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Will the following IVF procedures nullify the fast?

Answered as per Hanafi Fiqh by Darulfiqh.com

Question:

Hope you are well
I have a question in relation to undergoing ivf whilst fasting. I would like to know in steps 1,2,3,5 – whether they break fasting, and if so is kaffarah needed. Alternatively, if we miss a fast to undergo the mentioned steps – whether we can do Qadha for it.
1) As part of our fertility treatment, my wife needs to take injections. These injections make my wifes ovaries and follicles grow.
2) Thereafter, my wife will need most likely general ( or local anaesthetic ) to have her eggs extracted based on the above injections.
3) I will need to give a semen sample – this maybe me undergoing a surgical procedure whereby, they extract the sperm via a biopsy or needle. This may or may not – need anasthesia.
4) The dr’s will then use the sperm extract from the semen and directly implant into my wifes eggs – this is called ICSI. This fertilsation if Allah wills become embryos.
5) The embryos will be inserted into my wifes womb. Hopefully, Allah willing they cling to the uterus lining and results in pregnency.
Jazak Allah
Answer:
In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
As-salāmu ‘alaykum wa-rahmatullāhi wa-barakātuh.

1)    In principle, injections do not invalidate the fast.[1]

2)    There are usually two methods of administering general anaesthetics: 

  • liquid that is injected into your veins through a cannula (a thin, plastic tube that feeds into a vein, usually on the back of your hand)
  • gas that you breathe in through a mask[2]

The injection of a liquid into the veins at the back of the hand will not invalidate the fast.  However, the gas method will invalidate the fast[3]
3)    Semen samples are taken by a procedure called Testicular Biopsy.  There is more than one type of testicular biopsy, the various biopsy procedures include:

  • Needle biopsy – in which a needle is used to remove a tiny sample of testicular tissue.
  • Biopsy with small scissors – in which, as the name suggest, a very small pair of scissors are used to cut out a small piece of tissue from the testicles
  • Open biopsy – which is more invasive than the other two biopsy procedures mentioned above. A cut is made in the skin of the scrotum under general anaesthetic, and tissue is removed. This procedure is usually reserved for patients in whom testicular cancer is suspected.[4]

The above procedures of testicular biopsy will not invalidate the fast.   

4)    Intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) is a procedure executed under a microscope using various instruments.  This will not have a legal Shar’ī effect on the validity of the fast. 

5)    The vagina was classically referred to as an orifice of consequence (an opening which has the potential to break the fast).  It was assumed that the vagina had a direct passage to the digestive system.  However, contemporary scholars in light of all the advancements in modern science and anatomy, have ruled that the vagina is not an orifice of consequence as the vagina does not have a direct passage to the digestive system. 

Therefore, the insertion of embryos into the womb via the vagina will not invalidate the fast.

And Allah Ta’ālā Knows Best
Mufti Faraz Adam,
www.darulfiqh.com
 


[1]  فلا يحصل الفطر بما وصل إلى داخل الجسم في غير الجوف المعتبر، وهو المعدة والحلق والأمعاء(الجامع في أحكام الصيام والاعتكاف والحج والعمرة ص 57 طبعة دار الجنان)

[2]  وَالدَّاخِلُ مِنْ الْمَسَامِّ لَا مِنْ الْمَسَالِكِ لَا يُنَافِيهِ (تبيين الحقائق ج 1 ص 323 إمدادية)

(قَوْلُهُ: وَإِنْ وَجَدَ طَعْمَهُ فِي حَلْقِهِ) أَيْ طَعْمَ الْكُحْلِ أَوْ الدُّهْنِ كَمَا فِي السِّرَاجِ وَكَذَا لَوْ بَزَقَ فَوَجَدَ لَوْنَهُ فِي الْأَصَحِّ بَحْرٌ قَالَ فِي النَّهْرِ؛ لِأَنَّ الْمَوْجُودَ فِي حَلْقِهِ أَثَرٌ دَاخِلٌ مِنْ الْمَسَامِّ الَّذِي هُوَ خَلَلُ الْبَدَنِ وَالْمُفْطِرُ إنَّمَا هُوَ الدَّاخِلُ مِنْ الْمَنَافِذِ (رد المحتار ج 2 ص 395 أيج أيم سعيد)

 

[2] http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/Anaesthetic-general/Pages/Definition.aspx (last accessed 7/3/2013)
 

[3]  “أو دخل حلقه دخان بلا صنعه” لعدم قدرته على الامتناع عنه فصار كبلل بقي في فمه بعد المضمضة لدخوله من الأنف إذا أطبق الفم وفيما ذكرنا إشارة إلى أنه من أدخل بصنعه دخانا حلقه بأي صورة كان الإدخال فسد صومه سواء كان دخان عنبرا أو عودا أو غيرهما حتى من تبخر ببخور فآواه إلى نفسه واشتم دخانه ذاكرا لصومه أفطر لإمكان التحرز عن إدخال المفطر جوفه ودماغه وهذا مما يغفل عنه كثير من الناس فلينبه له ولا يتوهم أنه كشم الورود ومائه والمسك لوضوح الفرق بين هواء تطيب بريح المسك وشبهه وبين جوهر دخان وصل إلى جوفه بفعله (حاشية الطحطاوي على مراقي الفلاح شرح نور الإيضاح (ص: 660)

[4] http://www.fertilityfactor.com/testicular-biopsy.html (last accessed 7/3/2013)

This answer was collected from DarulFiqh.com, which is operated under the supervision of Mufti Faraz ibn Adam al-Mahmudi, the student of world renowned Mufti Ebrahim Desai (Hafizahullah).

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