Marriage is a gift of God for human beings to supplement...

Marriage is a gift of God for human beings to supplement each other and to console themselves with each other[^2]. Violation of this sacred covenant by adultery or by homosexual relations is unlawful and is unanimously rejected by all Muslim scholars. Also it seems immoral to use modern biotechnology to bypass marriage and reproduce human beings artificially and out of the context of family. Of course, a married couple may use legitimate biomedical techniques for parenting.

Family planning Islam considers child having as a great gift of God and highly recommends people to get married and establish family ties and have child. However, Islam does not compel people to get married or have child after marriage unless there is an overriding (secondary) reason which makes marriage and formation of family or having child necessary.

For example, if the only way to protect one’s piety and chastity is to get married or if the protection of the people of faith from the attacks of enemies depends on the increase in the number of the members of society it becomes compulsory to get married and have child (15). Thus, Islam allows family planning to prevent pregnancy, but does not allow its termination[^3].

Now, naturally the question arises as to when pregnancy starts and whether the beginning of pregnancy coincides with the beginning of human life or not. Abortion Islam prohibits abortion unless there is an exceptional situation in which Shari‘ah permits it as a lesser evil (16).

A typical Islamic point of view can be found in the following statements by the Islamic Organization for Medical Sciences: • The inception of life occurs with the union of a sperm and an ovum, forming a zygote which carries the full genetic code of the human race in general and of the particular individual, who is different from all others throughout the ages.

The zygote begins a process of cleavage that yields a growing and developing embryo, which progresses through the stages of gestation towards birth. • From the moment a zygote settles inside a woman's body, it deserves a unanimously recognized degree of respect, and a number of legal stipulations, known to all scholars, apply to it. • When it arrives at the spirit-breathing stage…the fetus acquires greater sanctity, as all scholars agree, and additional legal stipulations apply to it.

(17)[^4] Abortion especially after the spirit is blown is a case of infanticide and the Qur’anic condemnation of killing one’s children applies to it[^5].