“Availing oneself of the facility of human sperm bank is not permissible in Islam.” This is one of the 35 edicts pronounced by the All India Fiqhi conference organised by the Jamiatul Mominath, a girl’s seminary, here.
At the end of the three-day conference, the edict on sperm banks said banking on them was akin to prostitution and would invite the wrath of the almighty. Surrogacy and mothers’ milk bank too were unIslamic.
For Muslim women it was illegal to donate milk or make use of milk bank for their children.
The conference was attended by Islamic scholars and Muftis, both men and women. The organisers claimed that they hade deliberated on various issues facing the community and given their rulings in the light of the Quranic teachings and Islamic perspective.
The scholars termed ‘haram’ the change of gender and the act of cloning, since any interference with the creation of God was absolutely forbidden.
Similarly, placing the sperm of another man in a woman’s uterus was prohibited as it tinkered with the purity of lineage, they said.
The Muftis upheld a wife’s right to annul the marriage if her husband was suffering from AIDS or any dreaded disease. But the husband was not allowed to exercise the same right.
He would have to go for second marriage instead of divorcing the first wife.
Abortion on account of AIDS was disallowed after four months when the embryo becomes a living entity as per Islamic belief.
With regard to the present trend of giving divorce through email, Internet and mobile phone, the theologians said that such a divorce was valid if the person sending the message was identified as ‘husband’.
The Muftis further maintained that use of alcoholic medicines was not permissible except in case of dire necessity. They termed ‘whitener’ to be a mixture of alcohol and spirit and held its smelling for purpose of intoxication as ‘haram’.
Some of the ulema who gave these rulings were Mufti Mohd Moinuddin, Mufti Mohd Mastan Ali Quadir, Muftia Rizwana Zareen, Muftia Nazima Aziz and Muftia Atika Tayyaba.
