Freezing Ovaries

Answered by Shaykh Irshaad Sedick

Question Summary

Are aging single women allowed to freeze their eggs to have children when they finally do get married?

Question Answer

In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful and Compassionate

May Allah guide every dimension of our lives to that which pleases Him.

Thank you for this interesting question. We pray that Allah guides all our single brothers and sisters to suitable spouses who would be the coolness of their eyes. Amin.

Freezing Ovaries

Freezing ovaries is undoubtedly a contemporary issue that requires details of the procedure from suitably qualified medical experts and knowledge of Sacred Law. After consulting with two medical experts, a Muslima Obstetrician and Gynaecologist and a General Practitioner who is also a competent scholar of Sacred Law, we conclude the following, and Allah knows best:

The procedure in itself does not contravene any of the Sacred Law rulings and is therefore conditionally permissible since ‘matters are permissible by default’ (al-asl fi al-ashya ibaha). [Zuhayli, Al-Qawa’id Al-Fiqhiyya wa Tatbiqatuha fi Al-Madhahib Al-Arba’a]

Condtions

It is conditionally permissible because there are extraneous factors to consider:

Exposing One’s Nakedness

Exposing one’s nakedness without the need (darura) to do so is impermissible. [Nawawi, Minhaj Al-Talibin]

For medical treatment, both looking and touching are permissible for medicinal bloodletting, cupping, and other medical procedures when there is a real need. A Muslim woman doctor must treat a Muslim woman needing medical attention, or if there is none, a non-Muslim woman doctor. If there is none, then a male Muslim doctor may treat her, while if none of the above are available, then a male non-Muslim doctor. If the doctor is of the opposite sex, her husband or an unmarriageable male relative must be present. It is obligatory to observe this order in selecting a doctor. [Keller, Reliance of the Traveler]

Based on the above condition, the problem is that a single woman acting pre-emotively has no real need (darura) or actual fertility issues and, therefore, would be exposing her nakedness for an arguably invalid reason. One could resolve this problem by scheduling the procedure to coincide with a gynecological examination that would qualify as a real need (darura), Allah knows best.

Husband’s Sperm Only

The eggs may only be fertilized using the (future) husband’s sperm and carried inside her womb and not a surrogate. If the sperm of anyone besides the husband of a woman enters her vaginal cavity, regardless of the method, this is tantamount to fornication of which Allah says: “And those who guard their chastity (i.e., private parts, from illegal sexual acts) Except their wives or (the slaves) that their right hands possess, for then, they are free from blame” [Qur’an 23:5-6]

Unused Eggs

If she does not get married, the eggs have to be left to expire naturally. One of the five primary objectives of Sacred Law (maqasid al-shari’a) is the “preservation of lineage (hifz al-nasb).” Therefore, one should take all the necessary precautions against the misappropriation of the frozen eggs during the woman’s lifetime and after she passes. She would have to ensure that the eggs are not donated or misused after she passes away by commissioning her family to discard them appropriately, should she pass away, and Allah knows best.

[Shaykh] Irshaad Sedick

Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Shaykh Irshaad Sedick was raised in South Africa in a traditional Muslim family. He graduated from Dar al-Ulum al-Arabiyyah al-Islamiyyah in Strand, Western Cape, under the guidance of the late world-renowned scholar, Shaykh Taha Karaan.

Shaykh Irshaad received Ijaza from many luminaries of the Islamic world, including Shaykh Taha Karaan, Mawlana Yusuf Karaan, and Mawlana Abdul Hafeez Makki, among others.

He is the author of the text “The Musnad of Ahmad ibn Hanbal: A Hujjah or not?” He has served as the Director of the Discover Islam Centre and Al Jeem Foundation. For the last five years till present, he has served as the Khatib of Masjid Ar-Rashideen, Mowbray, Cape Town.

Shaykh Irshaad has thirteen years of teaching experience at some of the leading Islamic institutes in Cape Town). He is currently building an Islamic online learning and media platform called ‘Isnad Academy’ and pursuing his Master’s degree in the study of Islam at the University of Johannesburg. He has a keen interest in healthy living and fitness.