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:

is pre-implantation genetic diagnosis (PGD)to determine the sex of your next child , even before pregnancy ,allowed in islam. in other words is it allowed for us as muslims to undergo genetic testing on our sperm or egg just to conceive say a son or a daughter. or do we as muslims leave that to Allah (SWT). this service is now being offered by some reproductive clinics here in america.

(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:

Determine sex of pre born child

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.

If the advancement in medicine and science has created a mechanism whereby one might be able to determine the sex of the unborn child; there is no harm or restriction in such determination.

What most of the scholars in Islam hold detestable is that man or machine indulges in sourcing ways to enforce the sex of the child to be born, and abandoning or aborting the child if the chosen sex is not conceived. But if one simply wishes to determine the sex of the pre-born child with the help of the technology, there is absolutely no harm.

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

Your Brother in Islam,

Burhan