Is egg donation allowed in Islam?
Salam,
Doctors said my chance to have babies is less than 1%. Egg donation would be for me the best solution as I could still grow my husband's kids.
To me it is almost like - if not better than - adoption as the husband can have his own children.
My husband would not want a second wife. So we only have the option of staying childless or to find an egg donor. Is it true though that this is not allowed in islam?
Thank you very much in advance for your answer and help.
Allah hafiz
- malaika
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Dear Malaika, Asalaamualaykum,
I am sorry that you are having difficulty conceiving. But 'Egg donation' is absolutely not permitted in Islam. This brings up the 'Modernity versus Religion' debate. Medical technology has advanced so much, so where is the moral limit?
Imagine this scenario: A woman gives birth to a daughter using the egg of another woman. The woman who donated the egg has son. So this makes the two brother and sister. There is a possibility that they could meet later on in life, fall in love and want to marry. How would they know that they were actually brother and sister and hence their relationship was haraam? This sounds far fetched right? But it has happened with siblings that are separated at birth before and can happen this way too.
It would do you good to open your heart to adoption Sister. There are so many poor children who are looking for homes and loving parents. Give them a chance and Allah will reward you for taking in orphans.
The Prophet (sws) said: "I and the person who looks after an orphan will be in Paradise together like this..." - then he raised his forefinger and middle finger together. (Hadith Bukhari)
SisterZ
IslamicAnswers.com Editor
Sister Z, it is a requirement in most jurisdictions that a couple intending to marry have a blood test in advance of getting the marriage license, so rule out a consanguinal relationship.
Perhaps so, but this does still not make egg donation permissible. This is not the main reason behind it not being allowed though, it is just one of the problems could result.
And I doubt that many people get a blood test done before choosing their spouse.
SisterZ
IslamicAnswers.com Editor
What if the boy and the girl falls in love is a country where no medical test is necessary like middle east countries?
The beauty of the Deen of Allah is it is always consistent and there are no loopholes. Sorry.
I believe that egg donation is haram because the sperm of the husband would be penetrating and forming a baby with a woman not his wife therefore the baby is a child of zina.
This is my layman take on the matter.
The irony that at 40 i sponateously and naturally got pregnant then my husband forced me to abort because his family didnt aprove of our marriage. And I look around at childless couple and ones trying to concieve and I say astaqfer Allah my husband at 37 was blessed with his first child that he denied us both to have and Allah knows if he will have a chance again.
Ya Allah I look towards you and I walk in your path please guide me with your mercy and patients and speed my journey towards you.
UmmKawthar, the child born of egg donation would not be a child of zina, because the husband did not have sex with another woman nor did he see that woman's awrah.
I am sorry to hear about what happened to you. Your husband should never have forced you to have an abortion. Insha'allah you get pregnant again and have a baby of your own.
Precious star Thank you for your comment & compassion, but we wont be getting pregnant again because he divorced me because his family didnt aproove of us getting married because im was perviously divorced and even if im from the same social strata in our unislamic, one eyed dajal, Godless material world, if youre divorced youre not socially fashionable as a wife, regardless if you out do the chosen wife 10-1
Rassoul Allah's wives were ALL but one, previously married women. This is no coincedence, it was to set an example for mankind in a world where women out number men at least 4-1 and the divorce rate is more than 50% (both numbers on the rise) if divorced women are to be discriminated against, this opens up doors to the demise of morality and stable society.
About the egg debate
I find myself believing that babys born of egg donation are just as haram as sperm donation and YES it is zina. because
You see the egg came from a woman not his legal wife, the egg owner & sperm owner were not lawfully joint in Allahs eyes under marriage. So his sperm will be penetrating and bonding with an egg of a woman not his wife, so how can it be Halal to have a child with the egg of a woman not your wife?
This is not a kidney transplant, it is ANSAAB (leniage ) it is DNA that forms into a human being, how can it form if the egg mother and egg father are not married?
In surat albaqarah - Nisaaákum harthan lakum - your wifes are your land (to fertilize)
it doesnt mention you can fertilize another womans even if you plant her seed in your land, its not legally yours to take.
Just the same as a sperm donor is a huge haram, it is the penetrating of another mans sperm with a womans egg, its is a major haram and zina in both cases i believe.
