Sex and society in Islam - Birth control before the nineteenth century - B.F. Musallam

Jul 30, 2026

Examining medieval Islamic juristic, medical, and popular literature, the study argues that contraception and abortion were sanctioned within Islamic law and thought across pre-modern society. It traces how social, economic, personal, and medical needs shaped permissive attitudes and how knowledge of effective methods circulated in both scientific and everyday genres. The book establishes birth control as a recognizable pattern in medieval Islam while addressing selection challenges in the available evidence.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages187

Reading Time7 h 51 min

Preface

Introduction

Birth control and pre-modern populations

Why Islam permitted contraception

Contraception and the rights of women

Conception theory in Muslim thought

Arabic medicine and birth control

Birth control in the popular tradition

Population and Middle Eastern history

Notes

Sources

Other works cited in the text

Index

9993.,4Corbidge Sudes in blamieCnizofonSexand societyin lslam8EMusallom Cambridge Studies in Islamic Civilization Sex and society in Islam Cambridge Studies in Islamic Civilization Editorial Board MICHAEL COOK,MARTIN HINDS,ALBERT HOURANI,ROY MOTTAHEDEH,JOSEFVAN ESS Other titles ANDREW M.WATSON,Agricultural innovation in the early Islamic worldELIAS SAAD,Social history of Timbuktu G.H.A.JUYNBOLL,Muslim tradition SURAIYA FAROQHI,Towns and townsmen of Ottoman Anatolia:Trade,crafts andfood production in an urban setting Sex and society in Islam Birth controlbefore the nineteenth century B.F.MUSALLAM Cambridge University Press Cambridge London New York New RochelleMelbourne Sydney Published by the Press Syndicate of the University of CambridgeThe Pitt Building,Trumpington Street,Cambridge CB2 IRP32 East 57th Street,New York,NY I0022,USAIO Stamford Road,Oakleigh,Melbourne 3166,Australia CCambridge University Press I983 First published I983Reprinted I986 Printed in Great Britain at The Bath Press,Avon Library of Congress catalogue card number:82-23539 British Library Cataloguing in Publication DataMusallam,Basim Sex and society in Islam.—(Cambridge studies in Islamic civilization) 1.Birth Control—-Islamic countries I.Title304.6'6'091767I HQ7665.1/ ISBN 052I 248744 hardcoversISBN o 52I 33858I paperback Contents List of tables Preface Introduction Birth control and pre-modern populations I Why Islam permitted contraception 2 Contraception and the rights of women 3 Conception theory in Muslim thought 4 Arabic medicine and birth control 5 Birth control in the popular tradition 6 Population and Middle Eastern history NotesSources Other works cited in the textIndex vi 工 IO 28 39 60 89 I05 I22 I58 I67 I72 # Tables I Razi,Kitab al-Hawi:contraceptive and abortifacient methods772 Razi,Kitab al-tibb al-Mansuri:contraceptive and abortifacientmethods 83838485 3 ‘Ali Ibn‘Abbas,Kamil al-sina‘a:contraceptive methods4 Abu‘Ali Ibn Sina,Qanun:contraceptive methods 5 Abu al-Hasan al-Tabib,The Creation of Man:contraceptivemethods 6 Abu al-Hasan al-Tabib,The Creation of Man:abortifacientmethods 8687 7 Ibn Jumai‘,Kitab al-irshad:contraceptive methods8 Ibn Jumai‘,Kitab al-irshad:abortifacient methods9 Summary 8788 I0 Ibn Nasr al-Katib,The Encyclopedia of Pleasure:contraceptiveand abortifacient methodsIOII Tifashi,The Rejuvenation of the Old Man:contraceptive andabortifacient methodsI02I2 Nafzawi,The Perfumed Garden:contraceptive andabortifacient methodsI03I3 Ibn al-Jawzi,Kitab iltiqat al-manafi':contraceptive andabortifacient methodsI03I4 SummaryI04I5 Sha‘rani,Mukhtasar tadhkirat al-Suwaidi:contraceptivemethodsI04I6 Comparison of Russell's and Hollingsworth's figuresIII # Preface The difference between man and the other animals is that only manpractises contraception.*Jahiz made this distinction in the ninth centurywhen he discussed human and animal sexuality in his Book of Animals,aclassic of medieval Arabic literature.Some of his readers may not haveshared his belief in the primacy of the distinction,but they would haveunderstood it,for they lived in a society where contraception was viewed asan ordinary part of life. Medieval Arabic discussions of contraception and abortion in Islamicjurisprudence,medicine,materia medica,belles lettres,erotica and popu-lar literature show that birth control was sanctioned by Islamic law andopinion.The sanction had wide distribution and was articulated in terms ofsocial,economic,personal and medical needs.Knowledge of effectivemethods of birth control was also available throughout pre-modern times,in scientific and popular literature alike.All of these categories of materialreflect the same historical reality,each in its own way. Birth control evidence in the pre-modern Arabic sources presents anembarrassment of riches,and a major problem of this study was one ofselection.This book does not pretend t

FAQs

What central claim does the book make about contraception in medieval Islam?

Birth control is presented as a sanctioned and recognizable pattern in medieval Islam, reflected across legal, medical, and popular sources.

Which sources and disciplines does the study draw on to explain Islamic attitudes to birth control?

It relies heavily on Islamic jurisprudence and also uses evidence from medicine, materia medica, and popular literature.

How does the author handle the problem that the evidence is abundant but not comprehensive?

The study selects material to establish contraception as a pattern, without claiming to address every issue raised by the sources.

Jul 30, 2026

Upload by Theodora