Leave your heirs rich

The following Hadis completes the recommendation: “O young men! Those of you who can support a wife and household should marry. For, marriage keeps you from looking with lust at women and preserves you from promiscuity. But those who cannot, should take to fasting, which is a means of tampering sexual desires” (Bukhari).

The Quran says: “Allah desires for you ease (yusr); He desires not hardship (usr) for you” (2:185). “Do they think that in the wealth and children wherewith We provide them, We hasten unto them with good things? Nay, but they perceive not”(23:55-56).“No soul shall impose (upon it) a duty but to its capacity; neither shall a mother be made to suffer injury on account of her child, nor shall he to whom the child is born (be made to suffer) on account of his child” (2:233).

This is also reinforced by the following Hadis: “The most gruelling trial is to have plenty of children with no adequate means” (Al-Hakim). “To leave your heirs rich is better than leaving them dependent upon people’s charity” (Bukhari).

It is noteworthy that the following Hadis sanctioned Azl (withdrawal) as the contraception method: “A man came to the Prophet to ask about the practice of al-azl with his mate. He added, "I do not like her to get pregnant and I am a man who wants what other men want. But the Jews claim that al-azl is minor infanticide." The Prophet categorically denied such a contention by the Jews (Abu Dawoud).

One more misconception requiring correction is the widely held belief that Islam encourages polygamy. Far from encouraging polygamy, the Quran actually restricted the Jahiliya practice of unlimited wives to four and that too with a near impossible condition that the wives be given an absolutely fair and equal deal. The Quran itself says "and you will not have it in your power to treat your wives equitably, even if it is your ardent desire" (4:129), and advises: "but if you fear that you shall not deal justly with them then (marry) only one" (4:3). The recommendation is clearly for monogamy as stated by Abdullah Yusuf Ali in his most respected commentary.

It is interesting to note that the Committee on Status of Women in India in 1975 found prevalence of polygamy among all the communities, and the least among the Muslims.

The misconception that Islam is the restraining influence in the acceptance of family planning was also dispelled by a study of the Ministry of Health in 90 high birth-rate districts of India which revealed that it was not religion, but female literacy, infant mortality rate, income, and the age of marriage which influence family planning practice. The national policy on education, 1986, had observed that Muslims were educationally the most backward more than even the scheduled castes and tribes. Imagine this state of a community whose Prophet had said, “Acquire education, even if you have to go to China”. Today, every Indian child is fortunate to have a school within a kilometre! Then, why the inertia? Muslim opinion leaders like ulama, journalists and scholars need to see for themselves the successful family planning efforts made in major Muslim countries like Indonesia, Malaysia, Iran, Egypt and Bangladesh. Return visits of their counterparts to India may also be organised. It may be useful toinvolve Muslim youth in the development of materials like posters, slogans, songs, jingles, etc., besides essay and declamation contests. To provide authentic information, a resource book may be prepared and widely circulated.

It would be prudent to appeal to the Muslim pride in Islam’s relevance in all times and in all situations. Highlighting that Islam was actually the fore-runner of the family welfare concept fourteen hundred years ago, even when there was no population pressure, may remind them that they are the "owners" of the programme and should not shy away from it.

The recently announced national population policy offers an excellent opportunity. Will Muslim intellectuals/ Ulama take the initiative? The writer is in the Indian Administrative Service