Muslim Clerics Give The Green Signal To Condoms

Who says Islam is against family planning? Darul Uloom Deoband  has issued a fatwa  that says  there's nothing wrong in using contraceptives for maintaining a gap between children. In response to a  query posted by an unidentified man seeking a fatwa on use of condoms to avoid pregnancy as his wife was looking after their one-year-old son, clerics at seminary's Darul ifta ( the body that issues fatwas ) were quoted:  said, "Yes, it's allowable to use temporary contraceptives so that the children are properly nourished."

Islamic scholars opine that  as  permanent family planning methods like vasectomy and tubectomy involve making changes in human physiology, they are not allowed. Still,  they say permanent contraceptive methods, or even abortion, is permissible only when the mother's life is in danger.

At  the same time, conservative Muslim societies still prohibit contraception, although it's practiced widely. Shaykh Ibn Baaz of the  Council of the Senior Scholars of Saudi Arabia  is among those who have barred  Muslims from taking birth control pills citing side effects and changes in the normal physiology.

According to  the Justice Rajinder Sachar committee report,  around 37% Muslims, as against a national average of 45.7%,  make use of contraceptives. Yet, in Jammu and Kashmir, 46% Muslims use contraceptives. Fertility rates (total Fertility Rate: 2.7 and Cumulative Fertility: 4.9) have been observed to be  lower for Muslims in Jammu and Kashmir than Muslims in other parts of India.

Source-Medindia
ANN/V