BTW Zina is not only in your body or awrah, it is in your eyes, the words we speak and in your mind, and in the case of this debate it is definetly in your cells too.
Wa Allahu Aálam
Yep, the child born by egg or sperm donation would still be a child born out of wedlock. As I have said, the beauty of the Deen of Allah is there are no loopholes in it.
Stranger, a child in Islam is not born with such labels. Whether egg donation is haraam or not, the haraam will not be the child's burden. A child born of egg donation will be born pure and will be born sin-free.
In Vitro Fertilization is allowed only with a legally married couple's own sperm and eggs. In other words, if the husband's sperm is unable to fertilize the egg for some reason, the husband's sperm and wife's egg can be combined in a test tube, then when the egg is fertilized it would be replanted in the wife. This is allowed in Islam.
However, egg donation by another woman is not allowed. For an Islamic ruling on this matter, see:
In Vitro Fertilization in Islam by Dr. Muzammil Siddiqui
Dear sister, my suggestion to you is to adopt. Of course in Islam the process is more like fostering than true adoption, since the child must retain his/her own last name, and must be aware of his true family lineage. But you can love the child as your own, and give him a good life Insha'Allah. There are millions of Muslim orphans who desperately need someone to care for them. Why not give one of them a better life? It is a blessed act in Islam.
"Righteousness is not that you turn your faces toward the east or the west, but [true] righteousness is [in] one who believes in Allah , the Last Day, the angels, the Book, and the prophets and gives wealth, in spite of love for it, to relatives, orphans, the needy, the traveler, those who ask [for help], and for freeing slaves; [and who] establishes prayer and gives zakah; [those who] fulfill their promise when they promise; and [those who] are patient in poverty and hardship and during battle. Those are the ones who have been true, and it is those who are the righteous." - Quran 2:177
It is related by Sahl ibn Saad (ra) that Rasulullah (sws) said:
"Whoever supports an orphan from among his own or any other family, he will be as close to me in Heaven as these fingers are close to each other."
Wael
IslamicAnswers.com Editor
The BBC just published this story:
IVF procedure 'may increase risk of Down's syndrome'
Yet another reason to avoid such procedures.
Wael
IslamicAnswers.com Editor
The Quran does not say that it is haram to have a child by donor infact when a person needs a heart from another or a kidney or any other organ that allows a person to live and a mother to breast feed another is allowed.
God gives man technology to help him on his journey in this life,. Neither did God tell a man adopt but do not give the child a name. Many ophans don't even know who there mother or father are as they were left along due to war or abandonment and has no family name, what do you do then call the child hey you.
God(Aallah ) is loving and forgiving and knows all if he did not want this technology donor eggs then it would not be so. Many Muslims are having it done in secret. If it is a mistake then God will forgive the mistake if asked.
Please have a Fatwa written it would save lives and marriagees both something that God loves.
Try to gain some knowledge before passing ignorant advice like this, which are nothing but whims and desires of the heart.
I agree completely. And the other thing is, egg donation can be done within families. I.E. a sister or cousin can donate her egg to the mother, and that way the baby is genetically still within the family and the lineage is known. Egg retrieval is not a big deal - it requires about 6 weeks of medication to mature the eggs, followed by a simple retrieval procedure that is done vaginally.
to clarify, I agree with Qatar974, not Stranger.
Qatar & co
Asides from your excuse that " Many Muslims are having it done in secret. If it is a mistake then God will forgive the mistake if asked."
So you have this "God will forgive the mistake" info direct from God swt Himself, or was it given to you through the angel Gabriel, just want to know on whos authority do you know that Allah WILL forgive this mistakes. Tawba comes with rules, and doing something purposely while knowing its wrong doesnt qualify for forgiveness. I'm not sure how Islam is practiced in your part of the world but only in Christianity did Jesus die on the cross for everyones sins. In Islam people are held accountable and this is how haq (justice) doesnt get lost between halal & haram, right or wrong and thalim and mathloom. (oppressor and the oppressed)
First of all, receiving a heart, a lung lobe, kidney or liver is NOT the same as begetting a child, the kidney you get will have its own DNA and it wont have nasab issues.
