Though its one hidden cheesy comment but it deserve the answer otherwise it wont put the stop.God has given the human brain to think about so that they dont behave as animals.And with brain God has given the gift of knowledge to man so that he put that to use for his well being instead of calling and complaining to god in his Dua everytime he sits f0r prayer. And if god as given the knowledge of contraceptives for human that mean he wants us to use that to our well being.
And as for my mom and dad they were quite clear not confused as professionals they always wanted only single child if its not for me there would have been other child but only single child.
Population and Birth Control in Islam
Question
I remember our Islamic Studies teacher at LUMS believed that one should have as many children as one can since the Quran says that God will take care of them all1. With the world population exploding, naked and hungry children crowding the streets of many muslim countries and the limited resources on earth the argument seems to be weaker in my eyes than ever before. I'm interested in the actual ayat in the Quran and their context which guide the Muslims on this issue of birth control.
Does the Quran really tell us to multiply by as much as we want. Does it tell us that using contraception is forbidden. Could you quote the verses in your detailed reply.
Response
I am not aware of the specific line of argument put forth by the Islamic Studies instructor, therefore I will try to explain different points of views regarding the issues that have been raised in the question to give as full a treatment as I can.
The first argument against family planning is derived from the following verse:
... وَلاَ تَقْتُلُواْ أَوْلاَدَكُم مِّنْ إمْلاَقٍ نَّحْنُ نَرْزُقُكُمْ وَإِيَّاهُمْ ...
... Kill not your children because of poverty - We provide sustenance for you and for them ... (Quran 6:151)
From this verse, two things can be clearly derived:
Provisions are bestowed by God; we just earn.
We must not kill our children when we are short on provisions.
In effect what this line of reasoning suggests is that we must not consider ourselves as providers and sustainers and even if we think we cannot provide for our children, we must believe that God can and will, and therefore we must not plan our families.
This argument seems weak because not having children in the first place is not equivalent to killing children primarily because children possess both life as well as soul whereas a child that has not even been conceived in mother's womb does neither. However, it must still be borne in mind that the ultimate provider is God alone and as a result . even though this argument does not hold directly against family planning . it outlines an important principle that must be kept in mind while taking a decision on the issue.
The second argument against family planning is based on the following verse:
نِسَآؤُكُمْ حَرْثٌ لَّكُمْ فَأْتُواْ حَرْثَكُمْ أَنَّى شِئْتُمْ وَقَدِّمُواْ لأَنفُسِكُمْ وَاتَّقُواْ اللّهَ وَاعْلَمُواْ أَنَّكُم مُّلاَقُوهُ وَبَشِّرِ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ
Your wives are a tilth for you, so go into your tilth when you like, and do good beforehand for yourselves, and be careful (of your duty) to God, and know that you will meet Him, and give good news to the believers. (Quran 2:223)
Our relationship with our wives has been called out as that of a cultivator and the cultivated land, and in such a relationship, one never sows a seed and then not expect any produce. The same analogy is used to derive that when a male and a female copulate, they must also leave it for nature to act and cause something to be produced or not in the same fashion.
Scholars who have disagreed with this point of view have further elaborated that in the same way as a farmer who waits for the best season for cultivation and does his best for the produced yield to be high and the quality to be the best possible, we, as humans, should act similarly when bearing children. Since we are responsible for the well-being of our children, we should also be prepared and bear them at a good time when we can fulfill our duties as responsible parents.
Keeping the above discussion in perspective, I am of the opinion that family planning which determines the total number of children beforehand, while not knowing the future, is not really accepting God as our ultimate provider. With respect to the spacing between the children, I am of the opinion that the couple making such a decision must understand that bringing up children well and providing them with education, moral values and so forth is responsibility of the parents. It is important in this context to note that, like any other decision in our life, our decision here must also be based on the value we will get in the Hereafter and not in this world. Consequently, a couple should not avoid a child in order to afford a better than the life-style permitted by Islam or to fulfill their other desires that are solely associated with this world. However, when the same choice is made taking into account factors like health, upbringing and education of the children, and making them into people who will be successful in the Hereafter, the couple may practically be taking the same decision but the thought process makes it quite different.
In my opinion, the naked and hungry children appearing on the streets of Muslim countries are failures of the governments to provide enough for their citizens. In general, a careful government should not only strive to arrange provisions for its existing citizens but also plan for the future. I am not convinced that a government should force family planning on citizens of a country for its own inability to create a system that can earn for all. Prophet Joseph (pbuh)'s example illustrates this well: When he was asked by the chief of Egypt to save the nation from upcoming drought, he not only managed to plan for Egypt, but he also arranged for food for the neighboring lands.
1 The view of Dr. Khalid Zaheer on family planning seems to have been misunderstood by the questioner. For his understanding on the subject, see a related response on his website.
