Investigating the Marital Status after the Death of the Man, in Order to Artificially Inseminate the Wife

It has been proved that artificial insemination of a woman with her husband's sperm during their lifetime is permissible in accordance with the Shari'a. However, is it also permissible for a woman to be artificially inseminated with her husband's sperm after his death? The answer to this question is based on determining the scope of the marriage; in other words, is the scope of marriage specific to the time of the couple's life and with the death of one, the marriage bond is terminated, or continues after death? Insemination is not allowed if the marriage bond is dissolved and it is allowed if it remains. This issue has not been discussed independently in jurisprudential books, but the ruling can be obtained from the narrations included in chapters such as taghsil and takfin of the wife. Using a descriptive-analytical method, this research studies the ijtihad of arguments and critique of opinions. The study finds that the evidence for the survival of the marital bond after the death of one of the spouses is stronger, so there is no problem in artificial insemination of the wife with the sperm of her deceased husband, unless based on the evidences that necessitate precaution of fruj and i'raz, it is ruled that the permission should not be generalized. Meanwhile, the requirement of the principle in the above-mentioned assumption, is the absence of a marital relationship and the presumed continuity of the marriage bond is also canceled.