مدل راهبردی فرزندآوری از منظر امام علی (ع)

Extended Abstract
 
Introduction and Objectives: The decline in birth rates, due to its extensive consequences across economic (reduction of workforce, pressure on the social security system), security (weakening of national power), cultural (diminution of the family institution and fading of family ties), and social (increased elderly isolation, individualism) dimensions, is one of the macro-issues facing many countries (including Iran). The continuation of this declining trend creates unresolved structural crises. Among the reasons for this issue is the change in people’s attitudes toward childbearing, which is largely based on external and non-indigenous models. Some individuals, influenced by modern culture, consider children an obstacle to the scientific and economic growth of parents and even question the necessity of having children.
The conventional solutions provided have generally failed to yield desirable outcomes, primarily due to their lack of alignment with the cultural and belief-based foundations of society. In contrast, the thoughts of the Infallibles (AS), as a rich treasury of divine guidance, can serve as a solid foundation for designing endogenous and efficient models. This research, focusing on the tradition and narrations of Imam Ali (AS), aims to extract a comprehensive and strategic model for childbearing. The focus on Imam Ali (AS) is not merely due to his lineage, but because of his comprehensiveness in the fields of governance, judgment, education, and addressing the society’s practical challenges. His narrations, as the experience of lived governance, constitute a rich source for extracting a practical model that answers the gap in indigenous models and aligns with Islamic-Iranian values.
The main objective of this research is to formulate a childbearing model from his perspective. The main research question is: What is this model? The secondary question focuses on identifying the components of the paradigmatic pattern (including causal conditions, contextual conditions, intervening conditions, core phenomenon, strategic actions, and consequences) in his intellectual system.
Research Method: This research is fundamental in nature and conducted using a qualitative method. To discover the model, the Grounded Theory (GT) method was used, applying Strauss and Corbin’s systematic approach. The statistical population of the research consisted of the four major Shia hadith books. By searching for relevant keywords, 38 narrations attributed to Imam Ali (AS) were collected. After removing duplicate and irrelevant cases, finally 18 narrations were analyzed as the final data.
The analysis process was carried out in three stages of open, axial, and selective coding with the help of MAXQDA software. In open coding, 34 basic codes were extracted from the narration texts. In the axial coding stage, these codes were categorized into six categories of the paradigmatic pattern, and the relationships between them were mapped. The axial coding process was conducted in such a way that for each of the 18 final narrations, six paradigmatic categories (causal, contextual, intervening, core, strategic, and consequence) were specified separately:

Core Phenomenon: The fundamental idea around which other components are built.
Contextual Conditions: The environmental, social, historical, cultural, etc., context in which the ruling was issued.
Causal Conditions: The main driver and factor that causes the action to occur.
Strategic Actions: Theoretical actions or responses taken.
Intervening Conditions: Facilitating and inhibiting factors that have influenced the formation of action by strengthening or weakening them.
Consequences: The results and outputs obtained from the implementation of strategies.

This approach allowed for the precise tracking of causal relationships and the mutual influence of categories. Then, 83 axial codes were clustered in a coherent table. Finally, in selective coding, the central core of the model was identified. To validate the findings, the four criteria of Guba and Lincoln (credibility, transferability, confirmability, and dependability) were used, along with the strategies of “presenting to the Quran and other narrations of the Infallibles (AS)” and “consulting with experts.”
Results: Data analysis led to the extraction of a comprehensive model with the central core of “Multidimensional Valuation of Childbearing.” This model was presented in the form of a six-dimensional paradigmatic pattern, showing that childbearing in the view of Imam Ali (AS) is not a unidimensional phenomenon and forms through a complex interaction of various factors. Seven main themes were extracted from the data, which are classified into four macro-dimensions:

Biological Dimension: With the theme of “Sanctity and Rightfulness of Fetal Life.”
Legal-Identity Dimension: Including the themes of “Protection of Lineage and Prevention of Social Exclusion,” “Reproductive Justice,” and “Consolidation of the Newborn’s Social Rightfulness from Birth.”
Structural-Social Dimension: Comprising the theme of “Legal and Economic Support for Pregnant Women/Mothers.”
Cultural-Spiritual Dimension: Including the themes of “Correction of Misconceptions” and “Divine Meaning-Making for Children and Childbearing.”

Each of the seven main themes forms a specific support system. For example, the theme of “Reproductive Justice” responds to the causal condition of male biological disorder and leads to the consequence of “Continuation of the Lineage through the Realization of Women’s Rights” through the strategic action of “Granting the Right of Dissolution to the Woman.” This intertwined network demonstrates the wisdom and foresight of the Alavi model. The findings indicate that Imam Ali (AS), through strategic actions in three spheres—jurisprudence-law (such as determining fetal diyah, guaranteeing maintenance), culture-society (correcting prevalent misconceptions and beliefs), and science-medicine (such as the permissibility of medical intervention to save the fetus)—aimed to create consequences such as preserving human dignity, achieving social justice, continuing the lineage, and strengthening spiritual motivations for childbearing.
Discussion and Conclusion: The obtained model shows that, from the perspective of Imam Ali (AS), childbearing is not merely a biological action, but a strategic, cultural, and legal action whose ultimate goal is the continuation of human life with dignity and within the framework of social justice. Unlike common unidimensional models, this model adopts a holistic, systematic, and dignity-oriented approach. The findings of this research can provide a valuable theoretical framework for revising Iran’s demographic policies.
The applicability of this model requires the formulation of integrated policies in four areas: (1) Strengthening biological protection through the development of reproductive health services, (2) Consolidating legal-identity protection by guaranteeing protective laws for children and families, (3) Providing sustainable structural-social support for mothers (job security, economic security), and (4) Implementing cultural-spiritual programs to reconstruct the positive discourse regarding the status of the family and meaning-making for childbearing.
This model conveys a strategic message to policymakers: Success in increasing the population requires moving beyond temporary economic incentives and simultaneously addressing intellectual foundations (correcting attitudes), legal structures (legal security), and institutional support (social security). In other words, “Childbearing with Dignity” must become the dominant discourse of macro-policies. Consequently, an effective demographic policy must go beyond short-term incentives and focus on reconstructing the cultural, legal, and structural foundations effective in the decision to childbear. It is suggested that future research model this subject from the perspective of other Infallibles (AS) to obtain a more comprehensive image of the Islamic model of childbearing.