the fact that advocating birth restriction or the prevention of pregnancy conflicts with the innate disposition upon which Allah has fashioned creation and with the Islamic law that the Lord, exalted be He, has approved for His servants; and in view of the fact that the proponents of birth limitation or contraception are a faction whose real aim is to undermine the Muslims in general and the Muslim Arab nation in particular so that they can colonize their lands and enslave their peoples; and since adopting that view resembles the practices of the Age of Ignorance, displays poor expectations of Allah the Exalted, and weakens the Islamic entity, whose strength lies in its abundant and interconnected human building blocks—
For all of these reasons, the Council rules that birth limitation is categorically impermissible, and that preventing pregnancy is likewise impermissible when the motive is fear of poverty, for Allah is the Provider, the Possessor of might, the Strong: “There is no creature on earth but that its provision rests with Allah” ⦗Hud 6⦘.
If, however, pregnancy prevention is required by a proven necessity—such as when a woman cannot give birth naturally and must undergo surgery to extract the child, or when delaying conception for a time serves an interest recognized by the spouses—then there is no objection to preventing or postponing pregnancy in that case. This accords with the sound hadith reports and with what has been transmitted from a number of the Companions—may Allah be pleased with them—regarding the permissibility of withdrawal, and it is consistent with the jurists’ express allowance of taking medicine to expel the semen before forty days of gestation. Indeed, preventing pregnancy may even become obligatory when a definite necessity is established.
His Eminence Shaykh ʿAbd Allah ibn Ghudayyan withheld judgment on this exception. And may Allah bless Muhammad.
Council of Senior Scholars
- Decision of the Islamic Fiqh Academy on Birth Regulation:
The Council of the Islamic Fiqh Academy, convened at its fifth conference in Kuwait from 1 to 6 Jumada al-Awwal 1409 AH / 10 to 15 December