B. When Does Pregnancy Begin
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Islam allows the preventing of pregnancy, but does not allow its termination. However, the problem arises in defining the beginning of pergnancy 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. I intend, by putting my trust in Allah, to briefly study the issue in light of the scientific explanations and try to arrive at a shar'i definition of pregnancy.
Before I proceed further, it is necessary to explain the criteria of defining various things and issues in Islamic
If the shari'ah defines something, then we must follow the shar'i defintion. But if it is silent on definition of certain things, then should we follow the 'ilmi definition or the 'urfi definition? Anyone who is familiar with the shari'ah will agree with me that in absence of a shar'i definition, one has to follow the 'urfi definition. One has to go by the common perception of things, not the scientific perception. For example, when the shari'ah says that the water for ritual ablution must be pure (mutlaq), does it mean scientifically pure? Certainly not! Otherwise, the running water in this part of the world is not scientifically pure, it has some purifying chemicals in it, for example,
However, there is one case where the 'ilmi definition will prevail: in cases where the common people have no way of defining the issu. So in cases where the shari'ah is silent and the 'urf has no opinion, one has no choice but to follow the 'ilmi (scientific) definition.
The definition of the beginning of pregnancy is one of such cases where the 'ilmi definition would prevail; this is so because the shari'ah is silent, and it is beyong the common people to define when pregnancy begins. Therefore, in this case, we will first see how science describes the beginning of pregnancy and then attempt to find secondary proofs from shari'ah sources to arrive at a conclusion.The process of conception and pregnancy according to modern science is as follows: After the semen is ejaculated into the vagina, the sperms move into the uterus, cross the uterus and enter the fallopian tube. The woman's ovum is in the fallopian tube. The sperm travel into the fallopian tube in search of the ovum. When th sperms reach the ovum, normally only one of them succeeds in penetrating the ovum. This coming together of man's sperm and woman's ovum is known as fertilization. After fertilization, the ovum starts to travel towards the uterus; and after coming into the uterus, it gets implanted on to the wall of the uterus. The process is known as implantation of the fertilized ovum in the womb.
To determine the shar'i pregnancy, one has to answer the following question: From the shari'ah's point of view, does pregnancy begin (1) with the entering of semen into the uterus or (2) with the fertilization of an ovum by a sperm in the fallopian tube or (3) with the implanation of a fertilized ovum in the uterus?
It is my contention that the combination of three things from the shar'i pregnancy: the sperm, the ovum and the uterus. If any two of these things combine without the third, then it is not a shar'i pregnancy. As I shall prove below, the shar'i pregnancy begins when the fertilized ovum implants itself onto the wall of the uterus.In my search for a shar'i definition, the only closest issue I could come to was the discussion under the indemnity for abortion. In Shi'ah fiqh, the indemnity for abortion differs according to the various stages of pregnancy. However, what is relevant to our discussion is the indemnity for the first our months of pregnancy. During these four months, the child in its mother's womb is known as jinin. The jinin (embryo) itself goes through five stages gradually with distinctive names:
nutfah, when it is a sperm;
'alaqah, when it is a blood-like clot;
muzgah, when it is a lump of flesh;
'azm, when it is a lump of bones;
yaksu lahman, when it is clothed with flesh.1
The first stage is very crucial in our search for the beginning of pregnancy. Most ahadith simply say that the lowest indemnity is for aborting "a nutfah -sperm."2 At
Sa'id bin al-Musayyab asked Imam 'Ali Zaynu 'l-Abidin about a person who hits a pregnant woman with his leg and, as a result, she lost what she had in her womb. The Imam said, "If it is a (nutfah) sperm, then he must pay her 20 dinars." Sa'id asked, "What is the definition of nutfah?" The Imam said, "It is a substance which, when placed in the womb, settles down in it for forty days."1 The Imam has used two words to describe the nutfah: (1) wuzi'at fi 'r-rahm -it is placed in the uterus, and (2) fastaqarrat fihi -it settles down in it. It seems the is emphasizing that the earliest stage of abortion is not when the sperm enters the unterus for the first time and just passes through it, rather when it settles down in it. Obviously, the "setting down of the sperm in the uters" and "Implanation of a fertilized ovum in the uterus" are one and the same thing.
It is needless to say that the distinction between the entrance of sperm into the womb, then the fertilization of ovum in the fallopian tube and finally its implanation was
Moreover, the Qur'an has always used the word "haml" to describe pregnancy.3 "Haml" means to carry, and it is obvious that a woman carries the child in her uterus and not in her fallopian tube.4 And haml starts with implanation and not before it.
In conclusion, I can say that the beginning of pregnancy from the shari'ah point of view is the stage when the fertilized ovum is implanted (istiqrar) onto the lining of the uterus. And, therefore, whatever prevents implantation is allowed but whatever aborts an implanted ovum is haram. A year after reaching my decision in 1986, I wrote to Ayatullah al-Khu'i asking for his opinion on this issue:
I think the answe of the Ayatullah needs some explanation for those not familiar with the fuqaha's style. In the first part of his answer, the Ayatullah agreed that what is forbidden in relation to birth control is the act of
Based on the scientific explanation given earlier and the use of the word istiqrar in the hadith in relation to the nutfah and the writings of our 'ulama' on the earliest stage of abortion, I consider the implanation of a fertilized ovum onto the wall of the uterus as the beginning of pregnancy from the shari'ah point of view. Once this is settled, it becomes easy to decide which method of birth control is allowed and which is not allowed. Any method that prevents pregnancy before the implanation of the fertilized ovum is allowed, and any method that terminates pregnancy after the implanation is not allowed and will be considered as abortion. It is in the light of this criterion that we should look at the various methods of birth control that are presently available.
