Shīʿa Jurisprudence and Law on the Rules and Conditions of Artificial Insemination

Abstract

Artificial insemination is a substitute for natural fertilization. Insemination refers to is the combination of a man's sperm and a woman's egg, whether from a married couple or from strangers, to conceive and fertilize the ovum by any means other than intercourse. This combination takes place either inside or outside the uterus. In carrying out artificial insemination, precautions must be taken to avoid practices that are prohibited by religion and customary law, such as touching a non-mahram (unrelated) individuals. Insemination is a modern concept which is one of the achievements of modern medical science, and it was not known in the time of Prophet Muhammad (s) and the infallible leaders (a) in its current form. Therefore, research has been conducted to examine its various aspects from a jurisprudential and legal perspective. This article defines and discusses the conditions of artificial insemination, and examines its religious, legal, and medical proofs. The defining laws (i.e. laws that signify that something is either obligatory, or forbidden, or recommended, or reprehensible, or allowable) and the declaratory rules (such as inheritance and maintenance) are explained. The information was collected using library resources, and was analyzed in a descriptive-analytic way. All references are cited in-text according to the APA citation style.