The child borne out of parental wedlock will have nasab and ought to expect that its DNA matches that of its "known" parents*
You mentioned fatwa: Have you yourself got a fatwa to back your argument that merging of dna and ansaab (leiniage) through egg donation is okay?
Better yet, do you have a hadeeth and since you mentioned Quran, is there an aya that allows cells from an unmarried couple to be joined together out of wedlock?
How about I remind you of hadeeth rassoul Allah Mohammed and the importance of nasab (lieniage) "ekhtarou nutafakum fal3rgu dasaas" = “Choose for your nutfa what is equal/sufficient, as indeed the vein conspires” Vein refers to hereditary traits. Last time I checked we inherit an equal set of chromosomes from both father AND mother.
Rassoul Allah Mohammed isnt speaking about just inheriting the traits passed down through fathers sperm, he says NUTFA, and nutfa is BOTH the conjoined egg and sperm, it is the merged dna of a known couple, - The human embryo is created from the union and fusion of the male and female nutfas (gametes), to form together the nutfa. Therefore the Prophet is referring to the inherited traits of BOTH parents father and mother. How can you do that out of wedlock and with purchased eggs!!
Under your rhetoric why dont you also condone sperm donation.
Don't say only sperm donation is haram because the name the child carries its fathers name, because Islam placed emphasis on Ansaab too.
If this was ok then why would your Qatari society be doing it in secret? If it was ok they wouldn't be hiding such risque pregnancies now would they?! Unless its a social matter, and last time I checked we worship Allah not society.
This reminds me of a practice during the pre rassoul Allah Jaheleya time (age of ignorance) When a couple of lesser known social class wanted to go up in the world, the husband would offer his wife to be impregnanted by another man of higher social class. There was no DNA testing then, they had a make shift human ansaab assessor, sort of a community expert that studies the babys facial features then guestimates whom the fatherhood belongs to. Islam & our rassoul abolished the unlawful illegal mixing of ansaab ONLY unless under the ethical banner of an Islamic marriage.
Kindly do not play a role in bringing it back what is haram.
Lineage (Nasab): Islam is for preserving lineage. Every person has the right to know his lineage and have a chance to find out his ancestors. Even an egg donor has the right to know no matter how much or little the parents payed for the egg, the resulting HUMAN BEING has a right to know whom its biological mother & relatives are. This is why no adoption with name change is allowed in Islam. If you decide to take care of an orphan and you are encouraged to do that, but the orphan should know his real parents and his lineage. Marriage and family is the cornerstone of Islamic community and preservation of lineage.
Islam safeguards lineage by prohibiting zina and legal adoption, thus keeping the family line unambiguously defined without any foreign element entering into it. It likewise prohibits what is known as artificial insemination if the donor of the semen is other than the husband. In such a case, as the well-known professor, Shaikh Shaltut, says, It is a despicable crime and a major sin, to be classified in the same category as adultery. Both (adultery and artificial insemination by anyone other than the husband) are similar in nature and in effects; that is, in both cases the tillage which belongs exclusively to the husband is intentionally inseminated by a stranger. Had the form of this crime not been of a lesser degree, such insemination would have been punishable by the same hadd punishment as is prescribed for adultery in the divinely revealed Shari'ah.
There is, however, no doubt that insemination by a donor other than the husband is a more serious crime and detestable offense than adoption, for the child born of (such) insemination incorporates in itself the result of adoption—the introduction of an alien element into the lineage — in conjunction with the offense of adultery, which is abhorrent both to the divinely revealed laws and to upright human nature. By this action the human being is degraded to the level of an animal, who has no consciousness of the noble bonds (of morality and lineage) which exist among the members of a human society (AI-Fatwa (Islamic Legal Decisions), by Shaikh Shaltut, p. 300)
Since sperm donation is considered adultery in Islam , do you think that egg donation is exempt from the equation?
The egg of a donor applies the same as the sperm donor, both constitute that there is an alien lineage not honoured by zawaj by Allahs rules.
The one who claims descent from someone other than his (real) father, and the slave who attaches himself to someone other than his (real) master, are cursed by Allah, His angels, and the people. Allah will accept neither repentance nor ransom from such a person on the Day of Resurrection. (Reported by al-Bukhari and Muslim.)
