Permission for Birth Control — Seal of the Prophets Vol. 2
Introduction
In this discourse from The Life & Character of the Seal of the Prophets (Volume 2), Hazrat Mirza Bashir Ahmad (ra) details the historical events and scholarly insights surrounding Permission for Birth Control.
Book Series: The Life & Character of the Seal of the Prophets (Volume 2)
Author: Hazrat Mirza Bashir Ahmad (ra)
Section: IX – Repeated Treachery of the Jews, Compilation and Sequence of the Holy Qur’an, Marriage of Hadrat Zainab (ra), the Great Calumny and Mischief of the Hypocrites
Pages: Book pp. 445–449 (PDF pp. 469–473)
Navigation: Book Table of Contents | « Previous: [Marriage of Juwairiyah bint Harith (ra)] | Next: [Battle of the Confederates or Battle of the Ditch – Shawwal A.H. (February/March 627 A.D.)] »
Historical Account
In this Ghazwah, i.e., the Ghazwah of Banū Muṣṭaliq, upon the inquiry of various Companions, the Holy Prophetsa said that he does not consider it unlawful to practice birth control. In other words, the Holy Prophetsa declared that on the basis of necessity or wisdom, it is lawful for a man to employ any such method by which his wife does not become pregnant as a result of intercourse.
[ Ṣaḥīḥul-Bukhārī, Kitābul-Maghāzī, Bābu Ghazwati Banil-Muṣṭaliqi Min Khuzā‘ata Wa Hiya Ghazwatul-Muraisī‘, Ḥadīth No. 4138 Al-Muwaṭṭā, By Imām Mālik bin Anas, Kitābuṭ-Ṭalāq, Bābu Mā Jā’a Fil-‘Azli, Ḥadīth No. 1262 * Sunanut-Tirmidhī, Kitābun-Nikāḥ, Bābu Mā Jā’a Fil-‘Azli, Ḥadīth No. 1137]
In light of this edict, it is permissible for a Muslim to employ birth control for the health and well-being of his wife or children, or for any other genuine purpose. However, as derived from a Qur’ānic verse, Islām does not permit the use of birth control for the fear of poverty or financial difficulty, nor does it permit the use of such methods without the wife’s permission. Although this was a very insignificant issue in those times, but in the current day and age, it has taken on quite a bit of significance and interest.
[Bani Isrā’īl (17:32)]
[Mishkātul-Maṣābīḥ, Volume 1, p. 586, Kitābun-Nikāḥ, Bābul-Mubāsharah, Al-Faṣluth-Thālith, Ḥadīth No. 2222, Dārul-Kutubil-‘Ilmiyyah, Beirut, Lebanon, First Edition (2003)]
X Siege of Madīnah and Delicate State of the Muslims, Failure of the Disbelievers and Reality of Miracles
X Siege of Madīnah and Delicate State of the Muslims, Failure of the Disbelievers and Reality of Miracles
Battle of the Confederates or Battle of the Ditch – Shawwāl 5 A.H. (February/March 627 A.D.)
Now we enter that period of Islāmic history, when the animosity of the Arabian tribes against Islām not only reached its heights, rather, they gathered their strength and firmly resolved to uproot Islām with a unified plan. However, divine power was manifested in such a manner that this very unity bore the seed of failure. This edifice was still being constructed when its foundations became hollow and began to crumble. The details are that although the Quraish of Makkah and the tribes of Najd known as the Ghaṭafān and Sulaim, were already thirsty for Muslim blood and remained forever engaged in schemes to attack Madīnah, until now they had not yet collected their forces in a single field to oppose Islām. When the people of Banū Naḍīr, which was a Jewish tribe, were exiled from Madīnah due to their treachery and sedition, their chieftains forgot this noble, nay, benevolent treatment of the Holy Prophetsa and proposed among themselves to collect the dispersed forces of the whole of Arabia at one place in an attempt to expunge Islām. Since the Jewish people were very clever and cunning, and possessed great mastery in
Book Series: The Life & Character of the Seal of the Prophets (Volume 2)
Section: IX – Repeated Treachery of the Jews, Compilation and Sequence of the Holy Qur’an, Marriage of Hadrat Zainab (ra), the Great Calumny and Mischief of the Hypocrites | Navigation: « Previous: [Marriage of Juwairiyah bint Harith (ra)] | Next: [Battle of the Confederates or Battle of the Ditch – Shawwal A.H. (February/March 627 A.D.)] »