It was interesting to know that two years after I reached my conclusion on the shari'ah basis, Dr. Clifford Grobstein, a leading embryologist of America, published the same conclusion on basis of his scientific research. Dr. Grobstein, whose evenhanded apporach has won him places on the ethics committees of both the American Fertility Society and the Catholic Health Association, published his Science and the Unborn in 1988. He writes,
"In mammalian development, which normally occurs within the body of the mother (internal gestation), it is now evident that the early changes undergone by the zygote first establish multicellularity and, second, prepare for penetration into the maternal utering wall, or implanation. The second step, as we have noted, is the true beginning of gestation or pregnancy."1The contraceptive methods during our time work in different ways. We shall examine some of the most commonly used contraceptive methods and determine whether they are permissible in Islam or not. It must be mentioned that we are studying the permissibility or otherwise of these methods from the shari'ah point of view only. For medical opinion about reliability or any side-effects of these methods, the reader must consult his or her physician.Birth control pills prevent conception by inhibiting ovulation. The pills alter hormonal levels and suppress the hormonal signal from the gland for the ovaries to release an ovum. These pills are taken orally on a precise
There are some pills which work after the intercourse has taken place, for example, the 'morning-after pill" or the recently developed RU486 pill. Since in our definition, pregnancy begins at implanation, use of any pill which may prevent implanation is alright. Therefore, the pills like the 'morning-after' and RU486 may be taken after the intercourse BUT not after feeling or knowing that pregnancy has already occurred.Depo-Provera works exactly like the pills, but instead of taking it orally it is injected once every three months. This and other similar contraceptive methods by injection are also permissible.IUDs are plastic or metal object, in a variety of shapes, that are implanted inside the uterus. The medical experts do not exactly know how IUD works. Presently there are two opinions: one say that IUD prevents fertilization; and the other says that it prevents the fertilized ovum from implanation onto the uterus. Since the shar'i pregnancy begins at implanation, there is no problem in using IUD as a birth control device irrespective of the above differences among the medical experts.All barrier devices prevent the sperm from entering the uterus. This is done by sheathing the penis with a condom, or by covering the cervix with a diaphragm,
There is absolutely no problem in using these contraceptive either.There are three basic procedures to predict ovulation so that sexual intercourse can be avoided during the approximately six days of a woman's most fertile monthly phase. These three methods are as follows:
(a) Ovulation Method: A woman learns to recognize the fertile time by checking the difference in the constitution of the cervical mucus discharge. The cervical mucus discharge signals the highly fertile period; and thus avoiding sex during the fertile days prevents pregnancy.
(b) Rhythm Method: A method similar to the first, but it depends on observing the monthly cycles for a whole year to determine the fertile days.
(c) Temperature: In this method, besides keeping a calendar record of her cycle, a woman also takes her temperature daily to detect ovulation. She can know her ovulation whenever her basal body temperature increases.Coitus Interrrupts means withdrawing the penis just before ejaculation. This was the most common method of birth control before the invention of modern devices.
Muhammad bin Muslim and 'Abdru Rahman bin Abi 'Abdillah Maymun asked Imam Ja'far as-Sadiq about withdrawal. The Imam said, "It is up to the man; he may spill it wherever he wants."1 However, in another hadith,
Based on this hadith, the majority of our mujtahids believe that coitus interrupts is allowed but makruh without the wife's consent.2
All methods mentioned above do not involve surgical operation and they are also reversible. A woman (or man) using these methods can anytime stop using it to have a child.Sterilization involves surgical operation.
Sterilization in man, known as vasectomy, means the severing or blocking of the tube in the male reproductive tract. This tube or duct passes sperm from the tests to the prostate and other reproductive organs.
Sterilization in woman, knows as tubal ligation, involves the blocking or severing of the fallopian tubes which transport the ovum.
The permissibility of sterilization depends on whether or not it is reversible. At present, the rate of reversibility (40%) is not good enough to make sterilization permissible. Greater success may be achieved with improved microsurgical techniques. And until we achieve at least 80 percent reversibility, it is difficult to permit sterilization.Can a woman practise birth control without consent of her husband?
The wife has full right to the use of contraceptives even without the approval of her husband.1 However, she should not use a method which may come in the way of her husband's conjugal rights. For example, she cannot force him to use condom or practise coitus interruptus. The rule is based upon the principle that the extent of the husband's conjugal rights over his wife is just that she should be sexually available, responsive, and cooperative. This right does not extend to that of bearing children for him. Bearing children or not is a personal decision of the woman; and therefore, she may use contraceptives provided they do not come in the way of her husband's conjugal rights.
This was the legal aspect of the shari'ah. But on a practical level, such decision are best made with mutual consultation between the husband and the wife; otherwise, it could lead to misunderstanding and mustrust. The legal aspect is to protect the basic rights of women; but in the real world, man and woman must base their life on love, mercy and cooperation as the Qur'an says, "And We have created between you love and mercy."
