the Qur’an to say about the desirability of having
a large or small family? and
(c) Is there anything in the Holy Qur’an which directly or indirectly
approves or disproves any of the methods used for the birth-control?
Mother Care and Child Care
A careful perusal of the Qur’an will easily point the fact that the Qur’an is extremely kind towards all the women in general and the women in prenatal, natal and postnatal stages in particular and also towards the new-born children; it safeguards their interests extremely well. The rights of the mother and the children in Islam begin not after delivery but immediately after conception. It is in fact the fundamental right of the child to be born and to be fed with the breast milk. Likewise, it is the fundamental right of the mother to give birth to her child and to feed her child for two years; till that time, it is the duty of her husband to make available to her all that is required for their healthy lives. Thus when a man divorces his wife, it is her legal right as well as duty to complete her iddah in the house of her husband so that her pregnancy, if it is there in the early stage, becomes manifest during that period. If during iddah, the normal period of which is three menstruation cycles or three months, she shows signs of pregnancy, iddah will be further extended to the time of the delivery. During this period, it will be the duty of the husband or his heirs, in case he dies, to provide maintenance to her along with all the necessary facilities for the safe delivery of her child; during iddah, the divorce, too, remains revocable. While in the view of Ahl-e-Hadith among the Sunnites and the Shiites, the revocability is absolute during iddah, the Sunnite ulama, particularly the Hanafites maintain that it is revocable only if the husband has not pronounced divorce thrice. But, even if it is irrevocable, the responsibility of her maintenance till the time of her delivery rests with the husband. After delivery, too, he has to provide her maintenance-charges, if she is breast-feeding his child, for the two whole years.
Multiplicity of Children?
Some Muslim scholars have often given the impression that Islam advocates big family; the more the number of children, the better it is. This position, however, does not seem to be correct in accordance with the teachings of the Qur’an. Let us examine the following verses:
*Let neither their riches nor their children arouse
your envy. Through these Allah seeks to punish them in this life so that
they shall be unbelievers. (9:55)
*Wealth and sons are allurement of the life of this world:
But the things that endure,
Good deeds are best
In the sight of the Lord,
As Rewards, and best
As (the foundation for) hopes. (18:46)
*Thereupon Zakariya prayed to his Lord, saying:
‘Lord, grant me upright descendants. You hear all prayers. (3:28)
*“Lord, let me not remain childless. (through)
Of all heirs you are the best.” (21:89)
*Grand me good descendants.” (46:15)
The above verses clearly indicate that the Qur’an lays emphasis on the quality, not on the quantity. This is why Muslims should better pray for efficiency and sufficiency rather that for abundance. If one has many children but they are physically unhealthy or morally sick, they are useless for their parents and society and are, in fact, a burden on the earth. If, on the other hand, one has only a few children but each one of them is physically, mentally and spiritually healthy, every one of them will be an asset for the world and will also earn the Pleasure of God. In the Qur’an Allah gives the example of those who had much larger families and much greater wealth but were condemned with the wrath of God.
Worth mentioning here is also the fact that the high-ranking (ul-ul-azm) prophets had, in general, small families. Prophet Nuh, the first of the five Major Prophets, had four sons—Ham, Shem, Yafith and the one who was drowned in the storm. According to the Qur’an, Hazrat Ibrahim (AS) has only two sons—Ismail and Ishaque. The exact number of Musa’s (As) children could not be confirmed but it was not large. Hazrat Isa (AS) did not marry. Hazrat Muhammad (PUBH) was the only son of his parents and the number of his children was also not large compared to the normal standards of his time and also knowing that he had many wives. He had only four or five children and one or two of them died in infancy. The Shiite ulama regard Fatima to be his only daughter. Hazrat Fatima, the “leader of the women of paradise” had only three children, Hasan, Husain and Zainab all of whom achieved brilliance in their lives. Maryam, the mother of Hazrat Isa (AS) was also the only child of her parents and so was Hazrat Yahya (AS). In fact, out of the prophets, mentioned in the Qur’an, only a few, as Hazrat Yaqub, Hazrat Ismail, Hazrat Daud and Hazrat Sulaiman are known to have large families. These all were heads of their tribes and had many wives. If the number of children had been such a desirable thing in the sight of Allah, how could He have kept His beloved prophets away from this favour? It should however be added here that the Qur’an does not ban a large family either. But what is clear beyond doubt is that it prefers quality to quantity.
Methods of Family Planning?
The methods, which are being used to limit the size of
the family, are——
(1) Delay in marriage
(2) Proper spacing procedures which include Mechanical devices like condoms,
jellies, cooper-T, contraceptive pills, the older methods of coitus interrupts
and rhythmical control and
(3) Terminal methods including sterilisation and abortion.
