(Series of Answers by the Scholar Ata bin Khalil Abu al-Rashta, Ameer of Hizb ut-Tahrir, to the Questions of His Facebook Page Followers)
To: Abu Abu Zayd
Question:
Assalamu Alaikum Wa Rahmatullahi Wa Barakatuh.
Regarding determining the sex of the embryo in the process of embryo implantation? What is the Shari’i ruling on performing an implantation procedure to determine the sex of the embryo in the future? Thank you and may Allah reward you with goodness.
Answer:
Wa Alaikum Assalam Wa Rahmatullahi Wa Barakatuh.
First: Before answering the question about determining the sex of embryos, we will briefly mention In Vitro Fertilization (IVF):
There are some medical cases among couples that prevent the fertilization of the wife's egg by the husband's sperm through natural means, such as a blockage in the cervix, weakness in the movement of sperm to reach the egg, or other reasons known to specialists. Consequently, some scientists have succeeded in fertilizing the egg outside the uterus in a tube under suitable conditions, where the woman is given drugs like Clomid that cause her to produce multiple eggs at once. Then, the specialist doctor inserts a laparoscope and its probe at the scheduled time for ovulation (the release of eggs) and suctions a group of eggs from the ovary... then places each egg in a Petri Dish in a special liquid, and these eggs are fertilized with sperm from the husband...
After this fertilization takes place in the tube, the fertilized egg (one or more) is returned to the wife's uterus. If Allah (swt) decrees creation from this fertilized egg, it attaches to the uterus and grows into a nutfah (zygote), then a mudghah (embryo)... and if Allah (swt) does not decree creation from this fertilized egg, it dies and perishes.
Accordingly, the Shari’i ruling is as follows:
- The recourse of couples to fertilization outside the uterus as a medical treatment for their condition regarding the inability to conceive naturally is permissible because it is a medicine (dawaa’), and the Messenger of Allah (saw) commanded seeking treatment. Abu Dawud narrated from Usama bin Sharik, who said: The Messenger of Allah (saw) said:
تَدَاوَوْا فَإِنَّ اللَّهَ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ لَمْ يَضَعْ دَاءً إِلَّا وَضَعَ لَهُ دَوَاءً غَيْرَ دَاءٍ وَاحِدٍ الْهَرَمُ
"Seek treatment, for Allah, the Mighty and Sublime, has not created a disease without creating a cure for it, except for one disease: old age (death)." (Abu Dawud)
However, this is subject to two conditions:
First: The fertilization in the tube must be from the fluid (sperm and egg) of a man and a woman who are married by a valid contract ('aqd sahih). It is narrated from Ruwayfi’ bin Thabit al-Ansari that the Messenger of Allah (saw) said:
لَا يَحِلُّ لِامْرِئٍ يُؤْمِنُ بِاللَّهِ وَالْيَوْمِ الْآخِرِ أَنْ يَسْقِيَ مَاءَهُ زَرْعَ غَيْرِهِ
"It is not permissible for a man who believes in Allah and the Last Day to water the field of another with his water." (Reported by Ahmad). Thus, it is not permissible to fertilize any woman's egg except with the husband's sperm.
Second: This—meaning the fertilization in the tube and its transfer to the woman's uterus—must take place during the lifetime of the husband, and not after his death as is done in the West, where they see no barrier to transferring a frozen fertilized egg to the mother's uterus whenever she wants, whether her husband is alive or dead! This is not permissible in Islam, because a woman’s pregnancy without a living husband from the start of the pregnancy is Haram (prohibited) and carries a penalty. One of the clear signs of zina (fornication/adultery) is pregnancy without a husband. Any woman who becomes pregnant without a husband has committed a sin and a great prohibition. This is based on what was narrated from Umar and Ali (ra), and no one among the Sahaba (ra) objected to their statement; since this is a matter that would have been objected to if it were not established, it constitutes a Consensus (Ijma’).
Thus, fertilization outside the uterus and then transferring it to the mother’s womb, provided it is from the husband to the wife and during the husband's lifetime, is permissible. That is, what is called "test-tube babies" is permissible under the mentioned conditions.
Second: Determining the sex of the embryos:
Since ancient times, there have been people who tried to choose the child they wanted and destroy what they did not want through the means available to them.
- In the Days of Ignorance (Jahiliyyah), they wanted males to help them in raids and to preserve lineage, so they used to practice infanticide of girls, i.e., burying them alive.
وَإِذَا الْمَوْءُودَةُ سُئِلَتْ * بِأَيِّ ذَنْبٍ قُتِلَتْ
"And when the girl [who was] buried alive is asked, for what sin she was killed." (Surat At-Takwir [81]: 8-9)
When other means became available, such as imaging what is in the mother's womb, if the fetus was undesired, they used abortion to terminate it while it was in the mother's womb.
There were other ancient attempts.
Later, especially when new advanced techniques became available... research appeared regarding the selection of the sex of the fetus, and two methods were the most prominent:
The First: They said it is the most technical, which is the method of "selective insemination of sperm," as they called it. This method requires conducting experiments on sperm to separate the female sex chromosome (X) from the male chromosome (Y) in a test tube—that is, separating it outside the body through various methods—and this requires medical technical intervention...
The idea among scientists is that they found the chromosomes of sperm to be YX ("Y" is the male part, "X" is the female part). They found the chromosomes of the egg to be XX (both parts are female). They found that if the male part in the sperm "Y" is the one that fertilizes the egg, it produces "YX," which is a male embryo. If the female part in the sperm "X" is the one that fertilizes the egg, it produces "XX," which is a female embryo. Accordingly, they conducted experiments to separate the male part "Y" in the sperm from the female part "X," then they fertilize the egg in the tube with the male part if they want a male embryo, and fertilize the egg with the female part of the sperm if they want a female embryo.
