Unmarried Muslimah Wants Child by Artificial Insemination
Fatwa No: 84323

Question

I'm a 30-year-old Muslim woman. I have been Muslim for almost two years. Before Islam I was married and after my marriage I had a relationship with a man 15 years older than I. After that relationship ended, I started reading about Islam and made my Shahadah that Ramadan, Al-Hamdulillah. I have a little problem, I always wanted to be a mother, in the area that I am is very hard to find a good husband, the qualified ones are either married or getting married...I want to have a child, I want to raise him/her in Islam, read Qur'an and teach him all that I can about Islam, but unfortunately like I said before I don't seem to find anyone to get married to. I was honestly thinking about Artificial insemination...My intention is not to sin, but to have a son or a daughter for me to give him what I did not have...He or she will be born to a Muslim parent and live an Islamic life Insha-Allah. He or she will be able to know what I wish I knew when I was a child. I'm self-supportive of myself and I know it's going to be hard having a child on my own. I always wanted to be a mother, and now that I'm Muslim, I want to share the joy with my children, that I don't have yet. Please advise on what I should do (and yes I have tried the online marriage services).

Answer

All perfect praise be to Allah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allah, and that Muhammad is His slave and Messenger.

Dear Sister, you should be thankful to Allah that He guided you to Islam. In fact, it is the greatest blessing of Allah to anyone. So, one should Praise Allah as much as possible.

The life of this world is very short and limited; everyone leaves it sooner or later to see what Allah has prepared for him in the Hereafter. There will be eternal happiness or grief forever. We ask Allah to make us from among His blessed Slaves.

Therefore, you should have trust in Allah as He is able to do all things. You should always engage in supplicating Allah to provide you with a good husband and not despair; indeed Allah's Favor is very vast. He granted a child to Prophet Ibraheem (Abraham) and Prophet Zakariyyah while they were both very aged and both their wives were barren.

Becoming pregnant through artificial insemination is forbidden because the womb of a Muslim woman is only the liable place of her husband's sperm. Likewise, it is also not permissible for her to resort to artificial fertilization outside of her womb (i.e., test tube baby).

Dear sister, avoid the anger of Allah. You should be grateful to Allah and worship Him as much as possible for the blessing of Islam that He granted you.

Allah will relieve you from grief and provide you from sources you could never imagine.

Allah knows best.

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