A path towards family planning:

Islam and Culture

Afsana Begum Orthy
University of Dhaka, Bangladesh

Introduction:
In order to understand some of the contemporary Muslim resistance to the topic of family
planning, one needs to contextualize the debate within the present matrix of post-colonial power
relations. Over the past several centuries the shift in the balance of power between Islam and
western powers has contributed to the prevalence of a polarized Islam vs. the West schema. The
historical colonial presence in many Muslim countries has shaped some of the forms of political
and cultural resistance to western presence. In the current era this is exacerbated by the fact that
Euro-American cultural forms, through the processes of globalization, are perceived as
encroaching and increasingly threatening to Muslim societies. Within this context family
planning, contraceptive usage and access to abortion is regularly framed as either a conspiracy
by western powers to limit the growth and power of the Muslim world or as a reflection of the
permissive sexual mores of western society. Thus the issues relating to birth control are
submerged within a larger minefield of political and cultural polemics.
Family planning helps everyone:
Family planning allows individuals and couples to anticipate and attain their desired number of
children and the spacing and timing of their births. So it is very important to all. Here are some
of the ways of helping described below,
Women and men:
Family planning helps women protect themselves from unwanted pregnancies. Since the 1960s family
planning programs have helped women around the world avoid 400 million unwanted pregnancies. As a
result, many womens lives have been saved from high-risk pregnancies or unsafe abortions. If all women
could avoid high-risk pregnancies, the number of maternal deaths could fall by one-quarter. Also, many

family planning methods have other health benefits. For example, some hormonal methods help prevent
certain cancers, and condoms help prevent sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV/AIDS. Family
planning helps men and women care for their families. Men around the world say that planning their
families helps them to provide a better life for their families.
Children and families:
Family planning saves the lives of children by helping women space births. Between 13 and 15 million
children under age 5 die each year. If all children were born at least 2 years apart, 3 to 4 million of these
deaths would be avoided. Family planning improves family well-being. Couples with fewer children are
better able to provide them with enough food, clothing, housing, and schooling.
Nations and the earth:
Family planning helps nations develop. In countries where women are having far fewer children than
their mothers did, peoples economic situations are improving faster than in most other countries. If
couples have fewer children in the future, the worlds current population of 7.0 billion people will avoid
doubling in less than 50 years. Future demands on natural resources such as water and fertile soil will be
less. Everyone will have a better opportunity for a good life.

Mutual relationship of partners:

The relationship between a husband and a wife needs to be complementary to meet the demands
of life. It requires a sense of belonging, sympathy, love and sacrifice. Allah has said,
They (your wives) are raiment for you and you are raiment for them (2:187)
Some of the responsibilities of husbands and wives towards them,

To meet up with the requirements be it mental or marital

To let one another lead a satisfactory, secure and honorable sexual and reproductive life
To assist one another to improve their position in the society
To take care of their health
To fulfill one anothers desires for entertainment
For husband, to take care of his wife when she is pregnant
To provide the wife with every possible requirement of a secure motherhood
For wife, to behave well with the relatives of the husband
To assist the husband in socio religious and economic activities

Family planning in the light of Islam:

In Islam a family is a very important institution where parents play a vital role and they establish
the foundation for a family. In addressing the question of family planning from an Islamic perspective,
it is necessary to consult the various sources of guidance within the religious tradition. The Qur'an and
prophetic traditions which are both considered primary sources of authority in Islam do not have
unambiguous and explicit teachings relating to family planning. Within Islamic legal philosophy, issues
that require independent intellectual exertion and moral circumspection in light of a changing context and
varying individual circumstances are called Ijtihadi issues. Ijtihad is based on the assumption that in
dealing with issues that are not explicitly addressed in the primary sources, jurists, informed by the spirit
of the Qur'an, use their moral capacities for creative reasoning and judgment to arrive at relevant legal
solutions. Thus this opens up the possibilities for a more dynamic Islamic approach to understanding the
issues of family planning in the current context.

