Aslam

Praise be to Allah.It is not permitted to carry out operations on

men or women that will lead to complete sterility, such as cutting the vas deferens

(vasectomy) in men, or removing the ovaries or womb (hysterectomy) in women.

This is because cutting off all possibility of future offspring with no valid

reason is haraam, as it goes against what the Prophet SAWS (peace and blessings

of Allaah be upon him) wanted for his ummah, and is a source of shame and humiliation

for the Muslims. The more the Muslims increase in number, the more this is a

source of pride and status for them. Allaah has guaranteed to provide for His

slaves, as He says (interpretation of the meaning): “And no living,

moving creature is there on earth but its provision is due from Allaah. And

He knows its dweeling place and its deposit (in the uterus, grave, etc.). All

is in a Clear Book.” [Hood 11:6]. So cutting

off all possibility of future offspring for no good reason goes against this

teaching. However, if it is necessary to carry out an operation of the kind

mentioned – such as a case where the mother’s life will be in danger

if she becomes pregnant, or she is suffering from a disease in her womb which

it is feared could spread and kill her (such as cancer), so she has no choice

but to have her womb removed – then there is nothing wrong with carrying

out these operations in such cases of necessity. And Allaah knows best.

Fataawaa al-Mar’ah al-Muslimah (2/974); Fataawaa li’l-Shaykh

Ibn ‘Uthaymeen (2/975); Fataawaa al-Shaykh Muhammad ibn Ibraaheem.