00:00My name is Lakshmi. I'm a journalist. I have two questions. The first one is on family planning.
00:08I was told by another Muslim friend of mine that you don't encourage family planning.
00:15Now I'm sure probably my grandmother's generation were more than happy to produce 10, 15 children,
00:22but given the state of affairs today, I mean, how is it possible to put a stop if you don't
00:29have family planning?
00:31Sister, there are two questions, very good questions, but long answers.
00:37First question is family planning.
00:40That she said to the sister, in my grandmother's time, produce more children, good, but now the world is changing.
00:47Let's see whether your grandmother is right or you are right.
00:52Now in Islam, as far as family planning is concerned, family planning is a big word,
00:57but there's unanimous agreement that as far as permanent method is concerned,
01:05all the Islamic scholars, everyone agreed that it is haram, tubectomy, vesectomy, it's prohibited.
01:11Even abortion, it's prohibited unless it is to save the life of the mother.
01:17In that case, you can do permanent method, you can do abortion.
01:20For example, the doctor tells you that the lady has heart problem,
01:26and if she conceives again, it may be danger to her life.
01:29Or if she has multiple caesarean section, 3, 4, 5, one more child will be detrimental to health,
01:34then any method is permitted.
01:36So as far as permanent method is concerned, abortion is concerned, unanimous agreement,
01:40it is haram because Quran says in Surah Anam chapter number 6, verse number 151,
01:45that kill not your children for want of sustenance, for it is Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, almighty God,
01:51who will give sustenance to you and your children.
01:54The message repeated in Surah Isra chapter 17, verse number 31,
01:58kill not your children for want of sustenance, for it is Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, almighty God,
02:02who will give sustenance to you and your children.
02:05Now here we realize, based on this verse of the Quran, killing children is prohibited.
02:11Furthermore, as far as temporary method is concerned, I being a medical doctor,
02:17as far as contraception is concerned, the most common is the copper tea.
02:21And we learned in the medical college that it's a contraception.
02:26But we realized it's not a contraception, it's a contra-implantation.
02:31Though the sperm has already met, they form the zygote, but it is a very early abortion.
02:37It's called as a contraception, the right technical word is contra-implantation.
02:43And if you let your imagination a bit ahead, it is nothing but an early abortion,
02:47so this too is prohibited.
02:48The difference of opinion as far as temporary method is concerned,
02:51but our beloved Prophet Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wa sallam,
02:52one person approached the Prophet and said that he used to do azul,
02:57that is, coitus interruptus, breaking the act
03:01and preventing the fluid of the male to enter the female's body.
03:04The Prophet was silent.
03:06Now one group of scholars said because the Prophet was silent, he permitted.
03:10The other group of scholars said because he was silent, he prohibited.
03:12Difference of opinion, but let's get back to the main reason.
03:16So as far as copper tea is concerned, that too is prohibited.
03:19O.C. pills, oral contraceptive, it changes the physiology of the body.
03:23Allah says in the Quran in Surah Aroon, chapter number 30, verse number 30,
03:26do not change the physiology of the body.
03:28And I, being a medical doctor, I know there are so many complications for that.
03:32Now, coming to the basic question, why should a person want to do family planning?
03:37It's a basic question.
03:39Let's treat the cause.
03:41You know, we as medical doctors, we prefer treating, killing the germs rather than symptomatic treatment.
03:48One thing is symptomatic treatment.
03:50The other is knowing the cause and killing the cause.
03:54Now, broadly, majorly, there can be two reasons why a person wants to do family planning.
04:00One can be, because he's poor, and poverty prevents him from looking after many children.
04:09The other reason may be, he's rich, but having more children, more spacing, he can make them doctors, engineers, etc.
04:18Now, coming to the first reason, that if a person is poor, Islam has the solution for poverty.
04:24Don't kill human beings.
04:26The solution is zakat.
04:27In Islam, one of the pillars of Islam is, every rich Muslim who has a saving of more than the
04:32nisab level, more than 85 grams of gold,
04:35he or she should give 2.5% of that saving every lunar year in charity.
04:40If every rich human being gives a zakat, poverty will be eradicated from this world.
04:46There will not be a single human being who will die of hunger.
04:49As far as poverty is there, the solution is zakat.
04:52It's not killing human beings.
04:55The second reason may be, I'm rich, I've got money, but I want to make my son a doctor.
05:01I want to make an engineer.
05:02So I give spacing.
05:04Less children, I can take care of them better.
05:07Sister, I am the fifth child of my parents.
05:11If my parents were out in family planning, how would I have been here today?
05:16And do you know, sister, I am a medical doctor.
05:19You know, because today's society, the best profession, they say, is medical doctor.
05:26Right?
05:27So am I a boon or a bane for society?
05:29Sister, fifth child of my parents.
05:33If my parents were out in family planning, I would have been here.
05:36But I gave up my profession of a doctor for a better profession that is spreading the truth.
