Birth control , in Modern Arabic most commonly tanẓīm or taḥdīd ("planning" or "limiting") al-nasl or al-usra ("offspring" or "the family"), broadly applies to control over and decisions about the timing and number of pregnancies, for example, through the use of contraception, although the term applies generally to various aspects of family planning. In classical Arabic the term most commonly used is ʿazl , or coitus interruptus (withdrawal), and this term, by extension, applies, in classical literature, to contraception in general. The principal aim of marriage in Islamic ethics is