Population increase isgenerally considered to be the main cause for overall poverty and backwardnessof a nation. Is population increase a real problem? Or is it just a myth. Weneed to scrutinize the whole matter judiciously. The Quran teaches us that itis Allah who has so aptly furnished the earth for human habitation and tosupport life.
“Itis He who made the earth a resting place for you and the sky as a canopy, andsent down water (rain) from the sky and brought there with fruits as aprovision for you. Then do not set rivals unto Allah (in worship) while youknow (that he alone has rights to be worshiped)” (Quran-2:22)
“Andsurely, we gave you authority on the earth and appointed for you there inprovision (for your life). Little thanks do you give”. (Quran-7:10)
The role of the man, on thisearth, is to purify, to refine and to transform the available resources intouseful means. This requires intellect and diligence. The proper usage of thesefactors is the human obligation of creation. It is the duty of government toconserve and use the resources in, of course, in a “creative” way and plan thisproperly so that they advance the welfare of all creation, human, animal andplant, and all other aspects of creation. Because these duties of governmentand people have been neglected, indeed, denied by both, population is seen as‘the problem”. Its increase is, therefore projected as the biggest globalcrisis we ever face.
The first work on“population increase” that generated fear in the minds of people was that ofthe Darwin influencing British Rev. Thomas Robert Malthus (d. 1834). Notsurprisingly a professor of history and political economy at, the infamouslyrapacious East Indian Company College. His treatise ‘An Essay on the principleof population was written against the utopian philosophers, like WilliamGodwin, Marquis de Condorcet and also Jean Jaques Rousseau. These philosophersbelieved in the perfectibility of the society. Similarly, in 1968, Paul Ehrlichpublished ‘The Population Bomb’, who predicted that in 1985 the world as weknow it would end based on population progression, famine would spread uncontrollably,oceans would dry up, most of the western lands would transform into deserts andthat the average life span of man would fall to 42 years. These predictions, ofcourse, failed, as have those of his preceptor Malthus.
In 1798, when Malthus was writing his book,world was roughly 900 million. In just two centuries, it has risen to about 7billion. What has afflicted humanity more in this period, the meteoric rise ofuntold prosperity or the Malthusian collapse into a dearth of resources? Has wealthor meagerness been the boon of man? Of course the answer is prosperity ofwealth. The fact is that the increase in population directly leads humanity toprosperity and no do poverty. Neither Malthus predictions nor Ehrich’sprophesies over materialized. Their calculations may have been right, but theywere on the status quo and technologies of their times. How many technologicalrevolutions took place after Malthus wrote? How much advancement was there inknowledge after Ehrich.
These were not accidentaloccurrences. As population increases, our Creator provides man with bothadvancement in science and technological excellence, as well as having richlyresourced the earth to support life, period. The words the Quran said to theignorant Arabs who did not have the slightest hesitation about killing theirchildren for fear of poverty, remain notable for the great tribes of our time,who continue the logic of Quraysh unabated.
“Anddo not kill your children for fear of poverty. We provide them and for you.Indeed, their killing is ever a great sin”. (Quran-17:31)
Earth’s population in 1850was 1,262 million. If humanity presence on earth is at least 2 million yearsold, as anthropologists tell us, then something like 110 billion people haveever lived on earth and a hundred thousand generations have come and gone. Yetby 1850, the population count reached only 1,262 million. Whathappened after that? From 1830 the period required for the rise of every onebillion of people has been published in the UN world population prospectus in1998. Even though it required one century for the population to rise from 1 to2 billion, it took only 30 years to rise from 3 to 4 billion in 15 years,reached 5 billion in the next 12 years and another 12 years to strike 6billion.
The space available to ustoday is the same on which man began 2 million years ago. Yet UN HumanDevelopment Report make clear that in 1950 when world population was 2,406billion, the food grain production on earth was 6.24 billion tons. In 1990,when population rose to 5.1 billion, food grain production had risen to 18 billiontons. What had happened here? Population doubled, yet food production tripled.If facilities were available for the distribution of food grains, then in 1990when population doubled, each man would have got 1.5 times the amount ofcereals than those in 1950. Allah says in Quran:
“Weshall provide for them (children) as well as for you” (Quran-17:31)
No better proof is needed torender Allah’s promise in these verses true.
