Bioethics is the philosophical study of the ethical controversies brought about by

advances in biology and medicine. Islamic bioethics are derived from a number of
religious sources in Islam. These emphasise the importance of preventing illness, but
when prevention fails it provides guidance for the patient and physician. The Quran
and Haddith play a significant role in laying out ethical guidelines for various medical
issues. These include euthanasia, organ donation and In Vitro Fertilisation (IVF).

Euthanasia is the termination of the life of the terminally ill patients at their request or
their interest. Islam is characterised as the religion of pure mercy, thus it is forbidden
to kill a life under any circumstance as it does not belong to the human but Allah. All
Islamic scholars regard active euthanasia as haram (forbidden) and both Sunni and
Shiite schools are united in the perspective. As outlined by the European Council for
Fatwa and Research euthanasia is the “merciful killed or facilitated death”. There are
number of types of euthanasia which include direct or deliberate, assisted suicide,
indirect or passive. Deliberate euthanasia is prohibited in Islam and consists of two
circumstances which involve; voluntary cases where the process is carried out as the
request of the patient. According to the Quran death is only reached upon the will of
Allah “When their time comes they cannot delay it for a single hour nor can they
bring it forward by a single hour” (16:61). An Involuntary case which is determined
by the physician or a relative, is akin to murder “If anyone kills a person.. it would be
as if he killed the whole people” (5:32). Assisted suicide is where the patient ends
their own life according to instructions given by another. This act is equal to suicide
and will result in the person being tortured in hell. Indirect euthanasia is the act of
giving increased doses of medicine that will ultimately kill them due to the high
dosage. This coincides with assisted euthanasia in Shari’ah Law and is not
permissible. The patient must not be killed to alleviate pain or from the loss of hope
of recovering, instead the endurance of pain will allow a path to heaven “Do not take
life which Allah made sacred, other than in the course of justice” (Quran 17:33).
Passive euthanasia is where a physician refuses to treat a patient or removes apparatus
that helps to prolong life through breathing, of one that is confirmed dead, or as
mentioned before stem brain dead. Some scholars do not agree with this form as the
scholar Ayatollah Khamanie considers all forms of euthanasia as haram. However this
is admissible in Islam as the physician is merely stopping the treatment and mitigating
negative effects of medication; scholar Sheikh Yusuf al-Qaradawi allowed the
withholding of treatment that is deemed useless. As put by the European council of
Fatwa and Research “keeping the patient in that state would waste vital resources”.
Upon the removal of life support organs are taken to support the life of other
individuals.

Organ donation is the act of giving up an organ to save the life of another human
being which is permitted in Islam. One of the basic teachings of Islam is to save
another life as Allah (God) greatly rewards those that do. In the Haddith the prophet
states “Whoever helps a brother in difficulty, God will help him through his
difficulties on the Day of Judgement”. Whilst this can be distressing for some
families it allows for the deceased or the consented donor to reinforce their
submission to Allah through committing halal (good deeds). The National Fatwa
Committee in the 1970’s declared organ transplant acceptable on judicial principles.
The first principle consists of “choosing the lesser of two evils if neither can be
avoided”. Meaning that saving a life is a greater necessity then preserving the
integrity of the body, despite inflicting injury to the body, thereby becoming the lesser
evil. The second principle is the rule of “necessities overrule prohibitions”, mutilating
the human body is against Islam. However organ donation is not the act of mutilation,
it is an act of charity and benevolence as reinforced by the Quran “Whoever saves the
life of one person, it would be as if he saved the life of mankind” (5:32). The 1995
Muslim Law Council issued a fatwa regarding the signs of death and declared that a
person is dead if the brain stem is dead, allowing trust worthy doctors to make this
decision. The fatwa also stated that the sale of organs is prohibited as it violates the
dignity and honour of the human, only donation is permitted.

In Vitro Fertilisation (IVF) is the reproductive technology in which an egg is removed

from a woman and joined with a sperm cell from a man in a test tube. Both
denominations of Islam share similar teachings of IVF except for the exception of a
3rd party donation. However the Sunni teachings influence the practice of IVF for
Shi’a Muslims. The first Sunni fatwa released in 1980 outlines that
 IVF is only allowed with the husbands sperm, artificial insemination
 Third part donation is not allowed, forming zina (adultery)
 Adoption of a 3rd part production is not allowed
 IVF after divorce is not allowed
 Frozen embryos must be used in marriage of husband
 Surrogacy is not allow
 Sperm banks are not allowed
It is haram to use the sperm of another man or the ovum another woman and
surrogacy in Sunni teachings. Surrogacy would result in marriage becoming
undermined as women lease their wombs, it violates the systematic planning of Allahs
process of procreation and married women may relieve themself from the agony of
child birth. The Quran states “He grants daughters to whom he wills and sons to
whom he wills” (42:49-50) thereby making it evident that sunni’s should use artificial
insemination however if it fails then they must accept it. If a married women has
artificial insemination of another man’s sperm then the child legally becomes her
husbands, the donor sperm has no right over the child. However in Shi’a teachings
third part donation is allowed, as stated in a 1999 fatwa. Shi’as believe in the practice
of a ‘muta marriage’ where the husband has a temporary form of marriage with the
third party women to avoid violation permitting polygamy. Embryo donation for
married couple to other are allowed in Iran, however some scholars in the Shi’a
denomination still do not agree. The donor child is still regarded as adopted and can
only inherit from its biological parents. The idea of gamete donation if described as a
“marriage saviour” for many Muslims, with Sunni’s going against their orthodoxy and
actively engaging in third party IVF. IVF has allowed many opportunities for infertile
couple to become parents, blessing them with the gift of a child.

The Islamic stance on bioethics has adapted over the years, however they still resort
to Islamic texts to find answers to these questions.