Now let us see if the Qur’an advocates, approves
or forbids any one of the above.
The Qur’an says:
“Let those who find not the wherewithal for marriage, keep
themselves chaste, until God gives them means out of His grace.”
(23:33)
From the above quoted verse, it is clear that the marriage can be delayed for economic reasons. If any person does not have sufficient means to overcome the burden of marriage, he has been advised by God to wait till his economic condition improves. And if a person says that he does not possess means of marriage, it automatically implies that he cannot bear the expenses of his marriage. The most important ones of these are the capability of paying the amount of Mehr to his wife, her maintenance and that of the children that are expected. The survival of the lineage being the primary aim of marriage, permission to delay the marriage carries within itself the permission to delay reproduction. And if lack of sufficient means may be the reason behind delaying the birth of the first child, it may also be the reason behind delaying or preventing the birth of children after a certain stage. If the knowledgeable persons in the community, particularly the religious leaders, the medical experts and the sociologists agree that the general economic condition of the community or the country is not in a sound state and limitation of population growth is desirable, they may generalise this permission. Normally otherwise this depends only on the financial status of the individual. But here it should be pointed out that it should be poverty or any other equally pressing compulsion and not the desire to preserve or multiply wealth that should be the inhibiting factor.
It should also be stressed here that poverty does not
only affect the general conditions of living but also affect the normal
health of the members of the family especially that of the mother and
the small children.
It is, however, extremely important to know that, while the Qur’an
permits delay in the marriage, at the same time, it imposes restriction
that one should keep chaste. There is no scope at all in Islam for premarital
sex.
There is another verse in the Qur’an that indicates towards the
desirability of proper gap between the issues. The Qur’an says:
“The mothers shall give suck to their children for two whole
years.” (2:233)
Now it is a known biological fact that the chances of
conception in a woman are minimal till the time she is actively breast-feeding
her child. This fact is widely propagated by paediatricians and obstetricians
in the campaigns for breast-feeding. Thus what the doctors are emphasising
now, the Qur’an, the word of the Omniscient and wise God, had made
compulsory fourteen hundred years back. If a woman feeds her child actively
for two years, in most of the cases, it will be only a few weeks or months
after the expiry of the two-year period that she would become pregnant
again. Thus the next child will be born in around three years time of
the birth of the first child. It implies therefore that if the promoters
of family planning, too, advocate a minimal space of three years between
the two children, it is not in violation of the Qur’an but is exactly
in accordance with its commands.
Further, if a mother becomes pregnant earlier than that, she will have
to stop breast feeding her child which will be a violation of the command
of God.
Abortion
The holy Qur’an says:
Kill not your children
On a plea of want;— We
Provide sustenance for you
And for them (6:151)
*Kill not your children
For fear of want: We shall
Provide sustenance for them as well as for you.
Verily the killing of them
Is a great sin. (17:31)
From the above quoted verses, it is clear beyond doubt that abortion is strictly prohibited for the purpose of the family planning or for economic reasons. Abortion is a cold-blooded murder of one’s own child and there can not be a greater crime than that. But those who argue that this verse forbids prevention of pregnancy are mistaken., for, killing a living being is one thing and preventing it from coming into existence is another. This difference is clear from the verse of the Qur’an that permits men to delay their marriage, if they are poor. If marriage is delayed, it surely means deliberate attempt to prevent the children from coming, who would come into existence much earlier if marriage had not been postponed. To understand it more clearly, we can take the example of a person, who has put on a place belonging to him, a board telling that no body is permitted to go inside. He has all the right to do so and he can make further arrangements to ensure the same. But if any person somehow knowingly or unknowingly enters the forbidden area, will the owner be allowed to kill him? Certainly not. If prevention of pregnancy by deliberately delaying the marriage or by actively breast-feeding the child can not be regarded murder, how can the prevention by harmless methods for genuine reasons, be regarded murder?
WHAT HAVE THE HADITHS TO SAY?
During the days of the Prophet (SAW), the only method of contraception known to Arabs was Azl or coitus interruptus. It is evident from the hadith literature that the method was frequently used by the companions of the prophet (SAW) and, despite knowing it, he did not forbid it, nor was any verse revealed declaring it prohibited. It is quoted from Hadhrat Jabir (RA) that “We used to practise Azl while the Qur’an was being revealed.”. “Imam Muslim has quoted from the same companion of the Prophet (SAW) that “ we used to practise Azl during the days of the Prophet (SAW); he came to know about it but he did not forbid us.” In a hadith of Bukhari, it has been quoted on the authority of Hadhrat Abu Said Khudri (RA) that” we got some concubines and did practise Azl with them; then we asked the Prophet about it; at this he said; Do you do so? Do you do so? Do you do so? The children which are to come in the world till Doomsday will nevertheless be born.” In another hadith, a person asked the Prophet (SAW) that he had a concubine and he did not want a child to be born of her. At this, the Prophet (SAW) said; if you want, you may practise Azl, though the offspring which is in your fate, will definitely come.
