Family Planning in the Legacy of Islam

The family is the basic social unit of Islamic society. Even without compelling population pressures there has been a concern with spacing and family planning. Family Planning in Islam is the result of a massive research project, reviewing fourteen centuries of views on family formation and planning as expressed by leading Islamic theologians and jurists. The work has been discussed and shaped at each stage by a committee of Islamic experts representing the majority of the Muslim countries. The writers review the centrality of marriage as an institution and the many rights and obligations of both children and parents. They then review the prophetic teachings and traditions of the Qur'an and Sunnah, synthesise theological writings on family planning in Islamic jurisprudence from the seventh to the nineteenth centuries and examine the thinking of writers from the nine main schools. Finally, the writers look at family planning in the twentieth century with the increased pressure of population control, health care and rapid urbanisation.