Question Summary:
Is mercy killing is allowed in Islam? (is Killing some some one due his/her prolong illness allowed in Islam? Why?) Kinddy reply May allah give u the reward. u ar doing a great… Question Detail:
Is mercy killing is allowed in Islam? (is Killing some some one due his/her prolong illness allowed in Islam? Why?) Kinddy reply May allah give u the reward. u ar doing a great service to the musilm world.
Answer :
In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful
Assalaamu `alaykum waRahmatullahi Wabarakatuh
Kindly find attached article from our medical research department.
And Allah knows best
Wassalaamu `alaykum
Mufti Ebrahim Desai
Darul Iftaa, Madrassah In'aamiyyah
In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful
Assalaamu `alaykum waRahmatullahi Wabarakatuh
EUTHANASIA
The belief in Allah's immutable decree is also revealed in the Shari’ah (Muslim law) where; not only the right to die is not recognized; the right to be assisted in dying, whether through "passive" or "active" means is also ruled out. It is important to clarify here that since the end of life decision is through divine decree, the law refuses to recognize individual right in that matter. However, it recognizes the possibility of arriving at a collective decision by those involved in providing the health care, including the attending physician and the family.
The juridical principle that states `No harm shall be inflicted or reciprocated in Islam' (la darar wa la dirar fi'l-islam) provides the justificatory force of the ruling to that effect. Moreover, there is no immunity for the physician who unilaterally and actively decides to assist a patient to die.
The right of individuals to end a life under certain circumstances is a critical issue in our era with many cases of terminally ill individuals where the person, his family, or the doctors need to make a decision related to medical treatments.
This controversy is looked upon in the light of three basic criteria:
1. We must do our best to maintain the trust given to us by Allah as he gave us life. We must do our best to maintain life.
2. Doing our best in maintaining life is within the limits of knowledge and financial resources.
3. We have to ensure that whatever we do does not introduce unbearable pain or suffering to the human in consideration.
In other words, if an affordable medical treatment is available, it must be administered to the patient provided it does not expose the patient to unusual pains and suffering. On the other hand, using devices or drugs aimed at ending a person's life is not allowed in Islam no matter how extreme the illness or suffering.
Emotional factors should not be used in making the treatment decision since belief in the Will and Mercy of Allah Ta'ala should provide the patient, his family, and his friends with the needed support. Muslims look upon such hardships as tests from Allah Ta’ala. Patience, persistence, and hope in Allah's Mercy not only are prescribed for the patient and his family and friends but also are handsomely rewarded by Allah Ta’ala.
Treatment decisions are typically discussed between the doctor and the immediate family members. The doctor is trusted to have the scientific medical knowledge. An Islamic rule which is relevant to state here is that as long as the efforts are sincere and the intentions are to abide by the Islamic rules and follow the commands of Allah, no one is held responsible for the results. No one is asked to do things beyond his true means and his true abilities.
In summary, knowing that every single one will die when Allah Ta'ala wills him to die, we all are asked to only do our best, within the Islamic regulations, in whatever treatment decisions we take.
A person is considered legally dead according to the Shari’ah when the soul has departed from the body. It is extremely difficult to pinpoint the exact moment this takes place.
Islam considers human life sacred. Life is to be protected and promoted as much as possible. It is neither permissible in Islam to kill another human being, nor even to kill one's own self (suicide). Killing is allowed only in a declared just war situation when the enemy comes to attack, then killing of the enemy is allowed for self-defense. The court of law may pass a death sentence against a person as a punishment for some crimes such as premeditated murder or other serious crimes. However, there is no provision in Islam for killing a person to reduce his pain or suffering from sickness.
Active euthanasia, an act of commission, i.e. taking some action that leads to death like a fatal injection. Passive euthanasia, an act of omission, i.e. letting a person dies by taking no action to maintain life. Passive euthanasia can be withholding or withdrawing water, food, drugs, medical or surgical procedures, resuscitation like CPR, and life support such as the respirator. The patient is then left to die from the underlying disease. Sometimes a distinction is made between normal nutrition and hydration on one hand and medical nutritional support involving intravenous and naso-gastric feeding on the other hand. Euthanasia can be by the patient or by the health care giver. Euthanasia can be voluntary when the patient takes the decision, non-voluntary when the decision is made by another person for an unconscious patient and involuntary when the decision is made contrary to the patient's wish.
The various types of euthanasia
Euthanasia comes in a number of different means:
1. Direct or deliberate euthanasia:
Active euthanasia, an act of commission, is taking some action that leads to death like a fatal injection. Passive euthanasia, an act of omission, is letting a person die by taking no action to maintain life.