From all the above quoted hadiths, it is clear that, despite the fact that a number of his companions did practise Azl, the prophet did not forbid it. Those companions of the Prophet (SAW) who disliked it is also declared it makruth (undesirable) and not haram (prohibited). And it is a general principle that what the Qur’an or the Prophet declared halal will continue to be halal till the doomsday. No body, however high ranking he is in Islamic knowledge, has the right to make halal or makruh haram and vice versa.
The reasons given by various scholars for the practice
of Azl by the companions of the Prophet (SAW) are:
First, some of them did not want their concubines to bear their children
because in that case they would lose the right to sell them; they would
have to maintain them throughout the life implying financial burden over
them.
Secondly, they did not wish the period of breast feeding to be shortened
on account of another pregnancy and
Thirdly, they did not want their children to be born from their slaves,
as they feared that this would lower the status of those children in the
society, according to the prevalent pre-Islamic beliefs. Later on, however,
due to the measures taken by Islam, the system of concubine slowly but
surely died down and the slaves were freed in large numbers, after which
they enjoyed the same position in the society as others. In fact they
became so powerful that they later on ruled Egypt under the title of the
MamlukDynasty.
Out of the reasons cited above, the first one is based purely on economic, the second one on the health and the third one on social grounds.
Azl has been discussed by a large number of theologians. Belonging to diverse sects of Islam and it has been allowed by most of them. Imam al-Ghazali. the great Islamic philosopher and theologian who is seen with respect by all sects, has elaborated on the subject in an objective manner. He classified opinions prevailing among theologians into four categories—unconditional permission, permission with wife’s consent, permission with slave but not with wife (no more applicable now) and unconditional prohibition (Ihyaul Uloom). Al-Ghazali categorically declared that “the correct way to us is that it is permitted”. He did not stop here. He went on to specify five acceptable reasons for preventing pregnancy. These included wife’s beauty and fitness, protecting her life from the dangers of labour and the need to avoid economic and physical hardships in having to support many children. Ghazali believed that “reducing economic embarrassment sustains piety”. He explained that if one has a large family to sustain, he would have to keep himself engaged in earning for his family and would find hardly any time for his religious duties. Furthermore, economic hardship might encourage him to engage in immoral methods of earning. Imam Shawkani added: “Among the reasons for Azl is to protect a suckling child from the dangers of changed milk from a pregnant mother; another is to avoid getting too many children, or avoiding getting them at all”. Countering the arguments of those few theologians that opposed Azl, Imam Ghazali says:
“We have ruled out its dislike in the name of haram
(prohibition) because, in order to establish prohibition, it is essential
to have a Nass (text from the Qur’an or the Sunnah) or apply analogous
reasoning (qiyas) based on the procedures for which a text is available.
In the case of al-azl, neither a text is there nor is there a precedent
for Qiyas”
A list of companions of the Prophet that practised Azl, can be prepared
on the basis of details available in well-known books like Al-Mawatta
by Imam Malik, al-Omdah by al-Ayni, al-Sunan al-Kubra by al-Bathaq, al-Muhalla
by Ibn Hazm, Dhaad al-Maad by Ibn Qayyim and al-Mughni by Ibn Qudama.
These include Ali ibn Abu Talib, Said Ibn abi Waqqas, Abu Ayub Ansari,
Zayd bin Thabit, Jabir Ibn Abdullah, Abdullah Ibn Abbas, Hasan Ibn Ali,
Khabbab Ibn al-Aratt, Abu Said al-Khudri, Abdullah Ibn Masood and many
others. Among those who disliked Azl was Hazrat Abu Bakr. There are two
opinions on Hadhrat Omar. Some say he disliked while others say he did
not. But unlike many of his executive decision, Omar did not give any
order on Azl.
Ibn al-Qayyim (d 1350), in his famous work, “Dhaad al-Maad”, says: “Now all these traditions of the Prophet are authentic, unambiguous and clear. This view is held by ten of the great companions of the Prophet”. He also referred to al-Shafei as saying that “they have allowed al-Azl and found nothing wrong with it.”
‘Ibn Hajar al- Askalani (d, 1440), in his commentary on Sahih al-Bukhari, entitled, “Fath al-Bari”, affirmed the permissibility of al- Azl.
Ibn Hazam was one of the rare theologians who took a strong stand against al-Azl on the basis of Judama’s tradition in which the Prophet is claimed to have disliked Azl as “hidden infanticide”. A-Ghazali has strongly contested his argument and has quoted Ali in his support that categorically rejected the description of Azl as “minor infanticide”. He argued that Azl was not like wa’d or abortion because it would not constitute a crime against a being already in existence. Al-Nawawi (d 1272) considered al-Azl permissible but disliked.
