The book The Birth of Pride: Islam and the Issue of Population, authored in Persian by Mohammad-Taqi Mesbah-Yazdi, has been published in 76 pages by the Imam Khomeini Education and Research Institute. This work examines the issue of Islam and population growth from the perspectives of Islamic philosophy and theology.
According to the publisher’s introduction, the book adopts a theological-philosophical approach to elucidate the position of humanity within the divine system of creation. It presents the purpose of human creation as the elevation of a being from the natural realms to a realm of awareness, volition, and divine knowledge—a state in which the human being attains comprehension, consciousness, and the cognition of God.
Within this framework, by posing fundamental questions regarding the existential value of humanity, the author emphasizes that the actualization of a monotheistic and God-knowing human being possesses an existential value that distinguishes it from other levels of life. From this perspective, the elevation of human existence to the level of Tawhid (monotheism) is regarded as one of the ultimate ends of creation.
The book also addresses the question of whether population growth is inherently considered undesirable. Based on the presented arguments, innate (Fitri), philosophical, and religious evidence demonstrate that the desire for procreation and generational expansion is compatible with the natural and divine constitution of human beings; therefore, a generalized judgment regarding its undesirability cannot be issued.
Overall, relying on theological and philosophical foundations, the present work seeks to elucidate the relationship between religious anthropology and the issue of population, offering an affirmative perspective on Islam and population growth based on foundational religious thought.
