Voluntary Childlessness in Marriage from the Islamic Perspective: Bibliometric Reviews
Main Article Content
Abstract
This study presents a bibliometric analysis of research on voluntary childlessness from an Islamic perspective (1969–2024). It examines trends, key publications, dominant themes, and influential contributors. Voluntary childlessness, increasingly relevant worldwide, intersects with cultural and religious values, making it significant in Islamic contexts where family and reproduction are central. Using SCOPUS dabase, the study systematically analyzed scholarly works through citation analysis and keyword mapping. Findings reveal a modest but growing body of research, with key themes including gender dynamics, religious teachings, ethical considerations, and policy implications. Notable contributions and researchers were identified, though international collaboration remains limited. The study highlights the need to align discussions on family planning with Islamic principles and cultural sensitivities. Recommendations include fostering interdisciplinary and global research partnerships to enhance diversity and impact.
Article Details

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
References
Anneli Miettinen, Csaba Faludi, Vasiliki Kantsa, and Dana Nasiri.
“State-of-the-Art Report: Childlessness in Europe.” Families and Societies, no. 32 (2015).
Morgan, S. Philip. “Late Nineteenth- and Early Twentieth-Century
Childlessness.” American Journal of Sociology 97, no. 3 (1991): 779–807. https://doi.org/10.1086/229820.
Obermeyer, Carla M. “Reproductive Choice in Islam: Gender and State in Iran and Tunisia.” Studies in Family Planning 25, no. 1 (1994): 41–51.
Omran, Abdel Rahim. Family Planning in the Legacy of Islam. United Nations Population Fund, 1992.
Panter-Brick, Catherine. “Parental Responses to Consanguinity and Genetic Disease in Saudi Arabia.” Social Science & Medicine 33, no. 11 (1991): 1295–1302.
Park, Kyung. “Choosing Childlessness: Weber’s Typology of Action and Motives of the Voluntarily Childless.” Sociological Inquiry 75, no. 3 (2005): 372–402. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1475-682X.2005.00127.x.
_______. “Stigma Management among the Voluntarily Childless.” Sociological Perspectives 45, no. 1 (2002): 21–45.
Peck, Ellen. The Baby Trap. New York: Peter H. Wyden, Inc., 1971.
Rafiq, Mohamed Yunus, Hannah Wheatley, Rashid Salti, Aloisia Shemdoe, Jitihada Baraka, Hildegalda Mushi. “I let others speak about condoms:” Muslim religious leaders’ selective engagement with an NGO-Led family planning project in rural Tanzania. Social Science & Medicine 293, (2022): 114650.
Renne, Elisha P. “Perceptions of Population Policy, Development, and Family Planning Programs in Northern Nigeria.” Studies in Family Planning 27, no. 3 (1996): 127–136.
Robey, Bryant. “Pakistan’s Population Growth: The Need for Action.” Population Reports 17 (1991): 1–4.
Rogers, Lisa K. “Voluntary Childlessness: A Review of the Literature and a Model of the Childlessness Decision.” Master’s thesis, Montana StatenUniversity, 1986.
Sachedina, Abdulaziz. Islamic Biomedical Ethics: Principles and Application. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2009. https://doi.org/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195378504.001.0001.
Sachedina, Z. “Islam, Procreation, and the Law.” International Family Planning Perspectives 16, no. 3 (1990): 107–111.
Sargent, Carolyn, and Dennis Cordell. “Polygamy, Disrupted Reproduction, and the State: Malian Migrants in Paris, France.” Social Science & Medicine 56, no. 9 (2003): 1961–1972.
Schreiber, Michael. “The Influence of the H-Index on thee Evaluation of Research Output.” Scientometrics 75, no. 3 (2008): 529–542.
Shapiro, Giselle. “Voluntary Childlessness: A Critical Review of the Literature.” Studies in the Maternal 6, no. 1 (2014): 1–15.
Siti Nurjanah and Iqbal Nur. “Childfree: Between the Sacredness of Religion, Law, and the Reality of Society.” Al-‘Adalah 19, no. 1 (2022): 1–28. https://doi.org/10.24042/adalah.v19i1.11962.
Smith, John, Robert Johnson, and Hannah Lee. “Emerging Trends in Social Sciences Research: A Bibliometric Analysis.” Journal of Scholarly Metrics 12, no. 3 (2020): 245–260.
Stahnke, Brandy, Muriah E. Cooley, and Amy Blackstone. “A Systematic Review of Life Satisfaction Experiences Among Childfree Adults.” The Family Journal 31, no. 1 (2023): 60–68. https://doi.org/10.1177/10664807221104795.
Tober, Diane M. “‘Fewer Children, Better Life’ or ‘As Many as God Wants’?” Medical Anthropology Quarterly 20, no. 1 (2006): 50–71
Veevers, Jean E. Childless by Choice. Toronto: Butterworths, 1980.
_______. “Voluntary Childlessness: A Neglected Area of Family Study.” The Family Coordinator 22, no. 2 (1973): 199–205. https://doi.org/10.2307/582108.
Waheed, Shahida, Nadia Saleem, Asma Riaz, and Syed Fahad Bukhari. “Islam and Myths about Family Planning: The Impact of Greenstar Media Advertisement Campaign on the Mindset of the Rural Dwellers of Pakistan.” Journal of Islamic Thought and Civilization 10, no. 1 (2020): 332–347.
Zubaidah, Dwi Aulia. “Childfree Marriage in the Perspective of Maqashid Asy-Syari’ah.” Al-Qadha: Jurnal Hukum Islam dan Perundang-undangan 10, no. 1 (2023): 79–93. https://doi.org/10.32505/qadha.v10i1.5852.
