http://www.hindustantimes.com/news/181_1013724,00300006.htm
In support of
family planning
GUEST COLUMN | Dr Rafiq Zakaria
September 18, 2004-09-22
The
All-India Muslim Personal Law Board is a highly respected body;
but it has no enforcing authority in law. It came into existence
only a few decades ago, mainly due to the efforts of its
founder-president the late Maulana Abul Hasan Ali Nadvi,
popularly known as Ali Mian. A man of learning, he was held in
great esteem. He was also the rector of Darul Uloom Deoband and
therefore right from its inception, the Board had a predominance
of Deobandis. Brelvis are opposed to them and consequently
refuse to recognise the Board. Almost 90 per cent of Sunnis owe
their allegiance to Brelvis.
Since the advent of the British, all cases pertaining to the
Muslim Personal Law, legally characterised as Mohammedan Law,
are decided by the courts. There is much talk these days of the
abrogation of ‘Triple talaq’ but it is enforced in India because
of the judgement in the case of Rashid Ahmad versus Mst.Anisa
A.I.R. (1919) delivered by the Privy Council during the British
Raj, upholding its legality. Hence the Muslim Personal Law Board
cannot abrogate it; it is only our Supreme Court which can do so
by reversing the verdict of the Privy Council. During the
discussion on the Shariat Act in the Central Legislative
Assembly in 1938, some Muslim members insisted that the cases
under it should be heard and decided only by Muslim judges, but
MA Jinnah strongly opposed it and therefore no such provision
was incorporated in the Act.
With this background, the hue and cry recently raised against
Family Planning by some members of the Board has no
significance.
They do not carry much weight with the generality of the
Muslims. Family Planning is a national policy which has been
unanimously sanctioned by our Parliament long ago in 1966 and no
citizen, irrespective of his or her caste or creed, has any
right to go against it. Facts and figures amply demonstrate that
Muslims have wholeheartedly accepted it and have been willingly
implementing it for the last several decades. They realise that
in the larger interest of the country, population has to be
controlled; we cannot afford to allow unchecked growth as it
negates progress and paralyses economic development. Most
developing countries have adopted family planning. China has,
for instance, compulsorily restricted the family to one child.
As
a result, becoming a formidable economic power.
Most Muslim countries have, since long, been practising family
planning; some of them like Bangladesh and Indonesia achieving
remarkable success. Egypt and Pakistan are struggling hard to
control their population. It is wrong to propagate that it is
contrary to the teachings of Islam. Jamia al-Azhar, the
1,000-year old Centre of Islamic Theology, which is accepted by
Muslims all over the world as the most authentic voice of
Shariah and Islamic jurisprudence, has issued several fatwas in
favour of family planning; so has the grand Imam of Masjidul
Haram, situated in the precincts of the holy Kaaba. He is the
most respected religious dignitary among Muslims. Likewise, all
Muslim heads of states have publicly endorsed the document in
support of Family Planning, which was unanimously approved by
the United Nations General Assembly; each one of the Muslim
potentates has put his or her signature on it. It affirms: "We
believe that the objective of family planning is the enrichment
of human life, not its restriction; that family planning, by
assuring greater opportunity to each person, frees man to attain
his individual dignity and reach his full potential… Recognising
that family planning is in the vital interest of both the nation
and the family, we, the undersigned, earnestly hope that leaders
around the world will share our views and join with us in this
great challenge of the well-being and happiness of people
everywhere.”
From the data collected by various survey groups, it is firmly
established that Muslims in India are fully supportive of family
planning. One such survey was conducted in 1970-71 by the
Operations Research Group (ORG) of Baroda. It showed that 8.8
per cent Muslims as against 13.8 per cent Hindus were practising
birth control. In their next survey conducted in 1980-81, the
Muslim percentage rose to 22.5 as against the Hindu percentage
of 36.1. In the third survey carried out by ORG in 1988, the
community-wise break-up in each state clearly showed that
Muslims do not lag far behind Hindus in the acceptance of the
various methods of birth control. Even the latest Census Report
confirms that the growth rate of Muslim population has
substantially come down. It fell from 32.9 per cent in 1981-91
to 29.3 per cent in 1991-2001.
There is enough theological evidence in support of Family
Planning. Apart from several pronouncements of classic jurists,
commending restrictions on the birth of children, there is a
well-known tradition of the Prophet himself which states: “More
children add to poverty, while less numbers ease it.” According
to Sahih Muslim, one of the two authentic books of traditions,
the Prophet is also reported to have said, “He who has two
daughters and devotes himself to their upbringing and proper
care will on the Day of Judgement be as near to me as two
fingers.” This is in accordance with the general admonition in
the Quran: “Let those who do not have the means for marriage,
keep themselves chaste until God provides them the means by His
Grace.” (24:33)
Many Imams have emphasised that it is quality that matters in
bringing up children, not quantity. Imam Shafe’i (767-820), who
is one of the four founders of Islamic jurisprudence, has
specifically stated: “Expedient it is that you do not enlarge
your family.” Imam Abu Hanifa (700-767), who is regarded as the
tallest among the four founders and has the largest following
among Muslims, has said, “There is no doubt that excess of
children causes great worries to their parents.” The most
outstanding among Muslim religious authorities is Imam Ghazali
(1058-1111), who is universally hailed by Muslims, as the “the
rejuvenator of Islam.” In his well-known treatise entitled Ihya
Ulum ad-Din, he asked Muslims to be guided by the resources and
opportunities they could provide for their children and thus to
restrict their number so that they can be brought up properly.
He explained, “Smallness of the family is affluence, largeness
is poverty.”
Shah Abdul Aziz (1746-1842), the learned son of the legendary
Shah Waliullah regarded as the doyen of theologians in India,
has opined that even abortion was permissible if parents could
not afford to bring up the child. Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, whose
Tafsirul Quran has become a world classic, declared: “Apparently
there is no reason why Shariat would interfere in the matter of
birth control. This is purely a medical or a social problem. If
enlightened people feel that it has become necessary for the
welfare of the society, they can certainly favour it.” Today,
with the population explosion that our country is threatened
with, it is absolutely necessary that every citizen,
irrespective of his or her religious affiliation, practices
family planning; without it our future is doomed. Unfortunately
some of our religious leaders are unaware of this danger. Also,
they seem oblivious to growing poverty, acute unemployment and
the widespread diseases which have gripped more than 90 per cent
of Muslims; their plight, according to the latest census
statistics, is the worst in every respect. Do these protagonists
of orthodoxy want that Muslim boys become beggars and Muslim
girls are thrown to the streets to earn their living? Allama
Iqbal, the renowned poet-philosopher of Islam, has rightly said:
Quom kya hai, quomom ki imamat kya hai
Is ko kya samjhain bechare do-rakat
kya imam
What is a nation? How to lead it?
Poor Imam! It is beyond his creed.
(The writer’s latest book,
Indian Muslims: Where Have They Gone Wrong,
was released last week).
