Aslam

Praise be to Allah.

Firstly, what the Muslims should do is to try to have as many

children as they can, because this is the command of the Prophet (peace

and blessings of Allaah be upon him), who said: “Marry the one who is loving

and fertile, for I will be proud of your great numbers before the nations.”

(Narrated by Abu Dawood, 2050; classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh

Abi Dawood, 1805).

Having more children increases the numbers of the ummah, and

increasing the numbers of the ummah is a source of its glory, as Allaah

says, reminding the Children of Israel of His blessings:

“and made you more numerous in man-power”

[al-Isra’ 15:6 – interpretation of the meaning]

And Shu’ayb said to his people:

“And remember when you were but few, and He multiplied

you”

[al-A’raaf 7:86 – interpretation of the meaning]

No one can deny that having a large number is a source of

pride and strength for the ummah, contrary to what those pessimists think

who say that large numbers causes poverty and starvation in a nation.

If the ummah increases in number, puts its trust in Allaah

and believes His promises as mentioned in the aayah,

“And no moving (living) creature is there on earth but its

provision is due from Allaah”

[Hood 11:6 – interpretation of the meaning],

then Allaah will make things easy for them and will grant them independence

of means from His bounty. Based on that, the answer to your question is as

follows:

Birth control pills:

A woman should not use birth control pills, unless the

following conditions are met:

1-She should need to use them,

for example if she is ill and cannot cope with a pregnancy every year, or

she is physically unfit, or there is some other reason that getting pregnant

every year may harm her.

2-Her husband should give his

permission, because the husband has the right to have children. There must

also be consultation with the doctor, to find out whether these pills are

harmful or not.

If these two conditions are met, there is nothing wrong with

taking these pills, but that should not be on a permanent basis, because

that means preventing having children.

With regard to ‘azl (coitus interruptus), or withdrawing

during intercourse, the correct scholarly view is that there is nothing

wrong with it, because of the hadeeth of Jaabir (may Allaah be pleased with

him): “We used to practise ‘azl at the time when the Qur’aan was being

revealed” – i.e., at the time of the Prophet (peace and blessings of

Allaah be upon him). If that action had been haraam, the Prophet (peace

and blessings of Allaah be upon him) would have forbidden it. But the

scholars say that one should not engage in ‘azl with a free woman except

with her permission, because she has the right to have children. Moreover,

withdrawing without her permission diminishes her pleasure, because the

woman’s pleasure can only be completed after ejaculation. So not asking her

permission causes her to lose out on pleasure and on the possibility of

having children. Hence we state the condition that this may only be done

with her permission.

From Fataawa al-Shaykh Muhammad ibn ‘Uthaymeen.

From Fataawa Islamiyyah, vol. 3, p. 190.

Thirdly: the reason why the Sahaabah engaged in ‘azl was

because they did not want the woman – especially a slave woman – to get

pregnant, so that they could continue to enjoy a physical relationship with

them and the woman would still be able to do their work. Abu Dawood narrated

that a man said, “O Messenger of Allaah, I have a slave woman and I engage

in ‘azl with her, because I do not want her to get pregnant, but I want what

men want. But the Jews say that ‘azl is a lesser form of infanticide.” He

said, “The Jews are lying. If Allaah wants to create (a child) you cannot

prevent that.” (Narrated by Abu Dawood, Kitaab al-Nikaah, 1856;

classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh Abi Dawood, 1903).