The opinion of Shaykh Al-Albani regarding the test-tube baby.
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The questioner : The questions are many, ... a question from a doctor.
The Shaykh: Go ahead.
The questioner : He has a specific question regarding the test-tube baby.
The Shaykh : ... .
The questioner : Peace be upon you and Allah's mercy.
The Shaykh : And upon you be peace, and the mercy of Allah and His blessings. Welcome, how do you do? What is the doctor’s specialty?
The questioner : My specialty is in the field of neurology. I am a professor at King Faisal University in the College of Medicine, and I teach the subject of neurology.
The Shaykh : May Allah reward you.
The questioner : And we are currently dealing with test-tube babies; perhaps you have heard something about that.
The Shaykh : It is necessary.
The questioner : And recently, this phenomenon was conveyed to us. Perhaps you will see this picture; this is a test-tube baby, and he is deformed. This happened to a woman... she underwent fertilization... experiments were conducted on the child, to the extent that the fertilized egg resulted in this... and this is his face... Naturally, artificial fertilization is currently open in the Islamic world, may Allah reward them with good. The Islamic Fiqh Academy issued a fatwa permitting it, on the condition that the fertilization be between the husband’s semen and the wife’s ovum. This is what happened. However, there are many interjections and many manipulations in this stage that lead to the mixing of lineages; such as errors in the test tubes; meaning, one person gives his semen and sends it to the laboratory, and an error occurs, so they take from a tube other than the other one; that is, manipulation occurs by the doctors themselves... on the basis that they proceed to make their experiments and work succeed. And we are currently in this situation, so we mentioned a large study, and we objected to the fatwa of the Islamic Fiqh Academy; that there are manipulations, and we proved this, and we proved this statement to the Islamic Fiqh Academy, and we clarified that there is bad intent, and error, and there is what is some manipulation of the genes, the hereditary traits. And we are now, these people are with us in the Kingdom and in the Islamic world... in these patients, these errors, so that it is with certainty... for people that we have great success and so on and so on, and we do not know what is happening. In addition to the fact that those who carry out this work in the laboratories are all non-Muslims; meaning, the doctor’s work is simple... he takes... and places it in the uterus, but those who conduct the experiments are the disbelievers, most of them are disbelievers, with us in the Kingdom and in the Islamic world. We want your opinion and your fatwa regarding this matter, so may Allah reward you with good?
The Shaykh : I want to clarify, or perhaps I heard something from others, how is the fertilization process carried out? Does this process not require the exposure of the private parts?
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh : So I do not know why this issue is not mentioned in this topic to be taken as a legal reason to prevent this artificial fertilization?
The questioner : Yes, it happens to the woman more than one exposure, not once or twice, but several times. And he said in this matterThe Shaykh : Abu Bakr al-Jazairi from this perspective, because the woman is exposed to exposure more than once, and because this is not a necessity, nor does it save her from death, nor does it do anything for her; so this artificial fertilization must be stopped from this perspective. The opinion ofThe Shaykh : Abu Bakr al-Jazairi.
The Shaykh : Yes, this is my opinion, and this is the truth.
The questioner : Therefore, we want your opinion.
The Shaykh : This is my opinion, but I wanted to be certain that the process necessarily involves the exposure of the private parts; whether it is the man or the woman; correct?
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh : Good; and therefore I am surprised at those who go to the permissibility of this operation. Even if we assume that they do not have these problems that you mentioned, considering you are a doctor and you know better than these jurists, but they know... that this operation requires the exposure of the private parts of the spouses, and exposure is forbidden except for necessity, and there is no necessity at all by which we would permit committing the clearly forbidden. And therefore, even if there were not what you pointed out of manipulation... and the handling of this matter by disbelievers, it would be sufficient for me that it requires exposing the spouses to the exposure of the private parts. I add to this something else; and that is that those who undertake this effort seem to have been afflicted with infertility, and therefore they try to overcome this affliction by following these twisted, unlawful paths. And at that time, it seems to me that it is not befitting for a Muslim to resort to such a means that contradicts submission to the divine decree and destiny. And it is known, by the description of the Noble Qur'an, the well-known verse, that Allah - Mighty and Majestic - :[Ash-Shuraa 42:50] , and thus this is as if he wants to rise above the will of Allah - Blessed and Exalted is He - and engage in means that do not please Allah - Mighty and Majestic - . And therefore, before you asked me this question, based on... it had occurred to me that the operation does not take place unless the spouses are exposed to the exposure of the private parts. And now I have increased in faith that this matter is not permissible, considering the known rulings of the Shari'ah, in addition to what you mentioned as a doctor, that the lineages of people can be mixed and people can be exploited for the benefit of those who have no children and... So I add my voice to the voice of Abu Bakr al-Jazairi, and I am certain that it is...
The questioner : And alsoThe Shaykh : Ibn Uthaymeen issued a fatwa regarding the impermissibility of that.
The Shaykh : May Allah bless him.
The questioner : ... there is a point, O Shaykh. Some jurists see that this is not from treatment, and because it is treatment, they permitted the matter of its performance. Naturally, they do not... how the woman is exposed, the woman is exposed, not the man, while the woman is the one who is exposed, she is exposed more than the man, more than once, because the attempts are several; it may not succeed until the fourth or fifth time, after her private parts are seen by everyone... including the man and the woman, it is not one, nor is it two, and more than four or five people perform this operation. Naturally, the one who is exposed to this matter is the woman, not the man.
The Shaykh : I said once, and I was asked this question, I do not imagine the permissibility of this operation unless one of the spouses is a doctor; do you understand me?
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh : I do not imagine the permissibility of this operation unless one of the spouses is a doctor, so one of them performs the operation between them, and that is all. I do not know if a person can imagine it or not?
The questioner : Yes, a person can imagine it.
The Shaykh : Yes, but it is rare.
The questioner : Rare; meaning, it is very difficult; because it is necessary that she is exposed, it is not that he performs... it requires another person; and he cannot perform all the functions that are performed by...
The Shaykh : I mean the exposure of the woman’s private parts, the doctor husband can do that, for example.
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh : As for the rest of the things, there is no danger except the aspect that you pointed out.
The questioner : It is the error; he makes a mistake in a second tube, or the manipulation that occurs.
The Shaykh : In any case, the matter is completely clear that it is not permissible.
The questioner : May Allah reward you with good...
The Shaykh : And to you.
The questioner : The conversation is with His EminenceThe Shaykh : Muhammad al-Albani.
The Shaykh : Muhammad al-Nasir al-Albani.
The questioner : Muhammad Nasir al-Din al-Albani, on Sunday, 9 Rajab 1410.
The Shaykh : May Allah reward you.
The Shaykh: Go ahead.
The questioner : He has a specific question regarding the test-tube baby.
The Shaykh : ... .
The questioner : Peace be upon you and Allah's mercy.
The Shaykh : And upon you be peace, and the mercy of Allah and His blessings. Welcome, how do you do? What is the doctor’s specialty?
The questioner : My specialty is in the field of neurology. I am a professor at King Faisal University in the College of Medicine, and I teach the subject of neurology.
The Shaykh : May Allah reward you.
The questioner : And we are currently dealing with test-tube babies; perhaps you have heard something about that.
The Shaykh : It is necessary.
The questioner : And recently, this phenomenon was conveyed to us. Perhaps you will see this picture; this is a test-tube baby, and he is deformed. This happened to a woman... she underwent fertilization... experiments were conducted on the child, to the extent that the fertilized egg resulted in this... and this is his face... Naturally, artificial fertilization is currently open in the Islamic world, may Allah reward them with good. The Islamic Fiqh Academy issued a fatwa permitting it, on the condition that the fertilization be between the husband’s semen and the wife’s ovum. This is what happened. However, there are many interjections and many manipulations in this stage that lead to the mixing of lineages; such as errors in the test tubes; meaning, one person gives his semen and sends it to the laboratory, and an error occurs, so they take from a tube other than the other one; that is, manipulation occurs by the doctors themselves... on the basis that they proceed to make their experiments and work succeed. And we are currently in this situation, so we mentioned a large study, and we objected to the fatwa of the Islamic Fiqh Academy; that there are manipulations, and we proved this, and we proved this statement to the Islamic Fiqh Academy, and we clarified that there is bad intent, and error, and there is what is some manipulation of the genes, the hereditary traits. And we are now, these people are with us in the Kingdom and in the Islamic world... in these patients, these errors, so that it is with certainty... for people that we have great success and so on and so on, and we do not know what is happening. In addition to the fact that those who carry out this work in the laboratories are all non-Muslims; meaning, the doctor’s work is simple... he takes... and places it in the uterus, but those who conduct the experiments are the disbelievers, most of them are disbelievers, with us in the Kingdom and in the Islamic world. We want your opinion and your fatwa regarding this matter, so may Allah reward you with good?
The Shaykh : I want to clarify, or perhaps I heard something from others, how is the fertilization process carried out? Does this process not require the exposure of the private parts?
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh : So I do not know why this issue is not mentioned in this topic to be taken as a legal reason to prevent this artificial fertilization?
The questioner : Yes, it happens to the woman more than one exposure, not once or twice, but several times. And he said in this matterThe Shaykh : Abu Bakr al-Jazairi from this perspective, because the woman is exposed to exposure more than once, and because this is not a necessity, nor does it save her from death, nor does it do anything for her; so this artificial fertilization must be stopped from this perspective. The opinion ofThe Shaykh : Abu Bakr al-Jazairi.
The Shaykh : Yes, this is my opinion, and this is the truth.
The questioner : Therefore, we want your opinion.
The Shaykh : This is my opinion, but I wanted to be certain that the process necessarily involves the exposure of the private parts; whether it is the man or the woman; correct?
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh : Good; and therefore I am surprised at those who go to the permissibility of this operation. Even if we assume that they do not have these problems that you mentioned, considering you are a doctor and you know better than these jurists, but they know... that this operation requires the exposure of the private parts of the spouses, and exposure is forbidden except for necessity, and there is no necessity at all by which we would permit committing the clearly forbidden. And therefore, even if there were not what you pointed out of manipulation... and the handling of this matter by disbelievers, it would be sufficient for me that it requires exposing the spouses to the exposure of the private parts. I add to this something else; and that is that those who undertake this effort seem to have been afflicted with infertility, and therefore they try to overcome this affliction by following these twisted, unlawful paths. And at that time, it seems to me that it is not befitting for a Muslim to resort to such a means that contradicts submission to the divine decree and destiny. And it is known, by the description of the Noble Qur'an, the well-known verse, that Allah - Mighty and Majestic - :
and He renders whom He wills barren
وَيَجْعَلُ مَنْ يَشَاءُ عَقِيمًاThe questioner : And alsoThe Shaykh : Ibn Uthaymeen issued a fatwa regarding the impermissibility of that.
The Shaykh : May Allah bless him.
The questioner : ... there is a point, O Shaykh. Some jurists see that this is not from treatment, and because it is treatment, they permitted the matter of its performance. Naturally, they do not... how the woman is exposed, the woman is exposed, not the man, while the woman is the one who is exposed, she is exposed more than the man, more than once, because the attempts are several; it may not succeed until the fourth or fifth time, after her private parts are seen by everyone... including the man and the woman, it is not one, nor is it two, and more than four or five people perform this operation. Naturally, the one who is exposed to this matter is the woman, not the man.
The Shaykh : I said once, and I was asked this question, I do not imagine the permissibility of this operation unless one of the spouses is a doctor; do you understand me?
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh : I do not imagine the permissibility of this operation unless one of the spouses is a doctor, so one of them performs the operation between them, and that is all. I do not know if a person can imagine it or not?
The questioner : Yes, a person can imagine it.
The Shaykh : Yes, but it is rare.
The questioner : Rare; meaning, it is very difficult; because it is necessary that she is exposed, it is not that he performs... it requires another person; and he cannot perform all the functions that are performed by...
The Shaykh : I mean the exposure of the woman’s private parts, the doctor husband can do that, for example.
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh : As for the rest of the things, there is no danger except the aspect that you pointed out.
The questioner : It is the error; he makes a mistake in a second tube, or the manipulation that occurs.
The Shaykh : In any case, the matter is completely clear that it is not permissible.
The questioner : May Allah reward you with good...
The Shaykh : And to you.
The questioner : The conversation is with His EminenceThe Shaykh : Muhammad al-Albani.
The Shaykh : Muhammad al-Nasir al-Albani.
The questioner : Muhammad Nasir al-Din al-Albani, on Sunday, 9 Rajab 1410.
The Shaykh : May Allah reward you.
Source
www.al-albany.com
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.