Then if our ingenuity andthe earth’s capacity are not in question with regard to food supply, then whatis. Noble prize winner Amartya Sen in his book “Poverty and Famines: An essayon enticement and deprivation’, has made clear that the main factor leading tofamine is not population but corrupted politics.
The best example is thefamine that struck Bengal in 1943. The British government lays the blame ontorrents, tempests, World War II and importing limitations. Citing thegovernment records, Amartya Sen proves this wrong. He also proves that therewas more tonnage of cereals available in 1943 than in 1941 and the steps thatthe British government took in fear of war with Japan was the actual reasonthat led to the famine that took the lives of an astonishing and criminal 1.5million people, according to the official records. Even though the amount ofgrains and cereals required for the people of Bengal were available there, thepolitical play of the British caused the vulnerable to be suddenly afflictedwith poverty and deprived of money to buy food. Amartya Sen also shows that thegovernment records on this famine are not trustworthy, since it actually tookup to 2.5 million of lives. Thus the real enemy of human welfare is clearly notincreased population but immoral politicians.
Malthus and Ehrlish also putforward the argument that population increases so does diseases. The argumentcontinues today by depopulation zealots. But the factual records prove thiswrong. The chart published by the institute of Applied Manpower Research, whichrelates increased population and average Indian lifespan obviously says that,life span increases with increase in population. What is the reason behind this?With the rise in population the standard of living increased. This led tobetter health and a decrease in the death rate of youth and children from thedisease. This is sufficient to understand the baselessness of the argument putforward by Malthus and his successors that population explosion leads todisease and tribulation.
The argument that increasedpopulation results in increased population density thus decreasing the netannual income is also fallacious. If we analyse the population density and percapita income datasheet published 2002 by the Population Reference Bureau, itsays, in places like Congo ,Somalia, Tanzania, Gambia and Mali where populationdensity is much less, the net annual income is also much less and far less thanthe world average per capta income of 87,140. But Singapore and Hong Kong wherepopulation density is very high, the net annual income is thrice that of theworld average.
The fact that income in places of highpopulation density is greater than that of low density region is obvious. AMacanese receives only 1/100th of an acre on average. An Australianreceives an average of 82.5 acres. But the income obtained from 1 sq km of landin Macao is 7,300 times more than that from Australia. World average income is$ 12,769. It is 469 times greater in Macao. Where population density is at itspeak. Records make famous that the income obtained from 1sq km of Macao is 386times greater than from oil opulent Saudi Arabia. This teaches us that wealthis not tied to natural resources or geographical areas of earth. Rather, it isthe people who are the real producers of wealth.
The fact is that the moneyis earned using human ability to produce resource and that advancement andwelfare are, therefore, products of increased population. Decreased populationis thus not the reason for economic development of rich Western countries. Theresource of wealth is drawn from two sources
Money earned through weapons salesExploitation of their actual and implied ‘sovereign’ rule in the world, that is to say, hegemony. These are the sources of their economic growth. We, therefore, must lookvery skeptically at the largely western driven commandments to control thepopulation of what used to be called the Third world. Population control is, ingimmick for continuation of the western hegemony in our rich ‘poor’ countries. Thereis genuine fear that these population-rich communities will begin to understandthe association of their human resources and their capacity to generate realwealth and sovereign independence and begin to determine their own uses andland productivity, making agricultural and ecological advances in scientific andtechnological fields and that this and not the mere rise of their populationmay be the reason behind the false threat of population explosion.
Islam teaches that like worldlyresources, offspring and wealth are adornment of earthly life.
