AOA
Is IUI (Intrauterine Insemination) treatment permissible in Islam?
Answer:
In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
As-salāmu ‘alaykum wa-rahmatullāhi wa-barakātuh.
IUI (Intrauterine Insemination) is usually one of the first fertility treatments offered. This treatment involves a laboratory technique to wash the sperm and then separate out rapidly-moving sperm from other less active sperm. The fast moving sperm are then inserted into the woman’s womb at the time of ovulation[1].
Al-Mighty Allah Ta`ala has prescribed the natural way of conceiving and accordingly Allah Ta`ala Alone is the Giver of children. Allah Ta’ala states:
يهب لمن يشاء إناثا ويهب لمن يشاء الذكور
Translation: He (Allah) grants female offspring to whomsoever he wishes and grants male offspring to whomsoever he wishes[2].
Moreover, it is not guaranteed that any method adopted to conceive, natural or artificial, will be successful. Many married women cannot conceive and many other married women conceive and face various challenges on the way forward.
The ideal situation is to conceive the natural way and place one`s trust in Allah Ta`ala[3]. However, if one adopts all possible means to conceive and, after exhausting all possible avenues, fails to conceive the natural way, there is a leeway to use the IUI (Intrauterine Insemination) technique[4] only when it involve the insemination of the husband`s sperm into his wife`s womb. It is not permissible to use donated sperms or a surrogated mother[5].
There are various risks involved in the IUI method. Among the medical risks, the worst could be the psychological effect. The chemical reaction in the brain could lead to mental imbalance and mood swings and intense turbulence in the marriage. This has been experienced by many spouses risking the breakup of the marriage.
It is our advice that before making a decision you consult an expert in the medical field and make Istikharah and seek Divine Guidance.
And Allah Ta’āla Knows Best
Hanif Yusuf Patel
Student Darul Iftaa
UK
Checked and Approved by,
Mufti Ebrahim Desai.
References
[1] http://www.hfea.gov.uk/IUI.html
http://www.babycentre.co.uk/a4092/fertility-treatment-intrauterine-insemination-iui
[2] [Al-Qur`an, Al Shura: 49]
[3] Artificial and unnatural insemination techniques otherwise are strongly condemn [Fatawa Mahmudiyyah, 5: 151 & 162; 12: 345]
[4] [Jadid, Fiqhi Masa`il, 5: 104-7, ZamZam Publishers]
[5] [Al-Qur`an, 23: 5; 23: 7]