INTRODUCTION

Since the birth of the first child to be born as a result of In-Vitro fertilization and embryo transfer (IVF/ET) Louise Brown by Steptoe and Edwards in England in 1978(1), there has been an extensive ethical debate on the technique all over the world. As the procedure could be replicated in so many centers all over the world specially in Muslim countries(2, 3, 4), societies have recognized that human embryos had become available to the hands of scientists in the IVF-ET laboratories widely distributed today in almost every country in the world. This availability of human embryos in the laboratories made human embryo research an existing reality in the scientific research field.

As much as human embryo research created scientific interest to those involved in this field, it invited a greater interest and concern by the public. This is certainly due to the fact that although human embryo research is a purely scientific development, yet it involves human reproduction and transfer of genetic material. Consequently, every member of the society feels that he/she is concerned with what happens of progress in this field. Many societies even feel that they are not only concerned with what happens in this field, but they ought to monitor, watch carefully, regulate and even sometimes restrict or totally ban such development. The reasons for such reactions could be attributed to the fear of many socieities that the glory of scientific achievements and progress could very well be a driving force to some scientists in some parts of the world to use the available embryos for uncontrolled research projects. In the absence of very tight ethical regulations, the ethical values of the societies may be violated for the sake of scientific achievement. No doubt the reaction of different societies differs according to the social, cultural, religious, philosophical and political background of each society. It would, therefore, be appropriate to discuss, in a document, ethical issues involved in human embryo research from an Islamic perspective to include a brief background on how rulings are derived in Islamic Sharia on matters not mentioned in its primary sources namely the Holy Quran and Sunna. It would also be appropriate to briefly discuss the basis of formulation of ethical arguments in the Western Societies on matters which evolve as a result of scientific development and innovation. These two backgrounds would certainly help the reader to understand the stance of Muslims from such scientific innovations. No doubt Muslims are for the progress of scientific development for the benefit of humanity. However, these scientific development must follow certain guidelines which ensure that the human being whether at an individual level or at national and international level would not come to harm or suffer unforeseen risks from these development. Science without control ruins the soul.