Islam on Family Planning And Abortion

By Fouzi Sahawneh

In Islam, marriage is obligatory to every Muslim under certain conditions. The Holy Qur'an says:

"And let those who cannot find the means to marry keep chaste, until God grants them the [financial] means out of His grace."

Prophet Muhammad (peace be on him) said:

"O assembly of young people! Whoever of you has the means to support a wife should get married, for this is the best means of keeping the looks cast down and guarding the chastity; and who has not the means, let him fast, for this will act as constraint." (Tradition of the Prophet collected by Bukhari)

For those who are poor, neither Islam nor common sense will approve of their having children whom they cannot educate or feed properly. Therefore family planning is a must not for the benefit of the individual only, but for society as well.

This is the reasoning behind the participation of the heads of six governments whose populations are predominantly Muslim in a statement issued on Dec. 10, 1966 by U.N. Secretary-General U Thant.

A Basic Human Right

The statement affirmed the basic human right of couples to have the number of children they want when they want them.

The six leaders were Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi of Iran; King Hussein of Jordan; Tunku Abdul Rahman, prime minister of Malaysia; King Hassan II of Morocco; Habib Bourguiba, president of Tunisia; and Gamal Abdel Nasser, president of the United Arab Republic.

But what does family planning mean in Islam? It means that the couple (husband and wife) willingly agree to use an appropriate method or means to delay pregnancy, or stop it for a certain time, or to provide enough time between pregnancies in order to give the mother a chance to regain her health, and to give the family fewer children and hence help the father to be able to afford to care for the children without need or difficulty. According to this understanding, family planning is permissible legally if there are reasons for it.

Many faqihs, or Islamic jurists, past and present, mentioned some of the reasons which permit couples to plan their families through azl (coitus interruptus). It was practiced by the companions of the Holy Prophet (peace be on him) and he did not prohibit it.

Jaber narrated the following Hadith:

"We used to practice azl while the Qur'an was being revealed, then the information reached the Prophet but he did not forbid us." (Bukhari and Muslim)

Azl was practiced to prevent conception and should be done with the consent of the wife. On the same basis there should be no religious objection to modern innocent contraceptive methods.

Family planning is a benefit for society as well.

Al-Ghazali (1058-1111) mentions in Ihya Ulum El-Din intentions to use azl. His views on the subject of azl were summed up by Imam Mahmoud Shaltoot in his book Family Planning. Ghazali sees that preventing pregnancy is permitted and lawful, for prohibition depends on a text or textual analogy. There is no text concerning this problem and there is no similar analogy to be followed. Family planning is an example which means abstaining from marriage or leaving sexual intercourse after marriage, or leaving fecundity after intercourse, for all these are permissible.

Ibn Taimiyya (1263-1328) says, in Mukhtassar Al Fatawi, "as for azl, it is forbidden by some, but the four Imams [founders of the Sunni schools of law] allow it with the permission of the wife." In his book Fiqh-Ul-Sunna, Sheikh Sayed Sabiq says Islam does not forbid progeny planning by using a contraceptive or any other means to prevent pregnancy. Planning is accepted in a large family where the father is unable to provide a decent living, or when the wife is sick or weak, or if the man is poor, or if either the husband or wife has a contagious disease. In such conditions, family planning is permitted.

Several statements (fatawi) were issued by muftis, all of which see no contradiction between Islam and family planning.

1. Sheikh Abdul-Majeed Saleem (1937) says it is permitted to use some contraceptives to prevent pregnancy such as azl, or use by the woman of something that prevents the semen from entering the womb (uterus). Husband and wife should have each other's permission to use contraceptives.

2. Sheikh Mahmoud Shaltoot (1959) says if planning by the sick, by those who cannot bear the heavy responsibilities, and who do not find any help from their governments or from the rich, is not contradictory to nature and not forbidden by shariah, or Islamic law, in fact it is needed and the Qur'an advises a period of lactation of two years, and that no pregnancy should occur during lactation.

3. Sheikh Mitwalli Sharawi (1980) said that if the purpose of planning is to protect the health of the mother when she is unable to bear the results of pregnancy, lactation, and rearing of children, or the woman's desire to maintain a healthy body to take better care of her husband, or the lack of space in the home which makes having more children very troubling for the family, then there is no objection to planning.

4. Sheikh Hasan Ma'moun (1964) believes that Islam was never against human interests and the attainment of this interest as long as it is not against God's teachings. He also believes that planning is acceptable if there is a need for it and if it is by the people's choice and based on their convictions, and the use of accepted means.

5. Sheikh Sayed Sabiq says Islam does not forbid planning, under certain circumstances, by taking medicine or using any other type of contraceptive to prevent pregnancy. Family planning is allowed when the man is unable to bring up his children properly; the woman is weak; she has had many consecutive pregnancies; or the man is poor.

Another method of contraception which Islam dealt with is abortion. Shariah prohibits killing a baby before it is born (abortion). Abortion is permitted only when a trustworthy physician decides that continuation of pregnancy will cause much harm and ruin the woman's life. Sheikh Shaltoot said, "Islamic scholars forbid abortion after a baby is given life after four months of pregnancy. Abortion after four months is a crime against a living creature. If that type of pregnancy means the death of the mother, then Islamic law recommends the lesser of the two evils," i.e., abortion.

Abortion before four months is said to be permitted and not prohibited. Others add, however, that it is undesirable.

Fouzi Sahawneh is professor of population at the University of Jordan.