"Ruling On Birth Controll Pills"
Praise be to Allaah.
Firstly, what the Muslims should do is to try to have as many children
as they can, because this is the command of the Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him), who said: “Marry the one who is loving
and fertile, for I will be proud of your great numbers before the
nations.” (Narrated by Abu Dawood, 2050; classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh Abi Dawood, 1805).
Having more children increases the numbers of the ummah, and increasing
the numbers of the ummah is a source of its glory, as Allaah says,
reminding the Children of Israel of His blessings:
“and made you more numerous in man-power”
[al-Isra’ 15:6 – interpretation of the meaning]
And Shu’ayb said to his people:
“And remember when you were but few, and He multiplied you”
[al-A’raaf 7:86 – interpretation of the meaning]
No one can deny that having a large number is a source of pride and
strength for the ummah, contrary to what those pessimists think who say
that large numbers causes poverty and starvation in a nation.
If the ummah increases in number, puts its trust in Allaah and believes His promises as mentioned in the aayah,
“And no moving (living) creature is there on earth but its provision is due from Allaah”
[Hood 11:6 – interpretation of the meaning], then Allaah will make
things easy for them and will grant them independence of means from His
bounty. Based on that, the answer to your question is as follows:
Birth control pills:
A woman should not use birth control pills, unless the following conditions are met:
1- She should need to use them, for example if she is ill and
cannot cope with a pregnancy every year, or she is physically unfit, or
there is some other reason that getting pregnant every year may harm
her.
2- Her husband should give his permission, because
the husband has the right to have children. There must also be
consultation with the doctor, to find out whether these pills are
harmful or not.
If these two conditions are met, there is
nothing wrong with taking these pills, but that should not be on a
permanent basis, because that means preventing having children.
With regard to ‘azl (coitus interruptus), or withdrawing during
intercourse, the correct scholarly view is that there is nothing wrong
with it, because of the hadeeth of Jaabir (may Allaah be pleased with
him): “We used to practise ‘azl at the time when the Qur’aan was being
revealed” – i.e., at the time of the Prophet (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him). If that action had been haraam, the Prophet (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him) would have forbidden it. But the
scholars say that one should not engage in ‘azl with a free woman except
with her permission, because she has the right to have children.
Moreover, withdrawing without her permission diminishes her pleasure,
because the woman’s pleasure can only be completed after ejaculation. So
not asking her permission causes her to lose out on pleasure and on the
possibility of having children. Hence we state the condition that this
may only be done with her permission.
From Fataawa al-Shaykh Muhammad ibn ‘Uthaymeen.
From Fataawa Islamiyyah, vol. 3, p. 190.
Thirdly: the reason why the Sahaabah engaged in ‘azl was because they
did not want the woman – especially a slave woman – to get pregnant, so
that they could continue to enjoy a physical relationship with them and
the woman would still be able to do their work. Abu Dawood narrated that
a man said, “O Messenger of Allaah, I have a slave woman and I engage
in ‘azl with her, because I do not want her to get pregnant, but I want
what men want. But the Jews say that ‘azl is a lesser form of
infanticide.” He said, “The Jews are lying. If Allaah wants to create (a
child) you cannot prevent that.” (Narrated by Abu Dawood, Kitaab
al-Nikaah, 1856; classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh Abi Dawood,
1903).
Islam Q&A
Sheikh Muhammed Salih Al-Munajjid
