In recent times, the media are very curious about the newborn baby of a certain class. The media promotes these individuals as 'stars'. Whenever a child is born in their house, the media becomes busy with varius coverages. Recently one such news came about a star couple. The woman claims that she has become a mother. However, according to the media, people have not noticed any signs of motherhood in her body lately. They provided an answer to this question. The woman said, she has experienced motherhood through surrogacy, by renting a womb. This has created curiosity among many people. Some also want to know the legal status of surrogacy in Islamic Shariah. However, that is not our main topic today. We discussed the 'Test Tube Baby' in the monthly ‘Alkawsar’ magazine 17 years ago. There was probably some discussion about renting a womb. There was also some shariah analysis on this subject.

After watching the news, I was surprised by this type of motherhood- no pregnancy, no delivery, no child-birth, then what kind of motherhood is this! I immediately remembered the verse from the Quran-

وَ وَصَّیْنَا  الْاِنْسَانَ بِوَالِدَیْهِ  اِحْسٰنًا  حَمَلَتْهُ  اُمُّهٗ كُرْهًا وَّ وَضَعَتْهُ كُرْهًا.

 ‘We have enjoined upon man to do good to his parents. His mother carried him with difficulty and delivered him with difficulty.’ -Surah Ahqaf (46): 15

I have read this verse many times after reading the news. Allah (swt) has frequently emphasized in the Qur'an the importance of treating one's parents well in this world. In this verse, Allah instructs us to take care of our mothers. As we all know, the mother is mentioned three times in Hadith, while the father is mentioned for the fourth time. Allah provides an indication in this verse about the respect and dignity owed to the mother, as well as the significance of showing kindness to her. Allah instructs us to be kind and considerate to both parents. Through this guidance, Allah magnifies the greatness of mothers in such a way that it becomes deeply ingrained in the mind of a child. Allah says-

حَمَلَتْهُ  اُمُّهٗ كُرْهًا وَّ وَضَعَتْهُ كُرْهًا

From the very beginning of life, a mother carries her child in her womb for nine months. Allah has used the word كُرْهًا  signifying that she conceives with great difficulty. وَضَعَتْهُ كُرْهًا she gives birth with great difficulty. Some might argue that nowadays many babies are born through caesarean section,  implying an easier delivery. But even in such cases, there is the pain of surgery. Despite the absence of traditional delivery pains, a mother must undergo an operation, resulting in a lifelong scar. The pain of pregnancy, childbirth, and caring cultivates a mother's affection for the child.  If these challenges were absent in pregnancy and childbirth, the unique bond formed between mother and child might not be as profound. The compassion people generally feel for any child could still exist, But the affection developed by pregnancy, childbirth and nurturing might not be replicated.

 We are now growing older. We have grandchildren. As I am the oldest of my siblings, I have been able to feel some of my mother's maternal pain when she conceived my younger siblings. Then I became a father. I got opportunity to feel the pain of motherhood more deeply. Then Allah made me a paternal and maternal grandfather. I also feel the pain of daughters and daughters-in-law. But this is just what can be realized from a distance. The real trouble is understood by the one who has become a mother. It seems to me that without this matter of pregnancy, childbirth, caring, and upbringing, it is not possible to cultivate that affection of motherhood.

Grandparents are very kind to grandchildren. Sometimes, when their parents rebuke them, we intervene and prevent their parents from scolding them too harshly. Yet, even after all this, when grandchildren excrete on our clothes, we call for their mothers, saying, ‘Where have you gone? The baby has dirtied the clothes. Come and take care of him. ' We can't clean the clothes ourselves. Mothers come and clean them. Grandparents cannot replace a mother's role. The mother has to do the primary responsibility for upbringing. She does not mind that the child's toilet-urine are dirtying her body  or clothes. The mother does not seem to notice any unpleasant odors.

Now, for many moms, this is the age of diapers. However, changing a diaper is not so easy.  Only mothers can clean the children happily. Moreover, there are innumerable instances where mothers cannot sleep at night successively and become ill for their children. Ufortunately, today's so-called modern society is attempting to undermine the beauty of motherhood. They are promoting a culture where money will make you enjoy motherhood. There is no shield, no sword, yet, his name is Nidhiram Sardar! The same thing is here, no womb, no delivery, no care, no upbringing - yet, her name is 'Mother'!                 

Why are things like surrogacy getting widespread day by day? We know about test tube babies, there are some people who have to resort to this medical procedure due to various reasons. In the regular process, if a couple has no child, then the necessary substances from the two are placed in the tube. After a certain time, it is placed in the mother's womb. It's an excuse. Shariah gives solutions in this regard. The conditions under which it will be permissible and those under which it will not be permissible are clearly mentioned. Do those who are currently resorting to this process have such excuses? They do not have any such excuse. In fact, they are fashionable mothers and fathers. They themselves do not want to suffer. They just want to leave an heir for their wealth. If there is no biological child, there is a practice of adopting children. However, adopted children are just that adopted. Rich individuals desire to have their own biological children. Hence, they use this method. It is a process of becoming the so-called parents shaped by capitalism.

Surrogacy costs from one lakh and twenty thousand dollars to two lakh dollars in America. If it is one lakh and twenty thousand dollars in America, it will be equivalent to crores of TK in Bangladesh. This huge amount of money tells us that it is not possible for ordinary people. It's just showing off money. As if they want to say, we have money, so, we can become mothers by renting the womb of the poor. When surrogarcy started in India, the cost was somewhat lower. When the Indian government wanted to ban it, the so-called elite society advocated in its favor. They make arguments for it, saying that this law is harmful for the poor because, one of their income sources will be stopped. Such is their nature. When we raise voice against their injustice, cosumerist mentality, they will say, the income of the poor will be stopped. In fact, in this way, they want to keep them poverty. When you raise voice to close the brothel, they will argue, what will the poor eat? How will they survive? Remember, this is what they say while what they keep in their minds is much more serious.

In reality, their concern is that if all of these activities are stopped, how will we continue our extravagant lifestyle? How will we persist in our indulgence? The thought of those so-called advocates of women's rights are that if that woman becomes pregnant, it will creat problems with their lustful desires, and the women's concerns are that, if we do not do this, our sources of earnings will be cut off. Hence, it is observed a culture of concealing everything about marriage and children in that world. What false happiness they have!

They themselves have created poverty and in order to sustain this poverty, they are again using poverty as an argument. If they did not hoard wealth unjustly, if they discussed the principles of Islam regarding poverty alleviation and the quitable distribution of resources, then a mother would not be compelled to rent her womb. Who desires to give birth to a child in her own womb and gives it to someone else? Even if someone has eight or ten children in poverty, they endure the struggles of nurturing them; however, they do not want to give their child to someone else.

 So, the society should abandon these unusual thoughts. Family system in the West was not destroyed overnight without any reason. Often, their children are not interested in funding or attending the funeral rituals of parents, let a lone taking care of them in old age. Why? There are many reasons for this. One significant reason is that parents did not properly care for and nurture their children. Therefore, it is crucial to take steps that none of the Muslims should run towards such odd and inferior thoughts and those who are already involved should refrain from them.

We should understand reality of a mother's affection, and the true meaning of being a mother. The real mother is the one who conceives,  gives birth, and cares for and nurtures the child. Such a mother sacrifices everything for her child and in return that child spends everything in the service of the mother. May Allah grant us all the correct understanding of the religion, and protect Muslim men and women from these illusory thoughts and consumerist mentality - Amin.

Translated by Enam Hasan Junaid