Imam 'Ali once said...

Imam 'Ali once said, "One of the two (means) of affluence is to have few dependents.'[^3]' Imam Ja'far as-Sadiq said that, "[Imam] 'Ali ibnul Husayn (peace be upon him) saw no problem in coitus interruptus and he used to recite the verse that, ‘When your Lord brought forth from the children of Adam (i.e., from their loins) their seed...'[7:172] So from whatsoever [seed] Allah has taken a covenant, it is sure to be born even if it is [spilled] on a hard rock."[^4] The Imam is saying that the creation is in the hand of Allah alone.

Whether or not we practice birth control, if Allah wills, the child will be conceived. In effect, these ahadith are a positive proof that birth control is allowed in Islam. * * * However, sometimes the issue of birth control is politicized by the imperialists and racist regimes; and in such cases, the supreme mujtahid has the right to temporarily forbid the use of birth control on the basis of secondary reasons ( hukm thanawi ).

For example, if the Russian communist government plans to impose or promote birth control in its Muslim provinces not because of health reasons but because it fears that the high birth rate among the Muslims might offshoot their minority status, then the mujtahid can issue a fatwa saying that to practice birth control in Soviet Russia (without any health reasons) would be haram .

Or if the Israeli government, for example, promotes birth control among the Muslims inside the occupied Palestine, then the mufti can prohibit it. Similarly, if the Indian government or the Maronite government of Lebanon intends to promote birth control among their Muslim citizens, then the supreme mujtahid can prohibit the use of birth control. Such fatwas will just be of a temporary nature; once the issue is depoliticized, the primary law will be applied again. B. When Does Pregnancy Begin?

Islam allows the preventing of pregnancy, but does not allow its termination. However, the problem arises in defining the beginning of pregnancy from the shari'ah point of view. Before we look at various methods of birth control, we must first define the beginning of pregnancy; and only then will we be able to say which method is permissible and which is not. My research has failed to find a discussion in the classical fiqhi books on the shari'ah definition of pregnancy.

Even the present mujtahids have not discussed it.