Renting or using a woman’s womb to implant the fertilized egg of another woman dilutes and mixes blood lineages, so it is prohibited and impermissible in Islam. The well known Saudi scholar Sheikh `Abdullah Ibn Jibreen, stated the following: We say that this is something innovated and reprehensible. Undoubtedly this is haram, primarily because Almighty Allah has commanded us to guard our chastity, as He says:(And those who guard their chastity (i.e. private parts, from illegal sexual acts)Except from their wives or (the slaves) that their right hands possess, for then, they are free from blame) (Al-Mu’minun 23:5-6)
First, Almighty Allah has forbidden us to engage in sexual activity with anyone except our wives and female slaves, i.e., having intercourse with them (female slaves) on the basis of possession.
Second, Almighty Allah tells us that man is enjoined to protect both his lineage and his children. Undoubtedly womb-renting will lead to confusion of lineage and not knowing the identify of the father and mother of a child.
hence, confusion of lineage will lead to disputes between the woman from whom the egg was taken and the woman whose womb has been rented, and it will not be known to whom the child belongs. Even if we say that the child belongs to one of them, the matter remains uncertain. Hence, we advise women to keep away from such things.
Dr.`Abdul-`Azeem Al-Mat`ani, professor at Al-Azhar University’s Faculty of Arabic Language, added:
The Shari`ah forbids this innovation basing on the following:
The womb is a part of a woman’s private parts and the private parts (i.e., sexual relations) are only permissible through a Shari`ah contract whose conditions are fully met.
therefore, the womb is exclusively for the husband who is married to that woman according to a valid marriage contract, and no one else has any right to use it. If the woman, who rents out her womb, is not married to that husband, she is making both her private parts and her womb permissible to a man who is a stranger to her; she is not permissible for him and he is not permissible for her. Even if this is not full-scale illegitimate sexual intercourse, it is still definitely haram because it is enabling a man who is a stranger to her (i.e., not married to her) to put his semen in her womb.
Elaborating also on this issue, Prof. JamalAbul-Surur,Dean of Al-Azhar Medicine Faculty, said:
The fetus is nourished and is influenced by the womb and the environment that surrounds it. Bad habits, such as smoking or drinking alcohol, on the part of the surrogate mother may lead to deformity of the fetus. What would be the case if doctors discover some physical deformity in the fetus before birth and try to treat that by means of surgical intervention? Will the surrogate mother allow that? Will she put her life at risk for the sake of a child who does not belong to her?
Moreover, there are some women who become sick as a result of pregnancy, such as a sudden rise in blood sugar or blood pressure, as well as toxemia. Some of these ailments may take the life of the pregnant woman and other may require medical intervention that may require sacrificing the fetus in order to save the life of the pregnant woman. How would the surrogate mother and the woman who produced the egg work this out? How are we to deal with the ethical, legal, social and psychological problems that result from that?
Therefore, we can only reach one conclusion; the woman who produces the egg is the one who can carry the pregnancy. The child should be attributed to the marriage bed, and she should conceive, nourish her fetus and give birth to it. There is no truth in the saying that renting wombs is like hiring wet-nurses, for a wet-nurse breastfeeds a child whose lineage is known, and she can stop breastfeeding him whenever she wants or whenever the original mother wants, if she feels that there is any danger. Moreover, in the relationship between a husband and wife there is no room for any third party, regardless of who he or she is. It is not permissible to rent a womb or to donate sperm or eggs. Innumerable problems have arisen in Western societies because of such things.
In Britain an original mother gave twenty thousand pounds to a surrogate mother in return for renting her womb for nine months. When that time elapsed, the surrogate mother demanded many times that amount from the original mother in exchange for giving up possession of the child. If this door is opened it will bring innumerable legal and social problems.