Think about that...IF A SLAVE whom attached himself to someone other than his master cursed by Allah, the same applies to a child attaching to an incubator as its biological mother, the curse of course wouldnt be on the child but most certainly it would be on the father, the surrogate mother and all those whom , possibly even the ones whom are recklessly condoning the practice of ansaab without clear hadith or fatwa that allows it!
"The child is attributed to the one on whose bed it is born," (Reported by al-Bukhari and Muslim. Literally: "The child belongs to the bed.") declared the Prophet of Islam (peace be on him).
Donor eggs dont belong to the marriage bed, therefore don't apply.
Im sorry but if a wife cannot bear a egg then she cannot go against the limitations Allahs has set on what her body can produce and have her husbands sperm fertilize her sisters egg or her neighbours egg or a in need of money mauritanian poor girls egg, just for social showing off her pregnant belly to society that shes still young & fertile.
Interesting article "The Lost Generation: Are Qatar's children, brought up by foreign servants, losing contact with their culture, their language and their families?"
http://www.qatarvisitor.com/index.php?cID=448&pID=1682
Since its the norm in Qatar that women hand their own biological children raised by maids.
It makes me sad to imagine the fate of their NON BIOLOGICAL children : how do you think the maternal instincts of a woman will be towards an innocent baby NOT biologically hers?
In fact to all whom are openly and very publicly condoning egg donation as halal. This is extremely reckless without cross checking with learned muftis! Kindly do not conceive to spread fallacies without islamic sunna or Quranic & faftwa backup.
Now any sane person would realise that marriage, and ansaab is an extremely delicate and important issue in Islam, one thats not to be meddled with by online garden variety muftis!
What next? Making gender change permissible too in Islam under the pretext that a person feels they are stuck in the wrong gender body...slippery slope.
Sister Precious Star...You mentioned that its ok to get a family members egg, again according to everything mentioned above that go to remind all that only the genetic DNA of ONLY husband and wife are allowed in Islam, id like to address your point stating why you cannot marry (or even use the egg) of the following women:-
Islam prohibits a man to marry a woman and her sister at the same time; similarly it is forbidden to be married to a woman and her paternal aunt or a woman and her maternal aunt at the same time. The prohibition on being married to a woman and her sister at the same time is mentioned in the Qur’aan. Allaah has stated that among the women who are forbidden in marriage, as He says (interpretation of the meaning):
It is stated in the saheeh Sunnah that it is forbidden to be married to a woman and her paternal aunt at the same time, or to be married to a woman and her maternal aunt at the same time. Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 4821; Muslim, 1408.
“And marry not women whom your fathers married, except what has already passed; indeed it was shameful and most hateful, and an evil way.
23. Forbidden to you (for marriage) are: your mothers, your daughters, your sisters, your father’s sisters, your mother’s sisters, your brother’s daughters, your sister’s daughters, your foster mothers who gave you suck, your foster milk suckling sisters, your wives’ mothers, your stepdaughters under your guardianship, born of your wives to whom you have gone in — but there is no sin on you if you have not gone in them (to marry their daughters), — the wives of your sons who (spring) from your own loins, and two sisters in wedlock at the same time, except for what has already passed; verily, Allaah is Oft‑Forgiving, Most Merciful”
[al-Nisa’ 4:22-23]
Precious star -
Ansab (lineage) is a huge and important thing in islam, Lets say parents & egg donor die in a car crash and what if the egg donor child were to marry its cousin which is what you suggested by getting an egg from the mothers sister and the marriage of a cousin IS ALLOWED in Islam. Only the problem is the cousin is actually the egg donor childs biological brother/sister, and this brother or sister was socially marketed as its cousin. You think Allah makes mistakes or overlooks the aforementioned issue or scenario? Do you think just because this egg donor issue is not explicitly mentioned in the Quran, it makes it allowed? Or it makes it ok for you to suggest that its not haram to suggest to God knows how many people reading that an egg donor is halal?
Im afraid not, its not ok.
It is mentioned above in Surat al baqarah 223.
'Nisa-“ukum harthunl lakum fa-“tu harthakum anna shi-“tum wa-qaddimu li-“anfusikum wa-ittaqu Allaha wa-i’lamu “annakum mulaquhu wa-bashshiri al-mu-“minina'
---Your wives are a place of sowing of seed for you, so come to your place of cultivation however you wish and put forth [righteousness] for yourselves. And fear Allah and know that you will meet Him. And give good tidings to the believers.---
What more clarity do you need than that?! Your WIVES are a place to sowing your seed.....not a woman who is not your wife. Again Quran is not outdated nor is it limited, every letter and word is 100% perfect and deliberate because it is the word of Allah, and HE is clear for those who see.
