Encyclopedia of Islam

birth control and family planning

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trol quote hadiths that they believe support the 

opposite position. One of these hadiths states that 

m

Uhammad

 did not object to the practice of coitus 

interruptus (Arabic: azl), a form of contraception 

involving withdrawal of the penis from the vagina 

before ejaculation. Many Muslim jurists argue that 

this provides a precedent that allows for modern 

forms of birth control. Another hadith states that a 

man should not practice azl unless he has permis-

sion from his wife, which is interpreted as permis-

sion for 

Women

 to have a say in their reproductive 

rights.  a

bortion

 is also allowed by most jurists, 

but only under specific conditions.

Even though birth control and family plan-

ning programs have been inaugurated by many 

governments and nongovernmental organiza-

tions, their success has been hampered because 

economic resources are lacking and because most 

Muslim countries still have large proportions of 

their populations making their livings by 

agricUl

-

tUre

, a way of life in which having large families 

is traditionally an advantage. Furthermore, deeply 

embedded traditions in male-dominant societies, 

reinforced by conservative 

Ulama

, have encour-

aged parents to have many children. There are 

also political factors that have affected family 

planning efforts. Some Muslim nationalist leaders 

and religious authorities have urged families to 

have many children as a way to resist domination 

by non-Muslim governments. In this light, birth 

control and family planning are portrayed as part 

of a Western conspiracy to limit the size of the 

Muslim population. This was the case with the 

growth of the Palestinian population in the West 

Bank and Gaza and in i

ran

, where the population 

exploded from 34 million to 50 million between 

1979 and 1986.

Ironically, the Islamic Republic of Iran has one 

of the most successful family planning programs 

in the world today. After a long, costly war with 

i

raq

 (1980–88), the Iranian ulama realized that 

they needed to curb Iran’s population growth rate. 

As a result, new family planning programs were 

launched, and birth control devices were made 

widely available. Now, when an Iranian couple 

wants to get married, they are required to attend 

a course on family planning that includes instruc-

tion in the use of intrauterine devices (IUDs), 

birth control pills, and condoms. Birth control 

devices are often distributed for free by govern-

ment health centers. For couples with children 

who want to make sure they have no additional 

pregnancies, voluntary vasectomies and female 

sterilizations are allowed. In general, the govern-

ment now encourages people to have small fami-

lies rather than large ones.