Islamic Law and Reproduction
摘要
This chapter deals with the position of Islamic law on various issues of human reproduction, particularly, contraception, and infertility. It discusses the different sources of Shari’aa and the roots of Islamic law. It also discusses how Islamic rulings on contemporary issues in human reproduction are derived from sources of Sharia’a. Islam has highly valued reproduction as it is responsible for the continuation of the human species on earth, which is one of the objectives of Islamic Sharia’a. Islamic laws encourage both contraception and treatment of infertility. Islam encourages breastfeeding for 2 years, which has a contraceptive benefit. A thorough review of the Holy Quran reveals no text (nuss) prohibiting the prevention of pregnancy or family planning (FP). However, several traditions of Prophet Mohamed (PBUH) indicated permission of coitus interruptus. By analogy, reversible methods of birth control available today are permitted. Improving access to family planning reduces poverty and hunger and averts 32% of all maternal deaths and nearly 10% of childhood deaths. There is unanimous agreement on the use of conventional methods of infertility treatment. When assisted reproductive technology (ART) was introduced in 1978, there was some concern about its use in the Islamic world for the treatment of infertility. Al Azhar and other Islamic institutes and scholars in the Muslim world have highlighted that the Sharia’a encourages marriage, family formation, and procreation. Thus, procreation within the framework of marriage by various methods including ART is encouraged. If ART is indicated as a necessary treatment for a married couple, it is permitted and encouraged as it preserves humankind. This chapter also deals with the position of Islam on contemporary practices in ART including sex selection, preimplantation genetic testing (PGT), and embryo research.