What is the ruling on family planning, and is it permissible to terminate the fetus before four months?
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The questioner : Your Eminence, what is the ruling on family planning, and what are the cases where a person is obligated to practice family planning if he has few children? And what is the ruling on terminating the fetus before four months?
The Shaykh : These are two questions
The questioner : Well, it is a question that is related to the other.
The Shaykh : Yes, family planning is not in the hands of man, but in the hands of the One who owns the heavens and the earth, as Allah the Exalted said:[Ash-Shuraa 42:49-50].
And for this reason, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said regarding coitus interruptus: He said this or its meaning.
So the matter is in the hands of Allah. Is family planning for the offspring expected in the future, or for the offspring currently present? All of that is in the hands of Allah. Perhaps a person wants to practice family planning based on the fact that he currently has three children, then an incident befalls these children that wipes them all out, and he is left with no children, based on his desire to practice family planning.
But in some cases, a woman may be compelled to postpone pregnancy, and we do not call it family planning, but postponing pregnancy for one of the reasons, such as her illness, her weakness, or her inability to care for her children. In that case, there is nothing wrong with her taking what postpones pregnancy, on the condition that it is with the husband's consent.
The difference... shall we leave it to follow this one or not?
The questioner : No, it is related to this question, O Shaykh.
The Shaykh : And He
The questioner : Which is the ruling on terminating the fetus before four months.
The Shaykh : Yes, if a woman becomes pregnant with the fetus, then as Allah Mighty and Majestic said:[Al-Mu'minun 23:13], it is not permissible to terminate it, because the formation has now begun since it was a drop of fluid; its formation has begun. And if the scholars differed regarding coitus interruptus, how much more so for something whose formation has begun? So it is not permissible to terminate the pregnancy from the time of its formation, except if dire necessity calls for it, because the mother cannot bear the pregnancy due to a disease in her heart, or in her health, or in her abdomen, or otherwise. In that case, it is terminated until the completion of four months, meaning until the soul is breathed into it.
So once the soul is breathed into it, it is not permissible to terminate it ever, under any circumstances.
The questioner : Even if the reason is harm to the woman.
The Shaykh : Because once the soul is breathed into it, it becomes a human being, and it is not permissible to kill a human being under any circumstances. Yes.
The Shaykh : These are two questions
The questioner : Well, it is a question that is related to the other.
The Shaykh : Yes, family planning is not in the hands of man, but in the hands of the One who owns the heavens and the earth, as Allah the Exalted said:
(49) To Allah belongs the dominion of the heavens and the earth; He creates what he wills. He gives to whom He wills female [children], and He gives to whom He wills males. (50) Or He makes them [both] males and females, and He renders whom He wills barren.
لله ملك السماوات والأرض يخلق ما يشاء يهب لمن يشاء إناثا ويهب لمن يشاء الذكور أو يزوجهم ذكرانا وإناثا ويجعل من يشاء عقيماAnd for this reason, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said regarding coitus interruptus:
If Allah had willed to create him, I would not have prevented it.
لو شاء الله أن يخلقه ما منعتهSo the matter is in the hands of Allah. Is family planning for the offspring expected in the future, or for the offspring currently present? All of that is in the hands of Allah. Perhaps a person wants to practice family planning based on the fact that he currently has three children, then an incident befalls these children that wipes them all out, and he is left with no children, based on his desire to practice family planning.
But in some cases, a woman may be compelled to postpone pregnancy, and we do not call it family planning, but postponing pregnancy for one of the reasons, such as her illness, her weakness, or her inability to care for her children. In that case, there is nothing wrong with her taking what postpones pregnancy, on the condition that it is with the husband's consent.
The difference... shall we leave it to follow this one or not?
The questioner : No, it is related to this question, O Shaykh.
The Shaykh : And He
The questioner : Which is the ruling on terminating the fetus before four months.
The Shaykh : Yes, if a woman becomes pregnant with the fetus, then as Allah Mighty and Majestic said:
in a firm lodging.
في قرار مكينSo once the soul is breathed into it, it is not permissible to terminate it ever, under any circumstances.
The questioner : Even if the reason is harm to the woman.
The Shaykh : Because once the soul is breathed into it, it becomes a human being, and it is not permissible to kill a human being under any circumstances. Yes.