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The preservation of the human
species is unquestionably the primary objective of marriage, and such preservation of the
species requires continued reproduction. Accordingly, Islam encourages having many
children and has blessed both male and female progeny. However, it allows the Muslim to
plan his family due to valid reasons and recognized necessities.
The common method of contraception at the time of the Prophet (peace be
on him) was coitus interruptus, or withdrawal of the penis from the vagina just
before ejaculation, thus preventing the entrance of semen. The Companions of the Prophet
(peace be on him) engaged in this practice during the period the Qur'an was being revealed
to him. Narrated Jabir, We practiced
coitus interruptus during the time of the Messenger of Allah (peace be on him)
while the Qur'an was being revealed. (Reported by al-Bukhari and Muslim )
In a version transmitted by Muslim, he said, We practiced coitus interruptus during the
time of the Messenger of Allah (peace be on him). He came to know about it, but he did not
prohibit it.
A man came to the Prophet (peace
be on him), saying, "I have a slave girl. I desire what men desire, but I do not want
her to become pregnant, so I practice coitus interruptus with her. The Jews say
that this is a minor form of burying your children alive". The Prophet (peace be on
him) said, "The Jews are wrong.
If Allah wishes to create a child, you cannot prevent it," (Reported by Abu Daoud, Ibn Majah; al-Nisai, and
al-Tirmidhi.) meaning that despite the employment of coitus
interruptus, a drop of semen might have been deposited in the vagina without his
awareness, resulting in conception.
In a gathering at which 'Umar was present, someone remarked, "Some
say that coitus interruptus is a minor form of burying a child alive." 'All
then said, "This is not so before the completion of seven stages: being a product of
the earth, then a drop of semen, then a clot, then a little lump of tissue, then bones,
then bones clothed with flesh, which then become like another creation."
(Ali was paraphrasing the Qur'an 23:12-14,
considering the creation of Adam from wet earth as the first stage of development of every
human foetus. (Trans.)) "You are right," said 'Umar. "May Allah prolong your life."
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The first valid reason for
employing contraception is the fear that the pregnancy or delivery might endanger the life
or health of the mother; past experience or the opinion of a reliable physician are the
guides in determining this possibility. Allah Ta'ala says: ...And do not be cast into ruin by your own hands....(2:195)
...And
do not kill yourselves; indeed, Allah is ever merciful to you. (4:29)
Another reason is the fear that the burden of children may straiten the
family's circumstances so much that one might accept or do something haram to
satisfy their needs. Allah says: ...Allah
desires ease for you, and He does not desire hardship for you....(2:185)
...It
is not Allah's desire to place a burden upon you....(5:7
(6))
Again, fear that the children's health or upbringing may suffer may be
a valid reason. On the authority of Usama ibn Zayd, Muslim in his Sahih reported
that a man came to the Messenger of Allah (peace be on him), saying, "I practice coitus
interruptus with my wife." "Why do you do that?" asked the Prophet
(peace be on him). He said, "I fear for her child," or he may have said,
"for her children." The Messenger of Allah (peace be on him) then said,
"If it (the pregnancy of a nursing mother)
were harmful, it would have harmed the Persians and the Greeks."
Another valid reason is the fear
that the new pregnancy or a new baby might harm a previous suckling child. The Prophet
(peace be on him) termed intercourse with a nursing mother, or rather the intercourse
which results in pregnancy while the mother is still nursing a baby, "gheelah,"
thinking that pregnancy would ruin the milk and weaken the suckling infant. Since he
was greatly concerned with the welfare of his ummah, he dissuaded them from what
was harmful. Among his personal opinions (The Prophet sometimes expressed his personal opinions in worldly matters,
which he distinguished from his binding judgments in matters of religion. (Trans.)) was the saying,
"Do
not kill your children secretly, for gheelah overtakes the rider and throws him
from the horse." (Reported by
Abu Daoud. It is said that the child who nurses from a pregnant mother will suffer from it
in later life like a horseman who is thrown from his horse. (Trans ))
The Prophet (peace be on him) did not, however, go so
far as to prohibit intercourse with a nursing mother, as he noted that the Persians and
Greeks, the two most powerful nations of his time, practiced it without any resulting
injury to their children. Moreover, he feared that it would be a great hardship for
husbands to abstain from their wives during the period of suckling, which may last up to
two years. He said, I intended to
prohibit gheelah, but I considered the Persians and the Greeks and saw that they
suckled their children during pregnancy without any injury being caused to their children
as a result. (Reported by Muslim.)