This is done through giving the patient a lethal dose of curare or barbiturates or other derivatives of cyanide with the intention of killing. This has three cases:
a. The voluntary case, when the process is carried out at the pressing request of the patient who desires to die while he is fully conscious, or according to an already written testament.
b. The involuntary case, which is the case of a sane unconscious adult patient. The action to end his life is taken on the decision of the physician who thinks that killing him is for his or her own good, or according to the decision of the patient’s guardian or relatives who think that killing is in his or her best interests.
c. In the involuntary case where the patient is incapable of reasoning, whether a child or insane, the action is taken according to a decision made by the treating physician.
The prohibition of direct active euthanasia, the prohibition of suicide and assisting in bringing it about, for according to the Shari`ah killing a patient suffering from a terminal illness is not permissible for the physician, the patient’s family, or the patient himself. The patient, whatever his illness, and however sick he (or she) is, shall not be killed because of desperation and loss of hope in recovery or to prevent the transfer of the patient’s disease to others, and whoever commits the act of killing will be a deliberate killer. The Qur’an confirms without a shadow of a doubt that homicide is absolutely forbidden, as Allah Almighty says:
(And take not life, which Allah has made sacred, except by way of justice and law.)
(Al-An`am 6: 151)
We ordained for the Children of Israel that if anyone killed a person not in retaliation of murder or for spreading mischief in the land—it would be as if he killed all mankind.)
(Al-Ma`idah 5: 32)
2. Assisted suicide:
In this case the patient ends his (or her) life by himself according to instructions given to him by another person that provides him with the information and devices that help him to die.
It is unlawful for the patient to kill himself (or herself) and it is unlawful for somebody else to kill him (or her) even if he is given leave to kill him. The former case will be suicide and the latter will be aggression against the other by killing him, for his permission does not render the unlawful act lawful. The patient does not posses his own soul to permit somebody else to take it. The Prophetic hadith is known regarding the prohibition of suicide in general. The person who commits suicide will be tortured in the Hellfire in the same way he (or she) killed himself. If he believes that suicide is lawful, he will be a disbeliever and will abide in the Hellfire forever; otherwise, he will be severely punished.
3. Indirect euthanasia:
This is done through giving the patient doses of tranquilizers or sedatives to abate the severe pain. With time the doctor will have to increase the doses to control the pain. It is a procedure preferred by therapists, but large doses may lead to difficulties in breathing and dysfunction of the cardiac muscle, which will result in death that was intended though anticipated beforehand.
It is impermissible to kill the patient for fear that his (or her) disease may transfer through contagious infection, even if he is terminally sick (such as one suffering from AIDS). It is not permissible to kill him to prevent the spread of the disease, for there are many other means to do so, such as quarantine. On the contrary, the patient must be protected as a human being and be provided with the required food and medicine till his or her life comes to its natural end.
The Prophet (Sallallaaahu ‘alayki wassalam) is reported to have said, “Allah created no disease but created something to cure it.” (Reported by Al-Bukhari and Muslim)
In another hadith narrated in Tirmidhi:
“O Allah’s Servants! Seek treatment, for Allah does not create a disease but creates a treatment for it.”
The hadith in Muwatta Imaam Ahmad: “Allah created no disease but created something to cure it. Some may know it and some may not.” So these Prophetic hadiths give us hope of discovering cures for what we term today as ‘incurable’ diseases.
Indeed, we have witnessed the discovery of cures for what people considered at one time incurable diseases. Therefore, it is impermissible to kill the carrier of the disease because it is incurable, nor on the pretext of protecting the healthy people from it.
4. Passive euthanasia
This is achieved by refusing to treat the patient or interrupting the treatment necessary for his survival, including the removal of the apparatus of artificial breathing from the patient in the resuscitating room when it is confirmed that his (or her) brain is dead and there is no hope of restoring his consciousness.
As for facilitating death by withdrawing artificial resuscitating apparatus from the patient who is clinically regarded as “dead” or “practically dead” because of the damage to the brainstem or brain, with which human beings live and feel; if the action of the physician is merely stopping the treatment instruments, it will be no more than giving up the treatment, in which case his action is legal and permissible, bearing in mind that these instruments can preserve the apparent life of the patient - represented by breathing.
And Allah Ta'ala Knows Best
Wassalaamu `alaykum
Ml. Mohammad Ashhad bin Said
Correspondence Iftaa Student, Mauritius
Checked and Approved by:
Mufti Ebrahim Desai
Darul Iftaa, Madrassah In'aamiyyah
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