Here is a fresh analysis of "FAMILY PLANNING". Please note that BIRTH CONTROL is something other than FAMILY PLANNING. When we refer to The Holy Qur'an which is The Final Commandment of ALLAH, the Lord of the Universe, we find an order in 17/31: "Do not kill your children for fear of poverty. It is WE who shall provide sustenance for them as well as for you. Verily, killing them is a great sin." Similar orders are found in 6/140-141 and 6/152.

In all the places, the original words are used: "LA-TAQTULU-AULADAKUM", means "Do not Kill your children". What is ordered is "not to kill". Nothing is said here for Family Planning, but killing of children is a great sin. So if a child is on the earth, its killing is a great sin. So also if a child is in the womb of the mother, definitely it is a live entity, hence abortion also is killing of the child inside the womb.

When we refer to modern science, from the inception itself, the embryo is alive. Hence abortion without any strong and genuine reasons, from the day one of inception, is like "Killing". It is another matter what can be the genuine reasons. One that comes to mind is that may be when the life of the mother is in serious danger. In modern days, terms like legal and illegal abortions are used. Change in terminology or amendments in the laws does not change the matter. One should not confuse with terms like MTP (Medical Termination of pregnancy) or MR (Menstrual Regulation). To flush out the pregnancy by any means is like killing the child.

Here some of the religious heads and scholars say a very unscientific thing that after four months of the pregnancy, an Angel enters in the womb of the mother and put the life in that embryo. This is contradictory to what is mentioned in the Holy Qur'an. It is said in 76/2: "Verily, it is WE Who Created man out of a drop of sperm intermingled, so that WE might put him in test, and therefore WE made him a being endowed with hearing and sight." So when the sperm intermingles with the egg from the mother, process of creation starts and it becomes a live embryo called zygote and it passes in the uterus. It is live from day one.

According to study, abortion from day one is like killing. These verses can be cross checked and referred to any gynecologist or to any site of Discovery Channel or any Encyclopedia on the subject of pregnancy. Regarding the start of the process of creation from the day one, another reference from the Qur'an is, 53/45 to 47: "And it is ALLAH Who Creates the two kinds - the male and the female, out of a mere drop of sperm as it is poured forth, and that it is within HIS Power to bring about a second life (after this)." By these verses it is clear that ALLAH determines gender of child by selection of sperm. It is from the father, not from the mother. Unfortunately in our Indian sub-continent, poor mother is blamed for female child.

Now on FAMILY PLANNING. A true Mo'min plans even his eternal life of Akhirat here in this world. He should plan everything. Planning in all the matters is very much appreciable act. One can plan his family but not by abortion which is murder of the child. Now there remains only one way for such Mo'min which is "to avoid pregnancy" for various reasons and by many means of his own. The question arises whether "to avoid pregnancy is permitted or not"?

In this regard we find many narrations in the books of Ahadees. One of them is; "Hazrat Jabir narrates that we asked the Prophet of ALLAH (s.a.w.s) that we do 'AZL', means at the time of discharge, one is getting out avoiding pregnancy. Jews say that it is wrong and not permitted. The Prophet (s.a.w.s) said that the Jews are wrong. Indeed when ALLAH wants to create any being, no body can stop HIM." This one is the quotation from Tarmazi, Chapter of "AZL", first Hadees. Similar chapters are in all the books of Ahadees and one can find more than 50 Ahadees in various books on the subject of 'AZL'.

Now, by so many Ahadees, one can safely assume that 'to avoid pregnancy' is not prohibited by the Prophet (s.a.w.s). Regarding BIRTH CONTROL, one can do what he can, but if The Creator has decided to Create, no body can stop HIM. We also know that after trying to avoid pregnancy by any means, success rate can never be 100%.

One interesting piece of news is worth mentioning. In the sixties, Communist China announced reward to kill the mice as their share in food-grains was assumed 30 percent. Within a decade after killing trillions of mice, the population of mice was not reduced. Once again scientists found that in emergency, birth rate increases in female mice six hundred times!!!! So here is ALLAH the Real Creator and life Giver to all and HE Creates whatever HE Wishes just HE said in 24/45: "And it is ALLAH Who has Created all moving creatures out of water and Has Willed that among them are such as they crawl on their bellies, and such as they walk on tow legs, and such as they walk on four. ALLAH Creates what HE Wills. Verily ALLAH has the Power to Will and Do anything."

The whole system of inception and birth in human beings, sequence wise, is very much said in 23/12 to 14, fourteen hundred years back when no body even knew the sequence. Modern science came to know it now and got the credit. Unfortunately we Muslims are also ignorant of the verses of Holy Qur'an. The verse is: "Indeed, WE Created man out of essence of clay, and then WE cause him to remain as a drop of sperm in (mother's) firm keeping, and then WE Create out of the drop of sperm a germ-cell (zygote), and then WE Create out of the germ-cell (zygote) an embryonic lump, and then WE Create within the embryonic lump bones, and then WE Clothe the bones with flesh - and then WE Bring all this into being a new-creation: Blessed is ALLAH The Best Artisan." (23/12 to 14)

Some more information from the Holy Book while world came to know this now. It is from 39/6:" ..... ALLAH Creates you in your mother's wombs, one act of creation after another, in threefold depths of darkness ...." From where this sperm travels in the body of male was not known till the science discovered it now. But it was also said long before in the Holy Qur'an in 86/5 to 7: "So man should observe out of what he has been created. Created out of a seminal fluid issuing from between the loins (between back-bone and ribs of male) and the pelvic arch."

Further, please note that the sperm in itself has also its life, but process of creation in the shape of child can not start from it alone. In a drop of semen, there may be sperms from 60 thousand to 2 lacs. But only one out of these is destined by ALLAH to be mingled with the egg of mother, the process is called fusion and it becomes the first live and complete cell and starts moving and multiplying. After some stages of development, it is called zygote in medical terms. And this zygote enters the uterus and called embryo in medical terms and the process of child development continues. Then after about six to nine months of pregnancy, the mother delivers the child. Also note that after about four months of pregnancy, the mother can feel the movements of the child in her womb. Probably here the religious heads and scholars are confused and allow the abortion within 4 months of the pregnancy assuming that now there is life in it. By the Holy Qur'an and modern medical science, it is very much clear that the life is destined by ALLAH when the sperm from father mingles with the egg of the mother. Hence abortion can be called "Killing of Child" from day one.

There is no specific instruction about keeping distance in between children but one can see an ideal situation in Chapter 31 Verse 14: " WE had enjoined upon man goodness towards his parents: his mother bore him bearing strain upon strain, and his utter dependence and nursing by his mother lasted for two years ... "

The compilers tried their best with the help of their LORD and mentioned the references. All the readers are requested to cross check all these verses and Ahadees before taking any decision. After all, every person is responsible for his own acts and deeds and none can put the onus on other on the Day of Final Judgment.

Prepared by:

EXPLORE-QURAN Team

Can be visited at web-site

www.explore-quran.com

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