Ibn al-Qayyim also discussed the hadith, “If Allah willed its creation, nothing could stop Him”. He argued that this only refuted the claim of the Jews that pregnancy could never occur with Azl. (We now clearly know that no contraceptive can be claimed to be hundred percent safe; pregnancies have occurred even after vasectomies and tubectomies.
Al-Baihaqi (d, 1066), in al-Sunan al-Kubra, concluded that reporters allowing al-Azl were greater in number and more trustworthy than those against it were. He opined that while Azl might have been karaha tanziyya, it was not prohibited. Ibn Hajar argued that calling al-Azl “hidden infanticide” was rather a figure of speech that did not make it forbidden. Comparing al-Azl with wa’d (abortion), he said that both have the same intention as far as they are aimed at avoiding additional children; but while wa’d combines both intention and actual murder, al-Azl stops at the level of intention that does not make it a crime. This is the reason, he argued, that Azl was called hidden.
POSITIONS TAKEN BY MAJOR SCHOOLS
Let us now examine the positions taken by the most popular schools of thought that dominate the present Islamic world, namely, Hanbalite, Malikite, Shafeite and Hanbalite among the Sunnites and Imamites among the Shiites.
The Hanafi School
The majority position of the Hanafites is that they permit al-Azl as a contraceptive measure. The older and more popular line of approach is that it is not allowed without wife’s consent. Later jurists have argued that the wife’s consent can be bypassed in times of religious decline (fasad al-zamana) and when there is a fear of begetting delinquent children (al walad al su).
The Maliki School
The overwhelming majority of the Maliki school declare Azl as permissible on the condition that the wife’s consent must be taken. Some jurists introduced the concept of compensating the woman for her consent if she so wishes.
The Shafei School
The majority of the Shafeite scholars allow al-Azl even without the wife’s consent. At the most, there may be a case of some disfavour, karaha tanzihiyya. Their argument is that the wife has the right to intercourse (dhauq al-usaila) but not to ejaculation.
The Hanbalite School
The majority position is that Azl is permissible for contraception, albeit with wife’s consent be she young or old. The consent can be ignored only in specific situations and al-Azl is mandatory in the enemy territory.
The Imamite (Shiite) School
The majority of Imamites—there is almost a consensus—permit al-Azl with wife’s consent. They have ruled, however, that consent can be obtained at the time of marriage once and for all. After that al-Azl is legal even if the wife does not want it. The Imamites regard the wife’s consent so important that a few of them allowed monitory compensation to the wife every time the husband violated it. This position is almost similar to that in Maliki School with the addition that the Imamites have fixed the amount of compensation as ten dinars which is called diya (compensation) for nufta (sperm)
Reasons for practising al-Azl
A variety of reasons have been accepted by the fuqaha
for al-Azl. The chief ones among them are:
1- To avoid health risks to suckling child from the changed milk of a
pregnant mother (ibn Hajar)
2-To avoid maternal health risks to the mother from repeated pregnancies,
short intervals or young age (Abdul Azeez Lisa)
3- To avoid pregnancy in an already sick wife (Syed Sabiq).
4- To avoid transmission of disease to the progeny from affected parents.
5- To preserve a wife’s beauty and physical fitness for the continued
enjoyment of her husband and a happier marital life, and to keep the husband
faithful (al-Ghazali).
6- To avoid the danger of children being converted from Islam in the enemy
territory. (Hanafites, Hanbalite).
7- To avoid economic hardships in caring for a larger family which might
compel parents to revert to illegal means to take care of many children;
or exhort themselves in earning a living (al-Ghazali).
8- To allow for education, proper rearing and religious training of children
which is more feasible with a small rather than a large family size (Tantawi).
9- To avoid protecting children in times of religious declines (Hanafites).
10- To make sure separate sleeping arrangements for children (based on
a tradition to that effect) something that is more feasible with fewer
children (Sharwi, Tantawi, Abdul Aziz Leisa)
However, two reasons for al-Azl has been regarded unwelcome (Niyyah fasidah):
to avoid begetting female children and to avoid maternity roles.
Thus the majority of the Fuqaha (jurists) have permitted the practice
of Azl on the basis of the same hadiths. Most of them have ruled that,
while in case of free wives, it is permitted only with the consent of
wife, in case of he concubines, it is permitted even without taking their
consent.
THE SCIENTIFIC EXPLANATION OF HALAL AND HARAM
Before discussing the permissibility of the modern contraceptive devices, let us first study the scientific basis of the concept of halal and haram in Islam.
Islam classifies human acts into following categories:
(1) Halal (Permissible), without being obligatory or desirable;
(2) Fardh (obligatory);
(3) Mustahab (Desirable), without being obligatory;
(4) Haram (Prohibited):
(5) Makruh (undesirable) without prohibited.
This categorisation is extremely important; this, in fact, makes the Islamic Shariah the most scientific system of the world. It also gives certain flexibility to the Shariah, that makes life easy for even those having weaker convictions.
The Qur’an itself declares that it allows what is
good and forbids what is bad. Now, when we study various prohibitions
and obligations in Islam on the basis of the till now available scientific
knowledge, we find the categorisation of acts, where they are related
with health, to be based on the following principles;
(1) Islam declares all those things prohibited which do not form parts
of the normal requirements of the body and can directly lead to the development
of a disease which more often than not becomes fatal or causes physical
handicaps like blindness, paralysis, etc.
(2) Islam declares all those things makruh or undesirable, which may harm
the health but are neither usually fatal, nor lead to any physical handicap
like blindness, paralysis etc.
(3) Islam declares all those things Mustahab or desirable that have beneficial
effect on the health of the individual or society in general.
The present discussion covers only such objects or acts which do not form the religious practices (Namaz, Haj, etc.) or have much larger effects (like usury) on society than merely the health.
To explain the medical basis of prohibitions, let us concentrate on the prohibition of alcohol, sexual freedom and pork and the undesirability of eating the flesh of cow.
Let us first take the case of alcohol. To describe its toxic effects requires hundreds of pages. To be very concise, the drinking of alcohol causes a number of diseases the chief ones being Cirrhosis, Pancreatitis, Alcoholic Neuropathies, Psychosis, etc. Out of these, Cirrhosis in an incurable fatal disease having no treatment till now in any of the systems of medicine. Thousands of persons die every year of alcoholism. Apart from being dangerous medically, alcoholism is perhaps the biggest familial and social problem of the world that leads, directly or indirectly, to serious disturbances in the families, suicides, murders, rapes and accidents, causing heavy damage to the life and property.
Similarly, pork, prohibited in Islam, is known for giving
rise to Trichinelliasis, caused by Trichinella spiralis and Taenaiasis,
caused by Taenia solium. Trichinella and also sometimes Taenia solium
(when it makes human body its primary host) enter the blood circulation
and in a number of cases cause paralysis, blindness or sudden death. Interestingly,
the other species of the genus Taenia, namely, Taenia saginata found in
cow’s meat does never make human being its primary host and therefore
does never enter the blood circulation. It remains confined to the intestines
causing much less harmful diseases like anaemia. This must be the reason
behind the Prophet’s (SAW) hadith that while the milk and ghee of
cow are good, its meat has disease. So it was not prohibited outright
but disliked by the Prophet (SAW).
Free sex, advocated by the Western society is also directly responsible
for many dangerous diseases of which syphilis in the past and AIDS at
the present have been responsible for lakhs of deaths. Free sex is also
one of the major causes of the psychological, familial and social problems
leading to crimes like murders and rapes and familial problems like separations
and divorces.
Out of the desirable acts in Islam, circumcision and cleansing of teeth
may be cited here as acts of extraordinary medical, significance. Circumcision
prevents fatal diseases, namely, Cancer of Penis in the males and Cancer
of Cervix in the females and Muslims never suffer from these. Lately evidences
have been accumulating to the effect that the chances of AIDS in circumcised
men are much less than in the uncircumcised. Cleansing the teeth, which
the Prophet did practice before every namaz, prevents dental diseases
like carries, pyorrhoea etc.
I n the following chapter we will discuss the various methods of contraception on the basis of the same scientific criteria.
PERMISSIBILITY OR NON-PERMISSIBILITY OF VARIOUS CONTRACEPTIVE METHODS?
As has been seen in the last chapter, prohibitions, restrictions, obligations and preferences in Islam are in accordance with the effects of those objects or acts on health. Anything that prevents diseases, particularly the fatal ones, is preferable or desirable. Anything that can cause a disease that is fatal or handicapping is prohibited; and anything that may be harmful to health but does not cause any major health problem is undesirable; its use should be restricted, though not prohibited. Let us now study the effects of various contraceptives on health.
Mechanical Devices
As has been described earlier, the practice of Azl (coitus interruptus)
was in vogue during the days of the Prophet (SAW) and he did not forbid
his companions from doing so despite knowing about it. Now, the mechanical
devices like condoms (Nirodh), Jellies, etc., are in fact extensions of
Azl, for, these act only as barriers between sperms and ova. They cause
no harm, whatsoever, to the health and the ulama can therefore give general
permission for them. Copper-T also falls in the same category though those
women in whom it causes local reaction should not use it.