The Second: A similar method with a slight difference. This method takes place after fertilizing the eggs in the tube; they are then examined after fertilization. The fertilized egg that carries XX will be female, and the one that carries XY will be male. Whoever wants a male has the XY fertilized egg implanted in her uterus, and whoever wants a female has the XX fertilized egg implanted. The two methods are similar in purpose, except that the first involves examining the sperm before fertilization and separating the male part from the female part, while the second involves examining the fertilized eggs ("embryos") and then separating the male embryos from the female ones.
These are the general human attempts to choose the sex of the newborn from ancient times until our present age.
After understanding the reality, i.e., achieving the Manat (verifying the case), we clarify the Shari’i ruling as follows:
A- As for killing the unwanted newborn, it is Haram (prohibited), because it is the intentional killing of a soul. Its reward in the Hereafter is Hellfire, abiding therein forever.
وَمَنْ يَقْتُلْ مُؤْمِنًا مُتَعَمِّدًا فَجَزَاؤُهُ جَهَنَّمُ خَالِدًا فِيهَا وَغَضِبَ اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَلَعَنَهُ وَأَعَدَّ لَهُ عَذَابًا عَظِيمًا
"And whoever kills a believer intentionally - his recompense is Hell, wherein he will abide eternally, and Allah has become angry with him and has cursed him and has prepared for him a great punishment." (Surat An-Nisa [4]: 93). Its punishment in this world is Qisas (retaliation) by Qawd (execution), unless the guardian of the deceased pardons, or the Diyah (blood money).
B- As for killing the fetus while it is in its mother’s womb when its family learns it is unwanted—for example, if it is a female and the father wants a male—that too is Haram and carries a penalty... Al-Bukhari and Muslim narrated via Abu Hurairah, and the wording is for Al-Bukhari, who said:
«اقْتَتَلَتْ امْرَأَتَانِ مِنْ هُذَيْلٍ فَرَمَتْ إِحْدَاهُمَا الْأُخْرَى بِحَجَرٍ فَقَتَلَتْهَا وَمَا فِي بَطْنِهَا فَاخْتَصَمُوا إِلَى رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم فَقَضَى رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم أَنَّ دِيَةَ جَنِينِهَا غُرَّةٌ عَبْدٌ أَوْ وَلِيدَةٌ...»
"Two women from Hudhayl fought, and one of them threw a stone at the other, killing her and what was in her womb. They took the dispute to the Messenger of Allah (saw), and the Messenger of Allah (saw) ruled that the blood money for her fetus is a ghurra (a male or female slave)..."
C- As for separating the male part from the female part of the sperm and then fertilizing the egg with the male part if they want a male newborn, and with the female part if they want a female newborn, or separating the male embryos from the female ones and implanting the desired embryo in the uterus: *these procedures are not permissible because they are not a medicine (dawaa’). That is, they are not a treatment for pregnancy for a woman who cannot conceive and is treated to become pregnant. In other words, they are not a treatment for the inability to fertilize the wife's egg with the husband's sperm through natural means, necessitating recourse to medicine to fertilize the egg in a tube... Rather, it is another matter related to separating the male parts from the female parts in the sperm or separating the embryos, and not a treatment for the pregnancy that is difficult for the woman naturally. That is, these procedures are not a medicine for the disease of infertility. Since they cannot be performed except by uncovering the awrah (private parts)—as the process of retrieving eggs and re-implanting them requires that—and uncovering the awrah is Haram, and this prohibition is only permissible for medical treatment, and as long as these procedures are not medical treatment, they are therefore Haram and not permissible.*
In conclusion, the knowledge about which Allah (swt) said:
اقْرَأْ وَرَبُّكَ الْأَكْرَمُ * الَّذِي عَلَّمَ بِالْقَلَمِ * عَلَّمَ الْإِنْسَانَ مَا لَمْ يَعْلَمْ
"Recite, and your Lord is the most Generous, Who taught by the pen, Taught man that which he knew not." (Surat Al-Alaq [96]: 3-5). This knowledge can be used for good according to the Shari’i rulings, and for its owner, there is a reward. It can also be used for evil, and for its owner, there is a burden of sin, and its results in this case will be disastrous for humanity... What is observed in Western countries regarding the mixing of lineages, sperm banks, egg and embryo freezing... and trading in them... all of this makes one's skin crawl. Allah (swt) spoke the truth regarding these evil people:
لَهُمْ قُلُوبٌ لَا يَفْقَهُونَ بِهَا وَلَهُمْ أَعْيُنٌ لَا يُبْصِرُونَ بِهَا وَلَهُمْ آذَانٌ لَا يَسْمَعُونَ بِهَا أُولَئِكَ كَالْأَنْعَامِ بَلْ هُمْ أَضَلُّ أُولَئِكَ هُمُ الْغَافِلُونَ
"They have hearts with which they do not understand, they have eyes with which they do not see, and they have ears with which they do not hear. Those are like livestock; rather, they are more astray. It is they who are the heedless." (Surat Al-A'raf [7]: 179)
Allah (swt) has deposited sciences in this universe and taught man what he did not know. He placed in him the faculty of intellect, thinking, and reflection so that those who believe may increase in faith, and those who disbelieve may be thrown on their faces in disgrace in this world and a painful punishment in the Hereafter.
Your brother, Ata bin Khalil Abu al-Rashta
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