Population Policy

‘Abdullah reported: “I asked the Messenger of Allah (Sall Allah-o-alaihe wa sallam): Which sin is the gravest in the eye of Allah?” He (the Holy Prophet) replied: ‘That you associate partner with Allah (despite the fact) that He has created you.’ He (the reporter) said: I told him (the Holy Prophet): ‘Verily it is indeed grave.’ He (the reporter) said: ‘I asked him what the next (gravest sin) was.’ He (the Holy Prophet) replied: ‘That you kill your child out of fear that he shall join you in food. He (the reporter) said: ‘I asked (him) what the next (gravest sin) was.’ He (the Holy Prophet) observed: ‘Then (the next gravest sin) is that you commit adultery with the wife of your neighbour’.

Source: Economic Teachings of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him): A Select Anthology of Hadith Literature on Economics, Muhammad Akram Khan. Republished with permission.