What is 'azl?

The questioner : O Shaykh, what is 'azl? What is 'azl?

The Shaykh : 'Azl.

The questioner: Yes.

The Shaykh : 'Azl has forms, some of which are natural and some are scientific. The natural form is what existed in the early period of Islam, where a man, when he has intercourse with his wife and feels that the fluid is about to gush out of him, discharges it outside the womb. This is natural 'azl. As for artificial 'azl today, there are many examples, such as using a condom or a diaphragm, and using medications that prevent the sperm from fertilizing the woman's egg, and so on. This is 'azl.

The questioner : Both are permissible.

The Shaykh : Both are disliked if there is no other reason. If 'azl is accompanied by a bad intention, such as fear of poverty or the like, then 'azl becomes forbidden, for "actions are by intentions." If 'azl is free from a bad intention, such as fear of poverty or the like, it is disliked because it reduces the offspring of the Muslim community.