TEST TUBE BABY - Shariah ruling about In Vitro Fertilization

(1)  If there is some problem with ovulation.

(2)  If the ovaries are absent.  In these cases, the ovum and the sperm are combined outside the body in a laboratory and then planted into the womb of the wife.

(3)  If there is a problem with the fallopian tubes’ patency and the fertilized ovum cannot enter the womb.

Even apart from this, the age and the general health of the women play a pivotal role in conception.  The details of this are present on the authoritative website, www.Webmd.com

To perform IVF, the sperm of the husband and the ovum of the wife are collected.  To know the Shariah ruling about this, it is necessary to find out what methods are used for this and what the Shariah says about these methods.  Do they involve some thing which is expressly prohibited by the Shariah?

Usually, the semen of the husband is gained by masturbation and the wife is given hormones to increase the ovum production and then they are retrieved using a minor surgery.  Later on, the fertilized ovum is put back in the woman by a simple procedure.

Be it before a woman only, but this does involve undressing and nudity.  Nudity, without a reason deemed to be valid by the Shariah, is prohibited.  Does IVF constitute a valid enough reason for the Shariah to permit this?  Are the methods used to collect the sperm and the ovum permissible by the Shariah?  First we will talk about these questions.