Family Planning in Islam 1
Family planning as a private measure to space or regulate the family size for health or economic reasons is permissible in Islam. There is neither any verse in the Qur`an or ĥadīth against birth control, nor is it obligatory to have children in marriage. Moreover, there are several ahadith which categorically prove that birth control is permissible.
It is narrated from Imām °Alī : “One of the two (means) of affluence is to have few dependents.”‘2
It is narrated from Imām as-Ŝādiq (as) : “(Imām) °Ali ibn al-°usayn saw no problem in coitus interruptus and he used to recite the verse that ‘When your Lord took from the Children of Adam, from their loins, their descendants…’3 So from whatsoever (seed) Allāh (SwT) has taken a covenant, it is sure to be born even if it is (spilled) on a hard rock.”4
According to the above tradition, creation is in the hand of Allāh (SwT) alone. Whether or not we practice birth control, if Allāh (SwT) wills, the child will be conceived.
In conclusion, the above aĥādith demonstrate that birth control is permissible.