How has the Islamic view of marriage, family formation and child rearing developed and adapted over the centuries? Is contraception just permitted or actively encouraged? The family is the basic social unit of Islamic society. Even without compelling population pressures, there has been concern with spacing and family planning. This book is the result of a massive research project, gathering fourteen centuries (the seventh to the twentieth) of views on family formation and planning, as expressed by leading Islamic theologians and jurists. The work has been discussed and shaped at each stage by a committee of Islamic experts representing the majority of the Muslim countries. The book provides a much needed source of reference and will be of equal value and interest to professionals in health care and development work and to those working in the academic disciplines of Middle East studies, religion and population studies.