Qur’an and Social Sciences

Qur’an and Social Sciences

Islam's Attitude towards Childbearing and Population Increase; Quantity or Quality?

Document Type : Original Article

Authors
Mohammad Javad Saqqayi-Biriya 1
Ali Aboutorabi 2
Ismail Cheraghi Kutyani 3
1 Assistant Professor, Department of Quranic and Hadith Sciences, Imam Khomeini Educational and Research Institute, Qom, Iran, mjbiria@iki.ac.ir
2 Assistant Professor, Department of Psychology, Imam Khomeini Educational and Research Institute, Qom, Iran, aliaboutorabi1400@gmail.com
3 Assistant Professor, Department of Sociology, Imam Khomeini Educational and Research Institution, Qom, Iran, esmaeel.chraghi@gmail.com
10.22034/arq.2024.206183
Abstract
Increasing the number of children in the Islamic society is strongly encouraged by Islamic texts. Now, the question is whether the Qur'an and hadiths have also paid attention to improving the quality of offsprings and children. It is clear that this issue will affect the size of the family and the population of Muslims. By looking at the texts, it is clear that the quality of offsprings has certainly been taken into consideration. However, to what extent one should seek to improve the quality of his generation and what quality indicators can be used to monitor it, are matters that need further research. This research aims to answer the question of what is more important from the perspective of Islam: the number of children and population increase, or the quality of generation. The research method in terms of data collection is library-based, and in terms of problem solving is the descriptive-analytical-interpretive.
The most important findings of the research are: 1. Increasing the number of children is the first demographic principle; 2. In parallel with this principle, promoting “quality” is another demographic principle related to having children, and these two principles should go hand in hand; 3. The most important indicators of child quality from the perspective of the Qur’an and hadiths are as follows: having faith, sincerity in worship, love for the Household of the Prophet (peace be upon them), piety and kindness to parents and the leadership of the pious.
Keywords
Marriage
Reproduction
Childbearing
Birth
Demogrophy
Population Quality
Population Quality Indicators

Subjects

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Qur’an and Social Sciences
Volume 4, Issue 2 - Serial Number 14
Summer 2024
Pages 170-200

  • Receive Date 19 June 2024
  • Revise Date 05 September 2024
  • Accept Date 07 September 2024