Ive mentioned ansaab and marriage issues of the egg donor child now let me touch on how inheritance could be affected by egg donation which further reflects that borrowed eggs are haram :-
Rules of Inclusion and Exclusion
In Islamic law, only relatives with a legitimate blood relationship to the deceased are entitled to inherit. Thus, illegitimate children and adopted children have no shares in inheritance. In general, a full brother will exclude a consanguine brother, but not uterine brother.[2] In case where a deceased man leaves a pregnant woman, the unborn child's share will be reserved. Also a woman during the time of waiting (ʿidda) after divorce is considered as a wife of the deceased for purposes of inheritance.
As you see Islam places a great deal of emphasis & Islamic jurisprudence on which family member is allowed to inherit, btw an adopted child cannot inherit in Islam. You think by cheating society that this baby is not a donor egg you can cheat Allahs laws? How would you justify that the child from a different egg inherit the estate of its surrogate mother or share in the estate of its half brothers when their biological mother dies?
How about if its own egg donor mother dies does it not have a right to inherit her estate?
Islam in NOOOOOOR Light, no dark corners and alleyways to make up what we want to suit us.
People DO NOT propagate what you do not know and just because you have a finger itch spread info that you WILL BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE FOR ON THE DAY OF JUDGEMENT.
Since Islam has prohibited the marriage of the child of a foster mother whom has suckled it to her own biological children because by ALLAHS DECREE AND WILL they become your brother/sister by ritha-ah (milk suckling)
Precious star - There is a reason that with zawaj (marriage) comes ish har ( public affirmation) so that the children born are known to be of the married parents. Ish har is to allow procreation.
Egg donation comes under darkness & secrecy, kindly be reminded that Islam encourages light and has come to us in light and teaches us to walk in light...and especially for a woman whom accepts the limitations and RIZG Allah has given her ought to know that her reward for patiently accepting Allahs decree will be given to her in Light too.
Back to Qatar et al..
You said "God(Aallah ) is loving and forgiving and knows all if he did not want this technology donor eggs then it would not be so."
Allah gave us the technology of the electric chair, the gas chamber and the WMD's you think hes also going to lovingly forgive us because we blame him for our own folly?
I don't think so...
I hope you
Listen to Precious this woman is dropping pearls OF WISDOM. I have a question to add to this thread, what if the problem is with the birth canal of the woman itself, would a surrogate mother be permissible since the sperm and the egg is from the original couple?
WS
Islam has made the halal and the haram very clear. They often can be distinguished as the sun and the moon can be distinguished. Egg donation is such an issue. One only needs some common sense to understand it.
However, if some people still want to do it, they can do it. But they should at least have the modesty and shame to not call it halal as per the religion of Allah. If you want to commit zina, do it. But do not try to halalify it. Committing a sin is one thing, and trying to legitimize it from the viewpoint of Islam is another thing. The latter suggests complete lack of decency and modesty, and expresses a subtle from of arrogance.
The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, " If you have not shame, do whatever you wish."
So, people are free to declare anything that their whims and desires wishes to enjoy as halal.
Also it is disbelief to declare a halal thing as haram and a haram thing as halal. This is what the priests of Christianity and the rabbis of Judaism have done before, and in the process, they have been transformed into cursed and deviant nations.
http://www.islam.tc/cgi-bin/askimam/ask.pl?q=9811&act=view
If you are suggesting that I lack common sense, decency and shame, then I would suggest you google "manners in Islam".
You clearly have none. YOU should be ashamed of yourself.
Tongue has to be harsh against those who invent lie against the Deen of Allah. And we have been commanded to be harsh against the such inventors.
Stranger & Precious, read my above reply to Qatar
Assalaamu alaikum.
**I am closing this post to further comments as this sister has received good advice MashaAllah. JazakAllah khair to all those who offered excellent advice. There are many other new posts in need of your advice so please check those.#
Sara
IslamicAnswers.com Editor