“Wealthand children are the adornment of the worldly life. But the enduring good deedsare better of your lord for reward and better for one’s hope” (Quran-8:46)
Those crying out for fearpopulation explosion are the same who wax loquacious about the improvement ofthe reproductive health of cattle and broiler chickens through geneticmodifications. Yet the stewardship that man can provide, earth is much morethan the contribution that to be made by cows, hens and goats. Man is theproducer of wealth by the permission of his Lord. It is nothing other thanfoolish to think of reducing his number to attain progress. As for those whoproduce deliberately misleading and terrorizing reports on poverty and whoargue for population control, Allah has started in His Quran about the originof such a trumped up peril:
“Satanthreatens you with poverty and orders and you to commit evil deeds. WhereasAllah promise you forgiveness from Himself and bounty and Allah is allsufficient of His creatures’ needs and all knowing”. (Quran-2:268)
“Itis He who made the earth a resting place for you and the sky as a canopy, andsent down water (rain) from the sky and brought there with fruits as aprovision for you. Then do not set rivals unto Allah (in worship) while youknow (that he alone has rights to be worshiped)” (Quran-2:22)
“Andsurely, we gave you authority on the earth and appointed for you there inprovision (for your life). Little thanks do you give”. (Quran-7:10)
The role of the man, on thisearth, is to purify, to refine and to transform the available resources intouseful means. This requires intellect and diligence. The proper usage of thesefactors is the human obligation of creation. It is the duty of government toconserve and use the resources in, of course, in a “creative” way and plan thisproperly so that they advance the welfare of all creation, human, animal andplant, and all other aspects of creation. Because these duties of governmentand people have been neglected, indeed, denied by both, population is seen as‘the problem”. Its increase is, therefore projected as the biggest globalcrisis we ever face.
The first work on“population increase” that generated fear in the minds of people was that ofthe Darwin influencing British Rev. Thomas Robert Malthus (d. 1834). Notsurprisingly a professor of history and political economy at, the infamouslyrapacious East Indian Company College. His treatise ‘An Essay on the principleof population was written against the utopian philosophers, like WilliamGodwin, Marquis de Condorcet and also Jean Jaques Rousseau. These philosophersbelieved in the perfectibility of the society. Similarly, in 1968, Paul Ehrlichpublished ‘The Population Bomb’, who predicted that in 1985 the world as weknow it would end based on population progression, famine would spread uncontrollably,oceans would dry up, most of the western lands would transform into deserts andthat the average life span of man would fall to 42 years. These predictions, ofcourse, failed, as have those of his preceptor Malthus.
In 1798, when Malthus was writing his book,world was roughly 900 million. In just two centuries, it has risen to about 7billion. What has afflicted humanity more in this period, the meteoric rise ofuntold prosperity or the Malthusian collapse into a dearth of resources? Has wealthor meagerness been the boon of man? Of course the answer is prosperity ofwealth. The fact is that the increase in population directly leads humanity toprosperity and no do poverty. Neither Malthus predictions nor Ehrich’sprophesies over materialized. Their calculations may have been right, but theywere on the status quo and technologies of their times. How many technologicalrevolutions took place after Malthus wrote? How much advancement was there inknowledge after Ehrich.
These were not accidentaloccurrences. As population increases, our Creator provides man with bothadvancement in science and technological excellence, as well as having richlyresourced the earth to support life, period. The words the Quran said to theignorant Arabs who did not have the slightest hesitation about killing theirchildren for fear of poverty, remain notable for the great tribes of our time,who continue the logic of Quraysh unabated.
“Anddo not kill your children for fear of poverty. We provide them and for you.Indeed, their killing is ever a great sin”. (Quran-17:31)
Earth’s population in 1850was 1,262 million. If humanity presence on earth is at least 2 million yearsold, as anthropologists tell us, then something like 110 billion people haveever lived on earth and a hundred thousand generations have come and gone. Yetby 1850, the population count reached only 1,262 million. Whathappened after that? From 1830 the period required for the rise of every onebillion of people has been published in the UN world population prospectus in1998. Even though it required one century for the population to rise from 1 to2 billion, it took only 30 years to rise from 3 to 4 billion in 15 years,reached 5 billion in the next 12 years and another 12 years to strike 6billion.
The space available to ustoday is the same on which man began 2 million years ago. Yet UN HumanDevelopment Report make clear that in 1950 when world population was 2,406billion, the food grain production on earth was 6.24 billion tons. In 1990,when population rose to 5.1 billion, food grain production had risen to 18 billiontons. What had happened here? Population doubled, yet food production tripled.If facilities were available for the distribution of food grains, then in 1990when population doubled, each man would have got 1.5 times the amount ofcereals than those in 1950. Allah says in Quran:
“Weshall provide for them (children) as well as for you” (Quran-17:31)
No better proof is needed torender Allah’s promise in these verses true.
Then if our ingenuity andthe earth’s capacity are not in question with regard to food supply, then whatis. Noble prize winner Amartya Sen in his book “Poverty and Famines: An essayon enticement and deprivation’, has made clear that the main factor leading tofamine is not population but corrupted politics.
