Question:
Modern medicine now has the capability to transplant the ovaries from one woman to another in order to make an infertile woman fertile. Is this that permitted in Islamic Law?
Answer:
Moving the ovaries from one woman to another is similar to moving the testicle from one man to another. As this will result in confusing or loss of the family’s genealogical lineage, and this might result in great harm, it becomes forbidden. Such a transplant will result in a change of genes. Since the marriage contract is between a specific man and a specific woman, the children must not originate from a different man or a different woman. Such an operation would be considered from Shaytan’s saying, “and most certainly I will bid them so that they shall alter Allah’s creation. “[4: 119] By changing the natural course of reproduction, they are playing with creation. If Allah created a man or woman infertile, that is His Will.
It is important to note that this case differs from the case of other transplanted organs, as this relates to reproduction and the familial relationship. If such a technique is allowed the marriage becomes a facade, with children originating from a womb other than that of the mother who bears them.
Shaykh Muhammad Hisham Kabbani
