Contraceptive Pills
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Question: I heard on the program "Nur 'ala al-Darb" an answer to a question from one of the sisters who asked: Is it permissible to take contraceptive pills on the grounds that these pills prevent menstruation, enabling her to fast the month of Ramadan continuously?So the honorable Shaykh answered: That there is no harm in doing so,And I say: I have some reservations about this answer, because these menstrual suppression pills are not part of Islam in any way, and it was colonialism that introduced this fitnah (trial) to us. If it is permissible to use them so that a woman can fast, then it is also permissible to use them to prevent pregnancy, and so on. Some hadiths have been cited as evidence for this, so what is your opinion of this discussion?
Answer: This listener mixed up his objection, because he equated contraceptive pills with menstrual suppression pills, even though contraceptive pills are a distinct type, and menstrual suppression pills are another type. The question that came to the program was only about menstrual suppression pills, whereas these contraceptive pills were not mentioned. And menstrual suppression pills
are permissible for a woman to take if they temporarily stop menstruation so that she can perform an act of worship, such as Hajj or fasting Ramadan. This is permissible (mubah), and there is no objection to it, because prohibition requires evidence, and there is no evidence prohibiting a woman from taking pills that stop her menstruation. The jurists have explicitly stated the permissibility of this.
As for contraceptive pills, these did not come to the program as far as I remember, and the questioner mixed them up, or the objector mixed them up. He should verify before objecting.
As for his argument that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) informed us that menstruation is something Allah has decreed for the daughters of Adam, and that a woman leaves off prayer and fasting because of it, this does not indicate that she is prevented from taking what stops her menstruation for a period of time. There is no evidence in the hadiths prohibiting the taking of menstrual suppression pills. This is a matter that may be confusing for some beginners in the pursuit of knowledge, who think that if a woman’s menstruation is stopped by the pills, her fasting and prayer are not valid during the time of her usual period, even if she is not menstruating. This is a wrong understanding, because the rulings of leaving off prayer and fasting do not apply to menstruation unless the menstrual blood actually comes out; then the rulings apply.
But if it is stopped and does not come out, then nothing applies to it, because she is not called a menstruating woman.
Question: What is the Islamic ruling on taking contraceptive pills?
Answer: Contraceptive pills, this requires detail. If the intention is to terminate pregnancy permanently, this is not permissible except with a valid reason for a Sharia excuse, such as the woman being unable to bear children, where pregnancy would be fatal to her, or where her death is feared. In this case, it is permissible for her to take contraceptive pills.
And if the intention of taking contraceptive pills is only to delay pregnancy, not to terminate it, and this is for a valid purpose, such as the woman not being able to withstand consecutive pregnancies, wanting to delay pregnancy so that, for example, she can nurse her newborn child and her health cannot withstand consecutive pregnancies, then there is no harm in it. That is, taking the pills to delay pregnancy so that the woman can prepare for a new pregnancy... This is what we call regulation, or for example, delaying pregnancy so that the woman receives it in a good state and good health, because having them too close together weakens her health, or she is unable to provide the fetus with the required nutrition. In this case, it is permissible and there is no harm in it.
But if taking the pills to prevent pregnancy is for the sake of fear of poverty, as some who do not believe in Allah repeat,Those who say: that an increase in offspring leads to famine and leads to the narrowing of sustenance, then this is definitely forbidden (haram), because this is a bad opinion of Allah, and this aligns with the people of the pre-Islamic age of ignorance (jahiliyyah) who killed their children for fear of poverty,Allah the Exalted said: [Al-An'am: 151] ,And he said: [Al-Isra: 31] , and those who prevent pregnancy for this purpose resemble the people of the pre-Islamic age of ignorance in their bad opinion of Allah (Mighty and Majestic). Allah does not create a soul except that He decrees for it its sustenance, its deeds, and its lifespan.
Answer: This listener mixed up his objection, because he equated contraceptive pills with menstrual suppression pills, even though contraceptive pills are a distinct type, and menstrual suppression pills are another type. The question that came to the program was only about menstrual suppression pills, whereas these contraceptive pills were not mentioned. And menstrual suppression pills
are permissible for a woman to take if they temporarily stop menstruation so that she can perform an act of worship, such as Hajj or fasting Ramadan. This is permissible (mubah), and there is no objection to it, because prohibition requires evidence, and there is no evidence prohibiting a woman from taking pills that stop her menstruation. The jurists have explicitly stated the permissibility of this.
As for contraceptive pills, these did not come to the program as far as I remember, and the questioner mixed them up, or the objector mixed them up. He should verify before objecting.
As for his argument that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) informed us that menstruation is something Allah has decreed for the daughters of Adam, and that a woman leaves off prayer and fasting because of it, this does not indicate that she is prevented from taking what stops her menstruation for a period of time. There is no evidence in the hadiths prohibiting the taking of menstrual suppression pills. This is a matter that may be confusing for some beginners in the pursuit of knowledge, who think that if a woman’s menstruation is stopped by the pills, her fasting and prayer are not valid during the time of her usual period, even if she is not menstruating. This is a wrong understanding, because the rulings of leaving off prayer and fasting do not apply to menstruation unless the menstrual blood actually comes out; then the rulings apply.
But if it is stopped and does not come out, then nothing applies to it, because she is not called a menstruating woman.
Question: What is the Islamic ruling on taking contraceptive pills?
Answer: Contraceptive pills, this requires detail. If the intention is to terminate pregnancy permanently, this is not permissible except with a valid reason for a Sharia excuse, such as the woman being unable to bear children, where pregnancy would be fatal to her, or where her death is feared. In this case, it is permissible for her to take contraceptive pills.
And if the intention of taking contraceptive pills is only to delay pregnancy, not to terminate it, and this is for a valid purpose, such as the woman not being able to withstand consecutive pregnancies, wanting to delay pregnancy so that, for example, she can nurse her newborn child and her health cannot withstand consecutive pregnancies, then there is no harm in it. That is, taking the pills to delay pregnancy so that the woman can prepare for a new pregnancy... This is what we call regulation, or for example, delaying pregnancy so that the woman receives it in a good state and good health, because having them too close together weakens her health, or she is unable to provide the fetus with the required nutrition. In this case, it is permissible and there is no harm in it.
But if taking the pills to prevent pregnancy is for the sake of fear of poverty, as some who do not believe in Allah repeat,Those who say: that an increase in offspring leads to famine and leads to the narrowing of sustenance, then this is definitely forbidden (haram), because this is a bad opinion of Allah, and this aligns with the people of the pre-Islamic age of ignorance (jahiliyyah) who killed their children for fear of poverty,Allah the Exalted said: