should I have another baby.

I was listening to Dr Zakir Naik the other day on Peace TV. It was a question about contraception and having kids etc and he said you shouldnt use contraception cos Allah made natural contraception in the form of breastfeeding. So you shouldnt prevent a baby from coming to the world.

Now I have 2 children and I also have Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome which amongst other things makes it very difficult to conceive. There is no way I can get pregnant unless I go to the doctor and get treatment. So if i dont do this am I committing a sin. I’m not actually stopping a baby from coming am I?
Or am I obliged to seek this treatment from the doctor?
I hope someone can help. Thanks.

Re: should I have another baby.

I don't think you are obliged to have treatment.

Here is some information I found at the Islam QA Website. In simple words you are not obligated to, but here is a detailed answer that might help.

Praise be to Allaah.

Firstly:
Islam encourages people to get married and have children so as to increase the numbers of the Muslim ummah and to make the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) proud before all other nations on the Day of Resurrection, and in accordance with human nature (fitrah). The Prophets themselves (blessings and peace of Allaah be upon them) asked Allaah to bless them with righteous offspring. Allaah tells us that Ibraaheem (peace be upon him) said:

“My Lord! Grant me (offspring) from the righteous”
[al-Saaffaat 37:100].

And Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
“And (remember) Zakariyya (Zachariah), when he cried to his Lord: ‘O My Lord! Leave me not single (childless), though You are the Best of the inheritors’”
[al-Anbiya’ 21:89.]

Allaah tells us of many of the du’aa’s of the righteous, such as the verse in which He says (interpretation of the meaning):
“And those who say: “Our Lord! Bestow on us from our wives and our offspring the comfort of our eyes, and make us leaders of the Muttaqoon (the pious)”
[al-Furqaan 25:74].

People will remain like that so long as their nature (fitrah) remains sound.

Secondly:
In the answer to question no. 21160 we stated that ongoing contraception is haraam. But an exception is made to that in cases of necessity – as is the shar’i principle with regard to all haraam things, as it allows them in cases of necessity. Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):

“He has explained to you in detail what is forbidden to you, except under compulsion of necessity”
[al-An’aam 6:119].

So if a woman is weak or sick and will be harmed by pregnancy or there is fear for her life because of that, then it is permissible for her to use that which will prevent pregnancy.

In research prepared by the Standing Committee for Academic research and Issuing Fatwas it says:

… Based on that, limiting the number of offspring is haraam in general, and contraception may be haraam except in rare individual cases that are not general in application, such as if the pregnant woman will have to give birth in a manner other than that which is usual, and she will have to have surgery to bring the child forth; or if the woman’s health or life will be at risk due to pregnancy. In such cases contraception is permitted as anexception because of the likelihood of harm, so as to preserve her life, because Islam seeks to bring benefits and ward off harms, and to advance the greater of benefits and reduce the harm in the case of a conflict. End quote.
Majallat al-Buhooth al-Islamiyyah (5/127).

Shaykh Ibn Baaz was asked about a woman who had given birth to ten children, and now pregnancy would cause her harm, and she wanted to have an operation to have her tubes tied.
He replied:

There is nothing wrong with her having the surgery mentioned, if doctors have determined that giving birth will harm her, and if her husband allows that. End quote. Fataawa al-Mar’ah al-Muslimah (5/978).
Shaykh Ibn Jibreen said:

It is not permissible to have surgery to end or prevent pregnancy except in cases of necessity, when trustworthy doctors have established that giving birth will harm her or make her sickness worse, or there is the fear that pregnancy and childbirth will likely lead to her death. But it is essential that the husband give his approval to the ending or prevention of pregnancy. Then when the excuse ends the woman should go back to normal. End quote.
Fataawa al-Mar’ah al-Muslimah (2/977).

Based on this, if what happened to you was caused by pregnancy, then it is a passing thing that was caused by sickness or weakness which it is hoped will pass. In that case you can use contraceptives on a temporary basis, until Allaah heals you. But if it is an ongoing problem for which there is no hope of an end, then there is nothing wrong – in sha Allaah – with you using contraception on an ongoing basis.

And Allaah knows best

Source: "Ongoing Contraception is Haraam Except in Cases of Necessity." Islam QA. 27 May 2008. 27 May 2008 <>

Re: should I have another baby.

I guess there are exceptions to everything tabussum. If you have health challenges then obviously your health comes first. Some people cannot afford treatments or cannot go through with them so I guess every case is different.

One more thing, I think the concept of breastfeeding being a natural contraception is not correct. It is just a belief without proper backing, because I have at least 2 friends who conceived while they were breastfeeding their kids. I do not mean to argue with religious teachings, and Allah knows best, but some people may have misunderstood or misinterpreted that concept.

