Question: Is the Practice of contraception allowed in Islam? If so, under what circumstances?

Answer: Contraception is permissible on a limited scale for valid reasons - reasons considered by the Shariáh to be valid. The circumstances which will permit reversible and permanent contraception differ.

REVERSIBLE CONTRACEPTION

Among the reasons accepted by the Shariáh as valid for practising reversible contraception are:

1. Physical weakness.
2. Sickness.
3. The wife maintaining her beauty or figure for the sake of her husband.
4. The couple being on a journey or in a distant land.
5. Adverse political conditions, e.g. children are forcibly separated from their parents as is advocated by communism; etc.
6. The couple decide to separate in the near future.
7. The wife is an immoral person.

There are valid grounds for practising reversible contraception. Poverty or the fear of poverty are not valid reasons for contraception. It is not permissible to practice contraception on account of a fear of not being able to provide for a large family. Such a fear is an attribute of non-Muslims. According to the Qurăn Shareef: 'There is not a living creature, but its sustenance is the responsibility of Allah.'

Similarly desire to curb sexual desire which may stem out of piety is not a lawful ground for contraception. If practised for any reason which is unlawful in Islam, then contraception will likewise be unlawful, e.g. for indulgence in illicit sex.

PERMANENT CONTRACEPTION

Permanent contraception is permissible only if the woman's life is in danger or her health is seriously threatened.

More on the Subject:
The ayah (verse) appears in Surah Israa (No.31). A similar verse appears in Surah An`aam (No.151). Both these surahs were revealed before emigration to Madinah. In those days, infanticide by burying alive was a common practice. These Aayaat (verses) were revealed to show the evil of this action and to make it clear that Rizq (sustenance) is the premise of Allah Ta'aala, thus leaving no excuse of insufficient means for legalizing such a heinous practice. (Tafseer Ibn Katheer Vol. 3 Pg. 55). Although the original prohibition of the Ayah is infanticide, it's application is general and some indication can be drawn from it that similar practices carried out for the same reasons as mentioned in the Ayah could share in the prohibition. Such indication is known as 'Dalaalatun Nass' (Indication drawn from an explicit text) and qualifies as conclusive proof according to the principles of Islamic Jurisprudence (Usoolul Fiqh).

A hadith of Nabi (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam) describing Azl (coitus interruptus), a method of contraception common in those times, as 'passive infanticide' (Mishkaat Pg 276 Qadimi), further elucidates this. The hadith goes on to state "It is the same that is referred to in the verse: And when the interred child will question (on the day of Qiyaamah) in lieu of which sin was she murdered? (Takweer: 8-9). Should the above not prove conclusive enough, the verse immediately following states: "And kill not a soul sanctified by Allah (all life is sacred), except with right". Fear of insufficient means, as pointed out in the preceding Ayah, does not constitute sufficient right. It is probably for these reasons that the Fuqahaa (Jurists) have treated abortion as a kind of murder and have discussed the penalty thereof in the chapter on wergild or blood money. (See Shaami Vol. 10 Pg.255 Imdaadiyyah).

With respect to family planning, certain techniques did in fact exist in the time of Nabi (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam). Azl (coitus interruptus), has already been mentioned. Infanticide itself, was practiced as a form of family planning. It is highly probable that forms of abortion also existed then, which is likely the reason that books of Fiqh compiled as many as ten or twelve centuries ago carry detailed discussions on the subject.

and Allah Ta'ala Knows Best