The best example is thefamine that struck Bengal in 1943. The British government lays the blame ontorrents, tempests, World War II and importing limitations. Citing thegovernment records, Amartya Sen proves this wrong. He also proves that therewas more tonnage of cereals available in 1943 than in 1941 and the steps thatthe British government took in fear of war with Japan was the actual reasonthat led to the famine that took the lives of an astonishing and criminal 1.5million people, according to the official records. Even though the amount ofgrains and cereals required for the people of Bengal were available there, thepolitical play of the British caused the vulnerable to be suddenly afflictedwith poverty and deprived of money to buy food. Amartya Sen also shows that thegovernment records on this famine are not trustworthy, since it actually tookup to 2.5 million of lives. Thus the real enemy of human welfare is clearly notincreased population but immoral politicians.
Malthus and Ehrlish also putforward the argument that population increases so does diseases. The argumentcontinues today by depopulation zealots. But the factual records prove thiswrong. The chart published by the institute of Applied Manpower Research, whichrelates increased population and average Indian lifespan obviously says that,life span increases with increase in population. What is the reason behind this?With the rise in population the standard of living increased. This led tobetter health and a decrease in the death rate of youth and children from thedisease. This is sufficient to understand the baselessness of the argument putforward by Malthus and his successors that population explosion leads todisease and tribulation.
The argument that increasedpopulation results in increased population density thus decreasing the netannual income is also fallacious. If we analyse the population density and percapita income datasheet published 2002 by the Population Reference Bureau, itsays, in places like Congo ,Somalia, Tanzania, Gambia and Mali where populationdensity is much less, the net annual income is also much less and far less thanthe world average per capta income of 87,140. But Singapore and Hong Kong wherepopulation density is very high, the net annual income is thrice that of theworld average.
The fact that income in places of highpopulation density is greater than that of low density region is obvious. AMacanese receives only 1/100th of an acre on average. An Australianreceives an average of 82.5 acres. But the income obtained from 1 sq km of landin Macao is 7,300 times more than that from Australia. World average income is$ 12,769. It is 469 times greater in Macao. Where population density is at itspeak. Records make famous that the income obtained from 1sq km of Macao is 386times greater than from oil opulent Saudi Arabia. This teaches us that wealthis not tied to natural resources or geographical areas of earth. Rather, it isthe people who are the real producers of wealth.
The fact is that the moneyis earned using human ability to produce resource and that advancement andwelfare are, therefore, products of increased population. Decreased populationis thus not the reason for economic development of rich Western countries. Theresource of wealth is drawn from two sources
Money earned through weapons salesExploitation of their actual and implied ‘sovereign’ rule in the world, that is to say, hegemony. These are the sources of their economic growth. We, therefore, must lookvery skeptically at the largely western driven commandments to control thepopulation of what used to be called the Third world. Population control is, ingimmick for continuation of the western hegemony in our rich ‘poor’ countries. Thereis genuine fear that these population-rich communities will begin to understandthe association of their human resources and their capacity to generate realwealth and sovereign independence and begin to determine their own uses andland productivity, making agricultural and ecological advances in scientific andtechnological fields and that this and not the mere rise of their populationmay be the reason behind the false threat of population explosion.
Islam teaches that like worldlyresources, offspring and wealth are adornment of earthly life.
“Wealthand children are the adornment of the worldly life. But the enduring good deedsare better of your lord for reward and better for one’s hope” (Quran-8:46)
Those crying out for fearpopulation explosion are the same who wax loquacious about the improvement ofthe reproductive health of cattle and broiler chickens through geneticmodifications. Yet the stewardship that man can provide, earth is much morethan the contribution that to be made by cows, hens and goats. Man is theproducer of wealth by the permission of his Lord. It is nothing other thanfoolish to think of reducing his number to attain progress. As for those whoproduce deliberately misleading and terrorizing reports on poverty and whoargue for population control, Allah has started in His Quran about the originof such a trumped up peril:
“Satanthreatens you with poverty and orders and you to commit evil deeds. WhereasAllah promise you forgiveness from Himself and bounty and Allah is allsufficient of His creatures’ needs and all knowing”. (Quran-2:268)