Fertility Issues and Nudity

Answered by Shaykh Abdul-Rahim Reasat

Question: Assalamu alaykum

Is it permissible for a man with fertility issues to allow a doctor to look at his private parts during a check-up? Would it be permissible to provide a semen sample for it to be analysed?

Answer: Wa ‘alaykum assalam wa rahmatullah wa barakatuh

I pray you are well.

Yes, it is permissible to expose your ‘awra to a doctor in such a situation. It is also permissible to provide a semen sample for it to be analysed to help with the fertility issues.

The Shariah recognises the need for such examinations, and considers them to be exceptions to the normal rules of exposing one’s ‘awra. However, the underlying principle here is ‘Necessity allows the bare minimum.’ (Zarqa; Sharh al Qawa’id al Fiqhiyya)

Semen is not considered to be something which others cannot be allowed to see. In this situation the sample could provide a means to curing the issue. Providing a sample is, therefore, permissible.

Whatever happens, remember that Allah has your ultimate benefit planned for you.

May Allah bless you with the best of both worlds.

Wassalam,
[Shaykh] Abdul-Rahim Reasat

Shaykh Abdul-Rahim Reasat began his studies in Arabic Grammar and Morphology in 2005. After graduating with a degree in English and History he moved to Damascus in 2007 to study and sit at the feet of some of the most erudite scholars of our time.

Over the following eighteen months he studied a traditional curriculum, studying with scholars such as Shaykh Adnan Darwish, Shaykh Abdurrahman Arjan, Shaykh Hussain Darwish and Shaykh Muhammad Darwish.

In late 2008 he moved to Amman, Jordan, where he continued his studies for the next six years, in Fiqh, Usul al-Fiqh, Theology, Hadith Methodology and Commentary, Shama’il, and Logic with teachers such as Dr Ashraf Muneeb, Dr Salah Abu’l-Hajj, Dr Hamza al-Bakri, Shaykh Ahmad Hasanat, Dr Mansur Abu Zina amongst others. He was also given two licences of mastery in the science of Qur’anic recital by Shakh Samir Jabr and Shaykh Yahya Qandil.

His true passion, however, arose in the presence of Shaykh Ali Hani, considered by many to be one of the foremost tafsir scholars of our time who provided him with the keys to the vast knowledge of the Quran. With Shaykh Ali, he was able to study an extensive curriculum of Qur’anic Sciences, Tafsir, Arabic Grammar, and Rhetoric.

When he finally left Jordan for the UK in 2014, Shaykh Ali gave him his distinct blessing and still recommends students in the UK to seek out Shaykh Abdul-Rahim for Quranic studies. Since his return he has trained as a therapist and has helped a number of people overcome emotional and psychosomatic issues. He is a keen promoter of emotional and mental health.