Ibn al-Qayyim, in discussing the
relationship of this hadith to the one quoted just before it, "Do not kill
your children secretly..." says, The Prophet (peace be on him) saw that pregnancy
harms the suckling infant in the same way as being thrown off a horse harms a rider: it is
injurious, but not to the extent of killing the baby. He advised them to avoid intercourse
leading to pregnancy while the woman is nursing an infant but did not prohibit it. He then
intended to prohibit it in order to save the health of the suckling child but realized
that the resulting hardship to the husband, especially for young ones, would be much more
injurious to the society. On balancing these matters, therefore, he preferred not to
prohibit it. Moreover, he saw that (in) the two most powerful and populous nations of his
time, (women) suckled their children during pregnancy without its affecting their strength
or numbers, and accordingly he refrained from prohibiting it. (Miftah Dar al-Sa'adah by Ibn
al-Qayyim, p. 620; also see Zad
al-Mi'ad, vol. 4 p. 26)
In our time new methods of
contraception are available which realize the objective intended by the Prophet (peace be
on him), that of protecting the suckling infant from any possible harm which may Occur due
to the pregnancy of its mother, (Although
the primary issue discussed here is the welfare of the child, the mother's health and
well-being is also an object of concern here as well. (Trans.)) while at the same time avoiding the hardship to the husband in abstaining from
sexual relations with his nursing wife. From this we may conclude that from the Islamic
point of view the ideal spacing between two children is thirty months, or, if one wants to
nurse the baby for two full years, (Two
full years is the maximum period for the suckling of an infant in Islam. (Trans.)) thirty-three months.
Imam Ahmad bin Hanbal is of the opinion that contraception requires the
consent of the wife, because she has a right both to sexual enjoyment and to decide
whether or not she wants a child. It is reported that 'Umar forbade the practice of coitus
interruptus without the consent of the wife. This was, on the part of Islam, a
noteworthy step toward establishing the rights of women in an age in which they had no
rights.
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While Islam permits
preventing pregnancy for valid reasons, it does not allow doing violence to the pregnancy
once it occurs.
Muslim jurists agree unanimously that after the foetus is completely
formed and has been given a soul, aborting it is haram. It is also a crime, the
commission of which is prohibited to the Muslim because it constitutes an offense against
a complete, live human being. Jurists insist that the payment of blood money (diya) becomes
incumbent if the baby was aborted alive and then died, while a fine of lesser amount is to
be paid if it was aborted dead.
However, there is one exceptional situation. If, say the jurists, after
the baby is completely formed, it is reliably esthat the continuation of the pregnancy
would necessarily result in the death of the mother, then, in accordance with the general
principle of the Shari'ah, that of choosing the lesser of two evils, abortion must
be performed.
For the mother is the origin of the foetus; moreover, she is established in life, with
duties and responsibilities, and she is also a pillar of the family. It would not be
possible to sacrifice her life for the life of a feotus which has not yet acquired a
personality and which has no responsibilities or obligations to fulfill. (Al-Fatawa by Shaikh Shaltut p. 164.)
Imam al-Ghazzali makes a clear
distinction between contraception and abortion, saying, Contraception is not like
abortion. Abortion is a crime against an existing being. Now, existence has stages. The
first stages of existence are the settling of the semen in the womb and its mixing with
the secretions of the woman. (It was
then believed that the mingling of the semen with the secretions of the woman in the
uterus caused pregnancy. (Trans.)) It is then ready to
receive life. Disturbing it is a crime. When it develops further and becomes a lump,
aborting it is a greater crime. When it acquires a soul and its creation is completed, the
crime becomes more grievous. The crime reaches a maximum seriousness when it is committed
after it (the foetus) is separated (from the mother) alive. (AI-Ihya, book of "Al-Nikah" (Marriage), p.
74.)
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