What is the ruling on limiting family size, or limiting it to some extent, especially when there is no medical impediment to pregnancy, but the limitation is due to fear of sustenance at the individual level, and what is the ruling if the state adopts it as a policy, especially since some mercenaries who are called scholars issue fatwas to please or to please the ruler and to obtain money, issuing fatwas every day that Islam does not forbid limiting family size, and they play with the hadith of 'azl (coitus interruptus)? What is the ruling in that?
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The questioner : What is the ruling on limiting family size, or limiting it to some extent, especially when there is no medical impediment to pregnancy, but the limitation is due to fear of sustenance at the individual level, and what is the ruling if the state adopts it as a policy, especially since some mercenaries who are called scholars issue fatwas to please or to please the ruler and to obtain money, issuing fatwas every day that Islam does not forbid limiting family size, and they play with the hadith of 'azl (coitus interruptus)? What is the ruling in that?
The Shaykh : We say that preventing pregnancy is of two types. One is that the purpose is to limit family size, meaning that a person does not exceed a certain number of children, whether male or female. This is not permissible, because the matter is in the hand of Allah (Mighty and Majestic), and this one who limits his family size does not know what will happen; perhaps some of his children will die, and he will be left with no children.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : The second type is preventing pregnancy through family planning, meaning that a woman has many children and suffers harm in her body or in the affairs of her home, and she wishes to reduce this pregnancy for a specific period, such as planning her pregnancy to occur once every two years. This is permissible with the husband's permission.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : Because this resembles 'azl (coitus interruptus), which the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) used to do, and neither Allah nor His Messenger forbade it. The matter of limiting or planning family size out of fear of narrow sustenance is undoubtedly a bad opinion of Allah (Mighty and Majestic).
The questioner : (Glorified and Exalted is He).
The Shaykh : And it resembles in some respects what the people of the pre-Islamic age of ignorance used to do, killing their children out of fear of poverty.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : And this is not permissible, because it contains these two prohibitions: first, a bad opinion of Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He), and second, imitating the actions of the pre-Islamic age of ignorance in some respects.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : It is obligatory for the Muslim to believe that there is no beast on earth but that its sustenance is upon Allah, and that if Allah the Exalted grants him children, He will open for him doors of sustenance so that he can manage the affairs of these children and their sustenance.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : Then, some people may say, "I do not limit my family size or plan it out of fear of narrow sustenance, but out of fear of being unable to discipline them and guide them." This is also an error, for disciplining them and guiding them, like their sustenance, is all in the hand of Allah (Mighty and Majestic). Just as you rely on Allah the Exalted for the sustenance of your children, so you must rely on Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) for the discipline and guidance of your children. For Allah the Exalted is the Guide, (Glorified and Exalted is He) and by His praise.[Al-A'raf 7:178] And thus, the one who plans or limits his family size out of fear of their going astray and the inability to discipline them is also one who has a bad opinion of his Lord (Blessed and Exalted is He). Otherwise, Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) is in control of all matters. And what a person should do is not to do anything that reduces the number of children unless there is a pressing need or dire necessity for it.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : Then, listeners should know that the multiplication of the ummah (the Muslim community) and the increase in offspring are among the blessings of Allah (Mighty and Majestic). For this reason, Shu'ayb (peace be upon him) reminded his people of this blessing and said:[Al-A'raf 7:86] And similarly, Allah granted this to the Children of Israel, as He said: [Al-Isra 17:6] So the multiplication of the ummah is undoubtedly a cause for its honor, its standing on its own, and its self-sufficiency in what it has, without needing others.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : And perhaps due to its large numbers, it becomes a cause for opening many sources of sustenance, as we mentioned first, that[Hud 11:6] And we know that some states have conquered states larger and stronger than them because of the large number of their people, as they began to open workshops and factories and produce significant achievements.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : For this reason, the Muslim ummah must know that the attempt to limit or plan family size is part of the plotting of our enemies against us, and it is contrary to what the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) aimed for, and what he desired of multiplying this ummah and achieving his boasting (peace and blessings be upon him) with it before the prophets.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : Yes.
The questioner : His question, or the question of Khalil 'Abd al-Fattah the other.
The Shaykh : We say that preventing pregnancy is of two types. One is that the purpose is to limit family size, meaning that a person does not exceed a certain number of children, whether male or female. This is not permissible, because the matter is in the hand of Allah (Mighty and Majestic), and this one who limits his family size does not know what will happen; perhaps some of his children will die, and he will be left with no children.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : The second type is preventing pregnancy through family planning, meaning that a woman has many children and suffers harm in her body or in the affairs of her home, and she wishes to reduce this pregnancy for a specific period, such as planning her pregnancy to occur once every two years. This is permissible with the husband's permission.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : Because this resembles 'azl (coitus interruptus), which the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) used to do, and neither Allah nor His Messenger forbade it. The matter of limiting or planning family size out of fear of narrow sustenance is undoubtedly a bad opinion of Allah (Mighty and Majestic).
The questioner : (Glorified and Exalted is He).
The Shaykh : And it resembles in some respects what the people of the pre-Islamic age of ignorance used to do, killing their children out of fear of poverty.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : And this is not permissible, because it contains these two prohibitions: first, a bad opinion of Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He), and second, imitating the actions of the pre-Islamic age of ignorance in some respects.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : It is obligatory for the Muslim to believe that there is no beast on earth but that its sustenance is upon Allah, and that if Allah the Exalted grants him children, He will open for him doors of sustenance so that he can manage the affairs of these children and their sustenance.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : Then, some people may say, "I do not limit my family size or plan it out of fear of narrow sustenance, but out of fear of being unable to discipline them and guide them." This is also an error, for disciplining them and guiding them, like their sustenance, is all in the hand of Allah (Mighty and Majestic). Just as you rely on Allah the Exalted for the sustenance of your children, so you must rely on Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) for the discipline and guidance of your children. For Allah the Exalted is the Guide, (Glorified and Exalted is He) and by His praise.
Whoever Allah guides - he is the [rightly] guided
من يهد الله فهو المهتديThe questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : Then, listeners should know that the multiplication of the ummah (the Muslim community) and the increase in offspring are among the blessings of Allah (Mighty and Majestic). For this reason, Shu'ayb (peace be upon him) reminded his people of this blessing and said:
And remember when you were few and He increased you
واذكروا إذ كنتم قليلا فكثركمAnd We reinforced you with wealth and sons and made you more numerous in manpower
وأمددناكم بأموال وبنين وجعلناكم أكثر نفيراThe questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : And perhaps due to its large numbers, it becomes a cause for opening many sources of sustenance, as we mentioned first, that
And there is no creature on earth but that upon Allah is its provision
وما من دابة في الأرض إلا على الله رزقهاThe questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : For this reason, the Muslim ummah must know that the attempt to limit or plan family size is part of the plotting of our enemies against us, and it is contrary to what the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) aimed for, and what he desired of multiplying this ummah and achieving his boasting (peace and blessings be upon him) with it before the prophets.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : Yes.
The questioner : His question, or the question of Khalil 'Abd al-Fattah the other.