Contraceptive Pills
These are drugs that are taken regularly to prevent normal menstruation
cycles of ovulation. These drugs, if used for long periods, can produce
mild to moderate health problems like oedema, hypertension, etc. These
drugs are not known to cause any fatal diseases or debilitating illnesses
directly. The use of contraceptive drugs should therefore be regarded
restricted and should be permissible for shorter periods, for example,
when the first child has not yet completed the period of breast-feeding.
These can be permissible also when the pregnancy can cause major health
problems to the mothers, for example when she is suffering from diseases
like Tuberculosis, Severe Anaemia, etc, or has history of Pre-eclampsia
or Eclampsia in the past. These can also be taken when there is danger
of still-birth or deformity in the child.
Sterilisation
These involve surgical disconnection between the testes and the urethra
in case of males and the ovaries and uterus in case of females, so that
the sperm and the ovum do not meet. The operation involves very little
risk and the complications are usually not more than those associated
with minor operations. Th sterilisation caused by the operation is also
not permanent, and whenever a person wants, he or she can again get the
fertility back after a small operation. However, as it involves changes
in the body structure, though minor, it should be declared restricted
though not totally prohibited. Its use too can be permitted in the same
places as described under the head of the pills but it should better be
permitted only in those cases where the mother suffers from a chronic
illness. Sterilisation can also be performed when the mother is suffering
from a fatal disease and there is a definite risk of the transmission
of the disease to the child. AIDS may be cited as a clear case falling
in this category.
Abortion
Islamic constitution declares right to live as one of the most fundamental
rights of human beings. The right to live begins immediately after conception
that, in fact, is the real time of the birth of the new individual. Abortion
is a cold-blooded murder of the most delicate form of human being. It
can not therefore be permitted in Islam, except where the continuation
of pregnancy is expected to result in the death of the mother, and to
save the mother from imminent death, there is no other option except to
get away with the child. Whoever aborts a child or compels anyone to abort
is a big sinner. Islam condemned the practice of killing female children
that was prevalent in Arab society before the advent of Islam and it will
continue to fight this most inhuman act even now when in has taken the
form of feticide.
There is a section of Islamic scholars who allow abortion before the expiry
of 120 days on the ground that it is the time when soul enters the foetus.
But most of the theologians disagree with the permission of abortion except
for serious medical reasons. When there is a strong case for abortion,
it should be done within 120 days of conception.
HEALTH OF MOTHER AND CHILD AND CONTRACEPTION
In should be clearly understood that the chief motive
behind adoption of family welfare must not be the economy but health hazards
related or not related to deteriorating economic conditions of the individual
and society. In a country like India, where more than sixty percent of
people live under or around the poverty line, food and medical requirements
of the mother and the children are not often met with. The result is that
the mortality and morbidity associated with pregnancy is fairly high.
The overwhelming majority of the pregnant women, particularly in the rural
areas and suburbs are deficient of health required for proper growth and
delivery of the baby. 80-90% of such women have moderate to severe anaemia
and the incidence of Tuberculosis is fairly high. The medical aid available
to them is almost negligible and they hardly have access to advanced facilities.
The result is that the incidence of miscarriages, stillbirths, premature
births, neonatal and prenatal or postnatal maternal deaths is high. In
these areas, therefore, the birth-control programmes do not remain only
permissible but become extremely desirable, as these programmes there
are saviours from death.
Note: Our organisation is conducting a survey of the health, educational
and social status of 1000 Muslim families of District Saharanpur. The
findings of this survey may be included in the booklet.
Here it will be worthwhile to enumerate diseases that
are common in India and pose direct threat to the life of the mother and
the child. Following are some of the important ones:
1. Severe Anaemia (that is, deficiency of blood)
2. Tuberculosis
3. Bronchial Asthma
4. Diabetes mellitus, especially juvenile onset and the severe forms of
the Adult onset Diabetes
5. Urogenital diseases like Tuberculoses, Syphilis, etc.
6. Rh incompatibility, that is when the Rh blood groups of the mother
and the child are not the same and the risk of the death of the child
is very high particularly from the second child onward
7. Heart disease like Rheumatic heart diseases, Ischaemic heart, diseases,
Congenital heart diseases, Hypertension etc
8. Pre-Eclampsia and Eclampsia, which are quite common and cause oedema,
high blood pressure and fits, sometimes resulting in deaths
9. Fatal diseases like Cancers, Hepatic Coma due to Fulminant Jaundice,
etc
10. Mental diseases, in particular the psychoses where not only is the
mother often not in position to look after her children but the chances
of the children developing the same diseases are also quite high.
11. Diseases where there are repeated miscarriages
12. Conditions where there is imminent danger of child’s developing
sever congenital deformities
In my personal practice, whenever I found some Muslim woman suffering from any of the above listed problems and advised the couple to adopt contraceptive devices, they often rejected it saying that it was un-Islamic. It is therefore necessary that, at least in such cases, the ulama should give clear opinion so that the survival of mother and her children can be ensured. If a woman is saved (God willing) from dying, it is not she alone who is saved but her whole family; the ill effects of the mother’s death or sickness on the lives of the children as well as the husbands need no mentioning.
FAMILY PEACE— Indo-Islamic (or Ethical) Model of Family
Welfare
As pointed out before, the current international model of family welfare is not without shortcomings. It is aimed mainly at population control. Family welfare being only a secondary objective. In Islam, the primary aim is the welfare of family itself that indirectly helps the control of population as well. Furthermore, Islam designs its programmes in a way that general moral values are not compromised with. Here are outlines of the Islamic model of family welfare which is also consistent with the Indian cultural backround. It will not only be acceptable to mus;ims. It will also be seen with resp[ect by Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists and Christians.
Fundamental Principles
1. Recognition of family as an essential and equally [important institution
of human organization along with individual and society;
2- Recognition of family peace as a fundamental principle of a peaceful
human living. (Family Welfare cannot be pursued at the cost of family
peace);
Family Peace or health has to be defined as a state of complete physical,
mental, spiritual and social well-being of each and every member of the
family and creation of a family-friendly environment within and outside
family (society_;
4- Recognition of a legally sanctioned, properly solemnized marriage between
an adult male and an adult female as the starting point of the establishment
of a family and rejection of all forms of casual relationships.
Objectives
1- To strengthen the institution of marriage;
2- To strengthen the concept of a cohesive family that essentially means
good understanding between husband, wife, their elderly parents and children;
3- To ensure that all members of the family are physically, mentally,
spiritually and socially healthy;
4- To ensure that all such practices as are destructive of family peace
and health are prohibited;
Steps for ensuring Family Peace
1- Steps for strengthening the family system
(i) Strong measures at all levels (Social, spiritual, legal, administrative,
etc.) against unhealthy and immoral sexual practices:
*Extramarital sex
*Premarital sex
*Homosexuality-Sodomy and Lesbianism
*Other sexual perversions like incest, masochism, oral sex, etc.
(ii) Effective measures at war-footing against all dimensions of commercialization
of sex
*Eradication of prostitution and social rehabilitation of prostitutes
by adopting a proper procedure
*Total and effective ban on all forms of pornography, eroticism and obscenity
*Censoring of all such materials in all forms of the media as provoke
or promote unhealthy sexual practices including promiscuity and other
sexual perversions
2- Steps at all levels to ensure
health of all members of the family
*Emphasis on the health of the father (If the earning member is unhealthy,
the whole family will suffer)
*Emphasis on the health of mother-antenatal, natal and postnatal and during
breast-feeding
*Emphasis on the health of children (boys and girls without any form of
bias)
3- A balanced, ethical, scientific and humanist approach to birth control
(i) Desirable (General encouragement)
*Active breast-feeding for a period of two tears and use of harmless mechanical
methods (in case menses start) to ensure that the period of breast-feeding
is completed
*Delay of marriage till the man is not only physically and mentally adult
but also is financially competent to maintain his family and the woman
is physically and mentally adult (that is mature enough to bear the burden
of a family). (There should, however, be no lower limit in years of the
marriage except the biological adulthood)
*Use of harmless methods like Azl, condom, jelly and copper-T if the mother
is unhealthy or previous children are sick
(ii) Permissible when the couples are already overburdened
on account of any form of hardships
*Harmless methods like Azl, condom, Jelly, Copper-T. etc.
(iii) Normally Undesirable but selective encouragement
of harmful contraceptive methods where the hazards to mother’s or
child’s health are more than the adverse effects of such a method
*Oral pills in certain types of diseases
*Vasectomy or Tubectomy when any of the parents are suffering from a disease
likely to be transmitted to the child (Such as AIDS, some genetic disorders,
etc.)
