Population and Birth Control in Islam

I am not aware of the specific line of argument put forth by the Islamic Studies instructor, therefore I will try to explain different points of views regarding the issues that have been raised in the question to give as full a treatment as I can.

The first argument against family planning is derived from the following verse:

From this verse, two things can be clearly derived:

1. Provisions are bestowed by God; we just earn.
2. We must not kill our children when we are short on provisions.

In effect what this line of reasoning suggests is that we must not consider ourselves as providers and sustainers and even if we think we cannot provide for our children, we must believe that God can and will, and therefore we must not plan our families.

This argument seems weak because not having children in the first place is not equivalent to killing children primarily because children possess both life as well as soul whereas a child that has not even been conceived in mother's womb does neither. However, it must still be borne in mind that the ultimate provider is God alone and as a result . even though this argument does not hold directly against family planning . it outlines an important principle that must be kept in mind while taking a decision on the issue.

The second argument against family planning is based on the following verse:

Our relationship with our wives has been called out as that of a cultivator and the cultivated land, and in such a relationship, one never sows a seed and then not expect any produce. The same analogy is used to derive that when a male and a female copulate, they must also leave it for nature to act and cause something to be produced or not in the same fashion.

Scholars who have disagreed with this point of view have further elaborated that in the same way as a farmer who waits for the best season for cultivation and does his best for the produced yield to be high and the quality to be the best possible, we, as humans, should act similarly when bearing children. Since we are responsible for the well-being of our children, we should also be prepared and bear them at a good time when we can fulfill our duties as responsible parents.

Keeping the above discussion in perspective, I am of the opinion that family planning which determines the total number of children beforehand, while not knowing the future, is not really accepting God as our ultimate provider. With respect to the spacing between the children, I am of the opinion that the couple making such a decision must understand that bringing up children well and providing them with education, moral values and so forth is responsibility of the parents. It is important in this context to note that, like any other decision in our life, our decision here must also be based on the value we will get in the Hereafter and not in this world. Consequently, a couple should not avoid a child in order to afford a better than the life-style permitted by Islam or to fulfill their other desires that are solely associated with this world. However, when the same choice is made taking into account factors like health, upbringing and education of the children, and making them into people who will be successful in the Hereafter, the couple may practically be taking the same decision but the thought process makes it quite different.

In my opinion, the naked and hungry children appearing on the streets of Muslim countries are failures of the governments to provide enough for their citizens. In general, a careful government should not only strive to arrange provisions for its existing citizens but also plan for the future. I am not convinced that a government should force family planning on citizens of a country for its own inability to create a system that can earn for all. Prophet Joseph (pbuh)'s example illustrates this well: When he was asked by the chief of Egypt to save the nation from upcoming drought, he not only managed to plan for Egypt, but he also arranged for food for the neighboring lands.