Re: should I have another baby.

I heard that coitus interruptus is permissible in Islam .. I might be wrong

but breast feeding being a natural conterceptive is a religious rumor .. no truth to that.

Re: should I have another baby.

^ Maybe they call it a contraceptive because..uhm… uhmmm… :fatee:

Sara!:smack:

Re: should I have another baby.

Did u hear that/ :halo:

Re: should I have another baby.

one or two is fine to replace yourself and your husband.
over population in the world, is not a responsible thing to do.

economic viability wise, raising two well fed kids is better than many with very little to offer them and enable them to grow healthy rather than impovrished.

world's danger is enough to make people realize that a child is a blessing of Allah swt, and that children must not be neglected nor abondoned.

this argument of Allah swt will provide, is a weak one because it is a scape goat.
Of course, Allah swt provides, but Imam Zakir or any other religious personality is not the one who will have to raise the child for you.

medically and generation gap wise, being able to father and mother a couple of children is good enough.

rest is people's choices or beliefs.

best,

Dushwari

Re: should I have another baby.

I agree with Dushwari whole heartedly.

Be responsible, and make the decision you want. Our instincts were given to us by God for a reason, and you obviously are questioning this because you're being told something that goes against your instinct.

Btw, I have polycystic ovarian syndrome too. It's no walk in the park. If you're dead set on having more children in the future, and you're overweight due to the syndrome, look into losing that weight. It'll help.

Well I know many couples in pak who end up having a baby after a baby coz they used the "Islami way" of birth control. Coitus interruptus or breast feeding is Not a reliable method of birth control with 99.9 % chance of faliure.
It is redicilous .

Allah will provide, but as muslims we have a responsibility of raising good muslim children. I have heard this argument from so many arabs oh we must have kids, the muslim ummah should be increased, and yet so many 'muslim' kids are wandering the world without knowing the kalimah... or knowing the basics like salat and zakat.

If you wanna bring in kids with respect to increasing the muslim Ummah then teach them to read their salat and tell them to share with the auntys and uncles rather than showing your kids om shanti om and telling them shabash aunty ko om shanti om gaa kar sunao...

Such ppl make me sick. Sorry had to rant, too many of them around. Arey hum toh sunnat follow kar rahey hain... bachey paida kar key... yeah ... and u forgot the part where you have to impart deeni knowledge to your kids...

Re: should I have another baby.

Allah is the provider but Allah created parents as providers of your kids. If you cannot provide for the kids adequately then you are not fulfilling your duty. Think about it.
Coitus interruptus was allowed according to many ahadees, that was the only effective method of contraception in those days. Will you use just olive, honey etc as a cure if you get sick because it was the only method of treatment of diseases in those days. The answer is a very resounding no , so same with the use of contraceptives.

Re: should I have another baby.

breastfeeding does not stop you from becoming pregnant at all....other modern methods of conterception are not 100% reliable either.

And for your question......If you want to have more children then you can have them but if you think that you have to have more children (even if you don't want to have them) then that's not right.

There's the problem. Stop listening to uneducated religious demagogues.

Contraception is allowed in Islam. Take the pill. It's okay.

Re: should I have another baby.

Dr Zakir may not be authority in everything but he is sure dome lot of service in comparative religions. He is much better than those fat clergy that take a fix cut out of people's incomes.

Then he should shut his mouth regarding matters he does not know about.

[quote]
but he is sure dome lot of service in comparative religions.
[/quote]

Who hasn't and who cares? My religion is better than yours, bla bla, heard it before, it is nothing but pointless jibber jabber.

Does he want a cookie for that?

[quote]
He is much better than those fat clergy that take a fix cut out of people's incomes.
[/quote]

Hey people gotta get paid somehow. Some do it by pretending to know about religion.

Re: should I have another baby.

^And others do it by wailing and whinning.

And he has his opinion and he is entitled to one, atleast he does nto teach people to curse, abuse and spread hatred.

Right, except he his making his opinion fact and misleading people into believing its fact.

[QUOTE]
atleast he does nto teach people to curse, abuse and spread hatred.
[/quote]

That's debatable because a lot of non-Muslims will disagree and say that he does spread hatred. But I guess I should be happy that at least he is not encouraging suicide bombers.

Re: should I have another baby.

"misleading" is subjective.

Every single Mulla/priest/zakir/rabbi/pundit is misleading people if you don't agree with him.

And he knows how to talk sensibly despite being in disagreement with others. A trait that majority of clergy don't possess.