Open AccessBrain Death Islamic Perspective
Author(s) -
Fauzia Sajjad,
Rehan Shahid,
M. Basheer Ahmed,
Zain Saleh,
Ahsan Dr,
Sundus Ali,
Muhammad Akmal,
Kamran Ahmed Khan
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
pakistan journal of neurological surgery
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2409-5567
pISSN - 1995-8811
DOI - 10.36552/pjns.v24i1.395
Subject(s) - islam , discontinuation , brain dead , skepticism , dead body , sharia , perspective (graphical) , life support , medicine , psychology , law , psychiatry , political science , philosophy , epistemology , theology , autopsy , artificial intelligence , computer science , transplantation
Western world has well defined criteria for declaring the patient brain dead and discontinuation of life support treatment. However in the Muslim world these methods and practices are seen with skepticism as to their acceptance from Islamic and Sharia point op view, which in fact is incorrect and is due to lack of knowledge and absence of Institutional guidelines on this matter. Islamic law permits the withdrawal of futile treatment, including life support, from brain dead patients allowing death to take its natural course. “Do not resuscitate” is permitted in Islamic law in brain dead patients. Euthenesia is however unacceptable in Islam. Although debate continues about the details of brain death criteria within Islamic scholars, brain death is accepted as true death by the majority of Mulim scholars and there is concensus on discontinuation of life support treatment in brain dead patients.