Surrogacy in Islam: Understanding Its Ethical and Legal Implications

Is Surrogacy Allowed in Islam?

Question: Some people have their children born through another woman’s womb instead of giving birth themselves. I saw on YouTube that some celebrities’ children are actually their own, but another woman gives birth to them. When I asked my friends how this is possible, they told me that it is not through adultery but rather through a doctor transferring the husband’s and wife’s sperm into another woman’s womb. Nowadays, science and technology have advanced a lot, and people are doing many amazing things through it. I don’t understand that when the husband’s and wife’s sperm is placed in another woman’s womb, is the child born from her blood and body really theirs, and will that child be considered theirs according to Shariah?

Answer: This scientific method was invented a long time ago, and some people use this method to have children. It is called surrogacy. The method involves taking the sperm of the husband and wife, fertilizing it, and then placing it in another woman’s womb. In reality, this is also a form of adultery and is forbidden (haram). It is forbidden for a Muslim to have children in this way.

As for lineage, there is a difference of opinion among scholars. Some say that the child belongs to the one whose sperm it is, while others say that the woman who carried and gave birth to the child is the mother.

However, the more important issue is that this method itself is forbidden. Anyone who has children in this way is committing a great sin in the eyes of Allah and will be punished for this sin in the Hereafter. (For more information, see my article “Surrogacy in the Light of Islam”).

 Sheikh Maqbool Ahmed Salafi

Jeddah Dawah Center, Hayy Al-Salamah – Saudi Arabia