The Religious Consultation
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News Straits Times , August 22, 2005 Family planning
as allowed in Islam The spacing out of pregnancies through the use of contraceptives is permissible in Islam, according to a Muslim gynaecologist. It’s all about responsible parenthood and strategic planning, she tells KASMIAH MUSTAPHA. MANY Muslim couples refuse to practise family planning which they see as infanticide or going against the teachings of Islam. They would rather leave it to fate, even at the risk of jeopardising the mother’s health. Hospital UKM consultant obstetrician and gynaecologist Dr Harlina Halizah Siraj wants to explain to such couples that family planning is permissible in Islam. “I’ve been known to be a proponent of family planning. I want to correct the misconception that family planning is haram (forbidden). If they look up the Quran and Hadith, they will know that it is permissible within a certain context.” She says family planning in Islam should be practised only within a marriage, with the consent of both husband and wife, and the niat (wish) is purely to space out the number of children. “Family planning should be discussed in the Islamic context. It should be done as a way to space out pregnancies. It is important to have a space between children for about two to three years, giving time for the mother’s health to recover and the child’s welfare to be taken care of. “It should not be done because you hate children, you do not want to become parents, you keep having girls or you keep having boys and you do not want to get pregnant again. I will not even discuss family planning in these situations.” She says when it comes to the Islamic perspective on family planning, two questions are often asked. Is family planning allowed and if it is, which method is permissible? On the first question, Dr Harlina says Islam is a religion that emphasises strategic planning and will never burden the people, including in issues such as family life. “Islam encourages men and women to get married for the purpose of procreation. However, it does not burden the couple from carrying out their responsibilities to the other children. If you have the resources available for 12 children it is okay but if you do not, you need to plan the size of your family.” There is no specific text in the Quran that prohibits the prevention of pregnancy or restriction of the number of children, she says. However, the Quran allows the spacing out of the family, as stated in two verses: “Mothers shall suckle their children for up to two years for those who wish to complete breastfeeding” (Al-Baqarah:233), and “his bearing at weaning is thirty months” (Al-Ahqaf:15). On contraceptives, Dr Harlina says the idea that using them is akin to killing a child, as perceived by some people, is not correct because contraceptives are actually used to prevent pregnancy. “The use of contraceptives actually prevents the sperm from being fertilised in the ovum. It is to stop the woman from getting pregnant. In other words, no foetus is being killed by the method of contraception.” In 1980, Islamic scholar Dr Yusuf Qardhawi said that a Muslim is allowed to plan his family for reasons such as the delivery may endanger the mother’s health, the burden of children may strain the family’s means to the extent that the couple might accept or do something haram to satisfy their needs and the children’s health and upbringing may suffer. Yusuf says that modern contraceptive methods are allowed by analogy (qiyas). She says in 1981, the National Fatwa Council stated that the use of contraceptives is allowed in certain circumstances, such as the wife is too weak or too ill to conceive, the couple have hereditary illnesses, the wife is pregnant too frequently and the pregnancy could endanger her life. The Council, however, forbids the use of sterilisation on either the man or woman except when the pregnancy could jeopardise the mother’s health and that other types of contraceptives are not working. Dr Harlina says, however, there is some disagreement over the use of Intrauterine Contraceptive Device (IUCD). “Doctors in Pakistan do not use it. Previously we thought the IUCD is preventing the implantation of a fertilised ovum so some people think it is an early abortion.” But the device works on impending sperm mortality, at the same time reducing their life span so actually there is no sperm available for fertilisation. It still works as a barrier method. It does not cause abortion therefore it is allowed, says Dr Harlina. Family planning is also about responsible parenthood because it not only benefits the family — mother, father, children — but also to the community, she says. “When a couple do not plan their family, the pregnancy becomes unplanned, unintended and usually unwanted. I personally feel that when a child is unwanted, he or she will sense it and grow up with the burden of it. “But when asked why they do not practise family planning, they will say it is haram. They are being ignorant and use religion as an excuse. I do not like it when they use Islam as an excuse not to practise family planning.” Dr Harlina will present a paper on “Islamic and Cultural Perspective in Family Planning” at a public forum to be held tomorrow. The forum is organised by the HUKM Family Planning Unit and healthcare provider, Organon Malaysia. << New Straits Times -- 8/20/05 >>
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