Birth control and Islamic ruling:

There is no evidence in the Holy Quran and Hadith which prohibits birth control. Therefore,
family planning is permissible within Islam. Family planning programs have been supported by
noted Ulemas and religious leaders of Muslim world. To follow and practice birth control
methods is in line with Islamic principles and values. The first instance of this was the azl
method (withdrawal of penis before ejaculation) which was exercised in the early Muslim
communities even in the time of our Prophet (S). The azl method is still familiar to everybody
and its aim was the same as the aim of modern birth control practices. The only difference is that
the modern methods have been developed by modern technologies. Therefore, adopting these
methods is quite acceptable from the Islamic point of view.
In some Muslim countries, the authorities have emerged with guidelines for contraception. For
example, an official Egyptian manual on family planning which was compiled by religious
scholars included a discussion on the acceptability of various forms of modern contraceptives
including condoms, the cervical cap, the loop device, the contraceptive pill, the contraceptive
injection, and IUD.
Family planning and reproductive health issues:

Based on a survey of maternal mortality, 90 percent of married women are aware about at least
one method of birth spacing, but only 22 percent of women use family planning methods. Men
and women often obtain family planning services even when they do not receive any other health
care. This makes these services even more important to an individual's overall health. Family
planning providers are also responsible for screening and referral to other services needed to help
men and women stay healthy, such as mammograms or referral for treatment of diseases like
high blood pressure. According to the World Health Organization, reproductive and sexual health
issues account for 20% of the global burden of ill-health for women and 14% for men,
contributing significantly to high maternal mortality rates.
Maternal health and safe motherhood:
Addressing maternal health means ensuring that all women receive the care they need to be safe
and healthy throughout pregnancy and childbirth. Safe motherhood encompasses social and
cultural factors, as well as addresses health systems and health policy. Indicators used to measure
maternal health include skilled attendance at birth, contraceptive prevalence rates and maternal
mortality and morbidity. Islam has proclaimed a very high position for mothers. Our holy
Prophet (S) said,
Paradise beneath the feet of mothers
A mother deserves utmost love and regard from every member of her family. A mother needs
proper care from her family members before and after she gives birth to a child. Unfortunately,
however, some guardians do not allow pregnant women to take sufficient food because they are
afraid that it will make the child fat and it will create difficulties during delivery. Mothers often
are not given a balanced diet during pregnancy, which is when she needs foods containing
essential proteins and vitamins. Husbands should take more care of their pregnant wives and it is
their first and foremost duty.
Abortion in Islam and culture:
In Islamic scholarship the positions on abortion are more varied and less consensual than the
approaches to contraception. Historically the Muslim legal positions range from unqualified
permissibility of an abortion before 120 days into the pregnancy on the one hand to categorical

prohibition of abortion altogether on the other. Even within a single legal school the majority
position was often accompanied by dissenting minority positions. Opponents of family planning
often base their rejection of both contraception and abortion on their reading of the following
verse,
Kill not your children, on a plea of want, we provide sustenance for you and for them (6:151)
It is important to look at the context of revelation of this verse. This verse was a response to the
pre-Islamic Arab custom of burying female children alive. It was therefore a condemnation of
infanticide and of the deep misogyny of that culture. Proponents of family planning have argued
that these Quranic verses to counter all family planning initiatives are therefore a misreading of
the text.
Conclusion:
Contemporary Islamic ethical perspective on family planning, contraception and abortion,
requires a holistic vision of the problems of our era. We are confronted with the realities of socioeconomic injustice, sexism, over population and diminishing resources, to name but a few. There
is a need for Muslims to assess the needs of the time in terms of an understanding of the political,
social and economic realities of their respective contexts. It is crucial that Muslims move beyond
purely defensive posturing and undertake their khilafah through adopting a genuinely engaged
and informed approach to the world. The Islamic legacy in its own terms provides a rich heritage
of human agency and creative socially relevant thinking. As a religion, Islam provides its
adherents with multiple resources to implement progressive social visions premised on values of
human freedom accompanied by responsibility, of human wellbeing with optimal spiritual
development, and of justice tempered with mercy and compassion. It is in the interests of
humanity that Muslims bring all these spiritual treasures to the table of discussion on family
planning, contraception and abortion.

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18th April, 2013