Mu' meneen Brothers and Sisters,

As Salaam Aleikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh.  (May Allah's Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon all of you)

One of our brothers/sisters has asked this question:

As Salamu alaikum. I wanted to know if it is haram to donate eggs (known as ovum donation by medical professionals). I have seen many advertisements for it recently and they offer about $8,000 for this procedure which uassually results in successful fertilization of a female`s egg. It helps other couples out that may otherwise be infertile. I am currently under hard times and would like to use a portion of this money to move to the UK in sha Allah. I wanted to ask and find out before I volunteer for this procedure. The advice you give means a lot and is critical in my final decision. May Allah bless you and your family. Ma salama.  

(There may be some grammatical and spelling errors in the above statement. The forum does not change anything from questions, comments and statements received from our readers for circulation in confidentiality.)

Answer:

Donate eggs for money

In the name of Allah, We praise Him, seek His help and ask for His forgiveness. Whoever Allah guides none can misguide, and whoever He allows to fall astray, none can guide them aright. We bear witness that there is no one (no idol, no person, no grave, no prophet, no imam, no dai, nobody!) worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness that Muhammad (saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.

The Holy Quran and Sunnah are silent on the issue of donating organs, as these transplants were obviously made available only after the advancements of technology and modern medicine, which were not available at the time the Quran was being revealed. The scholars in Islam have debated on this issue in light of the principles of the Quran and Sunnah, and the majority of them are of the opinion that there is no harm if one donates one’s body organs to another so that some other believer may benefit from them; provided some conditions are met.

1. One cannot be forced to donate his body parts.
2. One may donate his body parts of his own free will.
3. One should not sell or get any material benefit for donating his body parts.

A few scholars though, have voiced their opinion saying that it is forbidden to donate one’s body parts to another. Their ‘daleel’ is that man is not the inherent owner of his own body, as the body was only given to man as a trust from Allah Subhanah, Who is the Real Owner of everything. Therefore it is not permissible to distribute something which does not belong to man in the first place.

The majority of the scholars however are of the opinion that if one does it of his own free will, and does not demand or get any material benefit from it, there is no harm in donating one’s body parts to a loved one after his/her death. And Allah Alone Knows Best.

But all the scholars of the major schools of thought in Islam are absolutely unanimous in their opinion that it is absolutely forbidden and impermissible in Islam to donate one’s sperm or eggs or any organ which helps another re-produce, because this directly effects the relations of blood, the issue of mehrams and non-mehrams, and the inheritance issues of Islam. Thus under absolutely no circumstances should the believers exchange or use or transplant the usage of any reproductive organs of another.

Your Question: I wanted to ask and find out before I volunteer for this procedure.

Beloved sister, because the organ of transplant concerned in your case is of a reproductive nature, and there is an exchange of material benefit involved, the believers should fear Allah and absolutely abstain from such an exchange.

Whatever written of Truth and benefit is only due to Allah’s Assistance and Guidance, and whatever of error is of me alone. Allah Alone Knows Best and He is the Only Source of Strength.

Your brother and well wisher in Islam,

Burhan