We think that there are two main issues that should be discussed:
- Test tube babies from an Islamic perspective.
- Using the husband’s frozen sperm.
Regarding the first issue, we we would like to cite for you the following by Sheikh `Atiyyah Saqr, former head of Al-Azhar Fatwa Committee, in which he states:
“Test-tube babies are the ones conceived through other means than direct sexual intercourse between male and female; they are medically called test-tube babies for they are conceived through artificial insemination first practiced on human beings in 1977 by John Hunther, a well-reputed British doctor.
as for Islam’s stand on this issue, if the process is done by inseminating the husband’s sperm and the wife’s ovum, and fertilization is done directly inside the woman’s uterus, or done outside, then moved later into her uterus for continuation of reproduction process, there is nothing wrong in that. However, this is on condition that extreme caution is displayed during the insemination process to make sure that nothing alien to both husband and wife is mixed with it.
this indicates that artificial insemination carried out with a semen and an ovum obtained from other partners or planted in another woman’s uterus, is completely forbidden. The reason is that such act is tantamount to unlawful sexual intercourse Zina, though it falls short of incurring a prescribed penalty, for it takes another shape from a direct physical contact between male and female.
As for the other issue, the fatwa issued by the European Council for Fatwa and Research states:
“It is permissible for the wife to use the sperm of her husband for fertilization unless she is divorced or the husband dies.
In case the wife is separated from her husband (i.e. by divorce or death), it’s permissible for her then to get rid of the frozen sperm or its remnants.”
Moreover, Sheikh `Abdul-Khaleq Hassan Ash-Shareef, adds:
“It is not permissible for the woman to use the frozen sperm of her husband after divorce or after his death. The issue is permissible only when both the husband and wife are living together (i.e. they are not divorced) and both of them are alive.“
Thus, Islam permits the husband and wife who are incapable of having a baby through normal fertilization to resort to In-Vitro Fertilization with certain conditions and regulations. However, the wife is not allowed to resort to using her husband’s frozen sperm after his death or after divorce.