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Is it permissible, in Islamic law, to undergo "IVF" (in-vitro fertilization) treatment to have children?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

Children are among the blessings and adornments of this world, and a purpose of marriage. Righteous children are a treasure for their parents. Patience, seeking reward from Allah, and supplication are incumbent upon those afflicted with delayed childbearing, and permissible (Shar'i) methods can be pursued. The "IVF" method involves stimulating the ovaries to produce eggs, retrieving them, fertilizing them with the husband's sperm in a test tube, and then returning the selected embryos to the uterus. Its Islamic ruling is permissibility under conditions: urgent need, no exposure of 'awrah to men, the husband's masturbation is not permissible, no storage of eggs and sperm for later use and the necessity of immediate fertilization, the sperm and egg must be from the spouses, implantation must be in the wife's uterus, and trust in the physician. Sheikh Al-Uthaymeen mentioned the conditions for permissibility: that fertilization occurs with the husband's sperm through a permissible method, and the fertilized egg is placed only in the wife's uterus. The Sheikh was of the opinion that this door should be closed except in specific cases due to the risk of lineage confusion. The Fiqh Council permitted it out of necessity, with caution.

Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026

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