(iv) Ban on abortion as a method of birth control
(permissible only for pure medical reasons when there is an imminent threat
to the life of mother or child or there is an imminent risk of developing
a serious disability
(v) Campaign against newer methods unless their harmlessness is proved beyond doubt
(vi) Campaign against false propaganda and misinformation to popularize family planning
(vii) Campaign for due recognition of the right of parents to determine the size of their family (They can be forced neither to increase nor decrease the size of their family)
(viii) Campaign against the use of force or disincentives for promoting birth control
4- Special programmes to promote moral development of the whole family
5-Popularisation of personal hygiene
for good reproductive life
*Circumcision
(This protects from a large number of diseases including sexually transmitted
diseases especially AIDS, Gonorrhoea, etc.,, cancers of penis and cervix
and phimosis and paraphimosis)
*Proper washing of private parts after intercourse
*Avoidance of sex during menses
6- Population Management
(aimed at proper distribution of population, proper distribution of wealth
and proper distribution of opportunities)
*People-oriented economic policies with emphasis on rural development,
employment generation, creation of a tax system that helps in reverting
the flow of wealth from the rich to the poor
*Free and compulsory education and inclusion of a curriculum for moral
development at all the levels of education
*Free health for all
FAMILY WELFARE PROGRAMMES IN MUSLIM COUNTRIES
Family welfare programmes are being successfully run
in a number of Muslim countries. These include countries where Islamic
constitution are in force such as Iran, Pakistan and Malaysia, countries
where Islam is the state religion like Egypt and Bangladesh and countries
where secular constitutions are in force such as Indonesia. Most of these
countries have adopted this programme because of the problems created
by rapid growth of population. Being Islamic countries, however, they
have tried to reconcile the programme with the tenets of Islam and moral
and social values of an Islamic society. IN threse countries the concept
of free sex is not promoted like in the West. The messages propagated
by themedia avoid direct mentiioning of the contracepyive methods ; they
are however effective in communicating the desired ideas.
Furthermore, their main emphasis has been on the spacing methods rather
than the terminaal ones.Abortion has not been accepted as amethod of conyaception
by Islamic countries. Opinions on sterilisation differ, It is not promoted
by most of the Islamic countries. But Iran and Indonesia have used tubectomy
and vasectomy as methods of contraception. None of these countries has
put any legal restrivtions on the number of children, nor incentives are
given for small family norms; there is no question of disinceptives for
having big families. The ulama in these countries have either been supportive
of these programmes or have preferred to remain silent; there have bee
no campaigns against the state for promoting family planning. In Egypt,
the ulama of the world-renowned university, Jamia al-Azhar have for several
decades been arguing that Islam does not prohibit the use of harmless
contraceptive devices.
Note: Data from Islamic counries may be added here. Efforts in tha direction
are on.
THE LASTWORLD
The population growth has been one of the most widely discussed subjects in the twentieth century. The opinions about the enormity of the problem and the solutions of its effects vary. This can be argued that the population growth is not as big a problem as has been made to appear by the vested interests; if the widespread poverty has to be confronted, it should be done by ensuring proper distribution of food and other resources, not only on national or regional but the world level. The argument indeed has substance because it has been proved by many organisations that measure the food production throughout the world that the increase in food production during last fifty years has been much higher than the increase in population in the same period. A considerably large area of the earth is still lying uninhabited. The earth would itself provide all that is required for the existence of the creatures living on it. What accentuates the problem is the present system, which has all over the world become a slave in the hands of a handful of capitalists. It is to perpetuate their unchallenged dominance that they fan the campaign in favour of population control. In India, for example, 90% of the wealth is in the hands of 10% of the population. The rate of growth of population in merely 2% every year. Thus it can be seen that if the distribution of money is made more equitable, the detrimental effect of the population boom would become minimised.
But, despite all these facts, it is also true that the individuals have to survive in the existing system. To change the status quo requires great efforts and sacrifices and even if such a movement picks up, it would take a long time to change the system all over the world. Before that, the Muslims, particularly living in a country like India, where they are presently too backward educationally, politically, socially and economically to influence the economic policies of the country, have no option but to plan according to the existing realities. The backwardness among Muslims has now even started affecting their moral values. This is therefore the duty of the community as a whole and its leadership comprising ulama, intellectuals and politicians to consider in detail all the aspects of the family planning and they should declare a comprehensive, well-chalked out policy this matter.
It is however to be clarified here that while I am of the opinion that birth control with the help of harmless methods is permissible in Islam, particularly, when the health of the mother and the child are at stakes, it does not mean that the couple loses the right to have children beyond a particular limit. While smallness of the family can be encouraged, it should not be forced on an unwilling individual. Any measure that seeks to punish, directly or indirectly, the child can not be acceptable, as it is inhuman; for it will deprive a human child of his or her fundamental rights of having food, health and education.
The desirability of decrease or increase in the population varies from time to time and from place to place. It is the duty of experts to keep monitoring various aspects of the population growth and advice accordingly. It is however the duty of right thinking men and women that they should always continue to struggle against the inequalities and exploitary practices, prevalent in society.
It is the duty of the ulama in particular that they should endeavour to receive information from the specialists in different fields. On the basis of these, they should decide whether at a particular time the contraceptive measures should be encouraged or discouraged so that the health, educational and moral standards of the community remain high. ds and on the basis of these, they should decide whether at a particular time the contraceptive measures should be encouraged or discouraged so that the health, educational and moral standards of the community remain high. Endeavour to receive information from the specialists in different fields and on the basis of these, they should decide whether at a particular time the contraceptive measures should be encouraged or discouraged so that the health, educational and moral standards of the community remain high.