Q. What is Islam’s law about surrogate mothers, as this is one of my options to overcome infertility?

A. As far as our understanding is concerned, the traditional alims, with all due respect to them, still think of reproduction as involving sexual fidelity. The matter you specify is not mentioned in the Qur'an and as such, is open to ijtihad, based on our understanding of modern medicine and ethics as there is no sexual impropriety involved here.

One assumes that the sperm/egg fusion will be under clinical conditions. You did not provide details about where the egg and sperm is coming from. Is the sperm and egg your husband’s and yours, or is sperm or egg (or both) coming from a third party? Either way, there is no problem with this as long as you do not hide the information from the child if the procedure is successful. Any children resulting from such procedures should be informed when they are mature enough.

There is a dimension to this qadiya that is worth mentioning: the letter does not indicate if you wish to experience motherhood simply out of your own desire, or to please someone else, or perhaps as a societal expectation. This is something that one ought to examine as it reduces you as a person depending on the circumstances. And God knows best.

Posted June 10, 2008