A question was put to the Imams that if a woman had intercourse with her husband...

A question was put to the Imams that if a woman had intercourse with her husband, and then immediately she goes to her slave-girl and has lesbian relations with her in which semen of the husband flows from the woman into the vagina of the slave-girl and makes her pregnant. What happens in this case?

The Imams, after explaining the punishment which has to be imposed upon the two women, say that the child born from the slave-girl will be related to, and given in the custody of, the owner of the semen.[^4] This is a very good example of how our 'ulama' solve the modern day problem even though they use the same old sources of Islam ! 3. In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) The first two methods were for cases where the husband's sperm lacked in quality or quantity.

IVF is a technique used mostly for women whose fallopian tubes are blocked and cannot be remedied by surgical procedures. Also for those who fail to conceive despite having normal fallopian tubes and when all possible causes of infertility have been excluded. "In vitro" means a test-tube. In IVF, one or more ova are removed from the mother through a small syringe and placed in a test-tube. Then the sperm of the husband is used to fertilize the ovum.

After fertilization, the ovum is allowed to develop in the test-tube till the eight-cell stage. Then it is implanted into the mother's womb. IVF may also be used in cases where the husband's semen contains so few sperms that it becomes difficult for them to fertilize an ovum in the fallopian tube. By IVF, sperm of such a person is used to fertilize the ovum in a test-tube. As far as the shari'ah is concerned, in vitro fertilization is allowed as long as it be being done between a married couple.

4.Other Possibilities in Human Reproduction Discussed by Our 'Ulama' It will be of interest to know that our mujtahids are keeping themselves ahead of scientific technology in deciding the religious and ethical issues about human reproduction. While talking about artificial insemination, they also talk of the following possibilities: It is permissible to invent an artificially made ovum, fertilize it with a man's sperm and let the child develop in an artificial womb.

In this case, the child will be fully related to the father. At most, he or she will be a child without a biological mother. It is permissible to invent an artificially made sperm and inseminate it into a woman's womb. Such a child will be fully related to the mother.

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