05:41Allah says in the Quran, in Surah 4, Chapter 41, Verse number 33,
05:50Who is better in speech than one who invites people to the Lord, to Almighty God?
05:56Works righteousness and faith, I am the one who submits my will to Almighty God.
06:01I chose to be a doctor because I thought it was the best profession.
06:04It is a good profession, I'm not against it.
06:06But I found a better profession.
06:08From a doctor of a body, I became a doctor of a soul.
06:12If I was a medical doctor, you wouldn't have found 10, 15,000 people here.
06:15Right?
06:16You didn't come to hear a doctor of the body.
06:19You came to hear a doctor of a soul.
06:20So when I found a better profession, I changed from a doctor of a body to a doctor of a
06:25soul.
06:26So am I a boon or a bane for society?
06:29So it's a fallacy.
06:30As far as spacing is concerned, Almighty God has given a natural spacing known as lactation amenuria, breastfeeding.
06:37The moment you breastfeed, automatic there is spacing.
06:40But today's modern women, they don't want to breastfeed because they will lose their figure.
06:45Almighty God has given lactation amenuria.
06:48So now, there is a fallacy what people think, that if you have less children, you can educate them better.
06:56If you analyze and check the history of the Nobel Prize winners, all of them were not the single child.
07:04Many of us, second child, third child, fourth child, fifth child, they were Nobel Prize winners.
07:09They were intelligent.
07:11So it is a misunderstanding.
07:14That is the reason the Quran in Surah Anam chapter 6 verse 151 and Surah Isra chapter 17 verse 31,
07:20it sounds similar.
07:21The first verse, Surah Anam chapter 6 verse 151 says,
07:25Kill not your children for want of sustenance, for it is Allah subhanahu wa ta'almighty God who will give
07:30sustenance to you and your child.
07:33This verse is referring to the poor people.
07:37That if they have one more child, even I will die and my children will die.
07:41The next verse of Surah Isra chapter 17 verse 31, the order is reversed.
07:45Kill not your children for want of sustenance, for it is almighty God who will give sustenance to a child
07:51and you.
07:52Why is the order reversed?
07:54Second verse refers to the rich people.
07:56Don't worry, if he has more children, he will not die.
08:00He is worried about his children.
08:01So God says, he will take care of your children as well as you.
08:05And now we realize, sister, that if you go to America, they encourage population.
08:12And the children wear a t-shirt, I am my father's tax saver.
08:17The more children you have, the less tax you pay.
08:21Same in Canada, same in Australia.
08:23In India, it's opposite.
08:24Hum do, humare do.
08:26Ek ke baad abhi nahi, ek do ke baad kabhi nahi.
08:30It is a problem with Indian government.
08:33You know, China has the maximum population.
08:37India, number two.
08:38Do you know, sister, today, the two superpowers in future, which countries are there?
08:44China and India, why?
08:46Because of population.
08:48So grandmother is correct.
08:49The more population you have, the chances of the country to improve.
08:54China today is the country which is the maximum improving.
09:00And India is neck-to-neck fighting with China.
09:04So the difference of opinion, who will be superpower in the next 20 years?
09:08Some say India, some say China.
09:09Why?
09:10America is nowhere.
09:12Australia is nowhere.
09:14Canada is nowhere.
09:15So sister, population is a boon.
09:18It's not a bane.
09:19You should know how to utilize it.
09:22We don't know how to utilize it.
09:24What we have to tell the government, you change your laws to utilize the man-force, to utilize the population.
09:30So grandmother was correct.
09:33That the more children you have, she will also be better.
09:37And there's a third category, sister.
09:40They aren't poor.
09:42They aren't bothered about less children.
09:44I can take care of them better.
09:46What they say, who wants to take the headache of upbringing of the children?
09:50You know, I'm rich.
09:51No problem.
09:52Money.
09:53I'm not bothered whether my son becomes a doctor or engineer.
09:56But who wants to take care of looking after the children?
09:58Third category.
10:00You know there are certain communities, you know even Gujaratis.
10:05They marry early.
10:07They have children early.
10:09And by the time they are 35 years old, 40 years old, their child is 15 years, 20 years,
10:14they are sitting on the seat of the business of their father.
10:17So by the time they reach 45, they can retire.
10:20They don't have to wait until 60 years.
10:22Marry early.
10:24Have children.
10:25Children take care of the business.
10:27And they relax early.
10:29So if in the third category, if they want to enjoy life, it is better they marry early.
10:34They have children.
10:35They take care of the business.
10:36They enjoy life better.
10:38So that's the reason, as far as planning is concerned, Allah says in Suleyah and Imran,
10:43chapter number 3, verse number 54,
10:48They planned and plotted.
10:50Allah too planned.
10:51Allah is the best of planners.
10:52So if you feel Almighty God can plan your family better, leave it to Almighty God.
10:56If you can think you can do better, the choice is yours.
10:59I believe in Almighty God.
11:01I let Him plant my family.
11:02And that's the reason I'm here.
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