1988 CE.

After reviewing the papers submitted by the members and experts on the subject of “birth regulation,” and after listening to the discussions that took place on it;

and in view of the fact that one of the purposes of marriage in Islamic law is procreation and the preservation of humankind, and that this purpose must not be neglected—for its neglect runs counter to the texts and directives of the sharia that call for increasing, safeguarding, and caring for offspring, preservation of lineage being one of the five universal necessities that the revealed laws were sent to protect—

the Council therefore rules as follows:

First: It is impermissible to enact a general law that limits the spouses’ freedom to have children.

Second: It is forbidden to eliminate the ability to procreate in either a man or a woman—what is known as sterilization—unless a necessity, as defined by the sharia, requires it.

Third: Temporary control of procreation is permissible for the purpose of spacing pregnancies or postponing conception for a specified period, when a need recognized by the sharia exists, as determined by the spouses through mutual consultation and agreement, provided that no harm results, that the means employed are lawful, and that no aggression is committed against an existing pregnancy. Allah knows best.

• Resolution of the Islamic Fiqh Council in Mecca:

All praise belongs to Allah alone; may blessings and peace be upon the one after whom there is no prophet, and upon his family and companions. To proceed:

The Islamic Fiqh Council has examined the issue of birth limitation, or