Sacred Citation & SourceHaving children is a blessing, and seeking treatment for infertility is permitted. The key value in this area is the protection of lineage (nasab): "Call them by their fathers' names, that is more just in the sight of Allah" (33:5). Most contemporary councils, including the International Islamic Fiqh Academy, permit in-vitro fertilisation when the sperm and the egg come from the husband and wife in a valid marriage and the embryo is returned to the wife, with care to avoid mixing of samples. They reject the use of sperm, eggs or embryos from a third person, and surrogacy by another woman, because these confuse lineage and the relationships of motherhood and fatherhood. Some Shia scholars take a different view on gamete donation, so this is a point on which communities differ. Questions on freezing embryos and on what is done with surplus embryos are discussed by councils and doctors, and a family should ask a qualified scholar. This lesson explains how scholars and councils reason; it is not a personal fatwa. For your own situation, ask a qualified scholar and your doctor.