Advances in modern medicine have brought new ways of having children. One of them is surrogacy, in which another woman carries the child. When a couple cannot conceive, an embryo is placed in another woman’s womb and she gives birth, a method used in many countries. In Muslim society, however, it raises an important question: is it permissible in Islam for another woman to carry a couple’s child?
Under Islamic sharia the matter is highly sensitive, because childbirth involves more than medicine or technology. It also touches on lineage, the marital bond, motherhood and inheritance, all important questions in sharia. For that reason Islamic jurists and scholars have discussed assisted reproduction and surrogacy in detail.
What is surrogacy?
Surrogacy generally means a process in which a woman becomes pregnant and gives birth for another couple. It takes several forms. Sometimes an embryo is made in a laboratory from a husband’s sperm and a wife’s egg and placed in another woman’s uterus. At other times the egg of the woman carrying the child is used.
The difference matters a great deal in setting the Islamic ruling, because it raises the questions of who the child’s biological parents are, who the woman carrying the child is, and how the child’s lineage is to be established.
A couple’s own embryo in another woman’s womb?
Most contemporary fiqh bodies and scholars in the Muslim world hold that placing a husband and wife’s embryo in another woman’s womb to have a child is not permissible, because Islam gives great weight to lawful marriage in having children. Even when the couple’s own sperm and egg are used, carrying the embryo in a third woman’s womb complicates the question of motherhood: is the woman who gives birth the mother, or the woman whose egg made the embryo?
In the Quran, Allah stresses the preservation of lineage. Verse 5 of Surah Al-Ahzab says children should be called by their fathers’ names, and that this is more just in the sight of Allah.
In Islamic sharia, preserving lineage, or nasab, is considered one of five fundamental objectives. Sharia is therefore very cautious about any method that could confuse a child’s lineage.
Why object to surrogacy?
One of the main objections is that a third person becomes involved in the pregnancy. Islam allows no room for having children outside marriage. Bringing a third person outside the lawful marital bond into the process of childbirth risks harming the exclusivity of the marriage.
A natural bond also forms between the woman carrying the child and the child in her womb. Pregnancy, delivery and breastfeeding all matter in Islam. So the question of who is truly the child’s mother is not only biological but also bound up with sharia and family rights. For this reason most jurists have not approved surrogacy.
Is assisted reproduction between husband and wife permitted?
One important point needs to be understood separately: the prohibition of surrogacy does not mean that all forms of assisted reproduction are forbidden in Islam.
Many scholars have conditionally allowed a couple to conceive through medical treatment, when medically necessary, using the husband and wife’s own sperm and egg. The conditions include that only the reproductive cells of a lawfully married husband and wife are used to make the embryo, and that the embryo is placed in the wife’s own womb.
In other words, even when medical methods are used, no reproductive material from a third man or woman may be added. Likewise, most scholars hold that placing the wife’s embryo in another woman’s womb is not permissible.
On egg and sperm donation
Sperm and egg donation is also an important question under Islamic sharia. Most Islamic jurists do not consider it permissible to have a child using the sperm of an unrelated man or the egg of an unrelated woman.
This is because it can create serious problems with the child’s lineage. When a child is born from one man’s sperm and another woman’s egg, the child’s biological parents do not match the lawful marital bond. Such methods are considered to conflict with Islam’s principle of preserving lineage.
What are the child’s rights?
One of the most complex aspects of surrogacy is the child’s rights. After birth, the child’s identity, paternity, maternity, inheritance, mahram relationships and family rights must be settled.
Islam places great weight on the principle that the child bears no guilt. Even if a method is not in line with sharia, a child born through it cannot be held responsible. Wronging a child, neglecting them or denying their rights is not permitted in Islam.
So if a child is born through surrogacy, they must be treated humanely and fairly. That reality, however, does not make surrogacy itself compatible with sharia.
What to do when treatment is needed
The wish for children is natural, and childlessness can be a hard emotional trial for many couples. Islam does not discourage seeking treatment; rather, there is room to seek treatment by lawful means.
In cases of infertility or difficulty conceiving, a husband and wife can consult a specialist doctor. Before taking up any treatment, however, it is important to find out whether it is compatible with sharia.
If a treatment uses the couple’s own reproductive material and places the embryo in the wife’s own womb, they can decide after consulting a scholar or an expert in Islamic fiqh.
Islam’s core teaching
In Islam a child is a blessing from Allah. Just as the wish for children is legitimate, so it is essential to follow lawful paths to have them. However advanced technology becomes, a Muslim should not cross the limits of sharia in choosing medical treatment.
Most contemporary Islamic jurists hold that carrying a husband and wife’s embryo in another woman’s womb is not permissible. The main reasons are preserving lineage, keeping motherhood clear and upholding the limits of the lawful marital relationship.
Jurisprudential discussion of new medical methods continues, however. Whether a particular treatment is permissible depends on its nature, whose reproductive material is used, where the embryo is placed and how great the medical need is. So before choosing surrogacy or any method of assisted reproduction, it is safest to consult not only a doctor but also a trusted scholar or expert in Islamic fiqh. That way couples can make use of treatment while following the rules of Islamic sharia as far as possible.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report