“Yes, it is allowable to temporarily use contraceptives,” says a recent fatwa by Islamic seminary Darul Uloom Deoband in response to a query whether one can use contraception to avoid the next child.

Clerics at Uloom’s Darul ifta, the body which issues fatwas, says contraceptives are permissible so that “the children are properly nourished”.

However, the Islamic body doesn’t say anything about the permanent methods of contraceptions like vasectomy or tubectomy.

Supporting the Deoband’s fatwa, prominent Muslim body Jamia-Ulema-e-Hind’s spokesman Abdul Hameed Nomani, also an Islamic scholar, says: “Such a method can be adopted. It is permissible.” Citing a recent government report, he said more than 40 per cent Indian Muslims use contraceptives.

However, Nomani termed permanent contraception as “unlawful” (haram) and against Islamic law.