Resolution No.(11) by the Board of Iftaa`, Research and Islamic Studies:  

“When is a Patient Considered Dead“               

Date: 8/11/1408 AH, 22/6/1988

The Board has received the following question: 

Does the death of a patient`s brain and the stopping of his/her heart and lungs make him/her dead? And what is the ruling of Sharia in this regard?

Answer: All success is due to Allah

The Board has deemed the following: From the view point of Sharia, a person is considered dead and the Sharia rulings of the dead apply to him/her if any of the following signs is present:

1- His/her heart has stopped beating and his/her breath has totally stopped, and the doctors ruled that he/she can`t be revived.

2- His/her brain functions have totally stopped, his/her brain started decomposing, and the expert medical specialists ruled that this brain is very dead and can`t be revived. In this case, he/she is considered dead although his/her heart is still beating by being on life support machines. In this case (2), it is permissible for the doctors to take these machines away, but they can`t rule that this person is dead unless they are absolutely certain of the following:

1- All conditions of brain death are present.

2- Excluding other reasons for comma.

3- The reflexes of the brain`s core have totally stopped.

4- Running all the necessary medical tests, which prove that breathing has stopped.

5- Electricity is static while performing brain scanning.

6- Running any necessary medical tests to ascertain that the brain is dead.

7- All these tests must be run in a fully equipped hospital.

Due to the religious, legal, medical, ethical and social considerations of this issue, a committee of expert medical specialists made of three members at least must do judging that a patient’s brain is dead, and that none of them has any kind of hostility with the patient in question.

The hour of death begins from the moment when the members of the previously mentioned committee put down their signature.

On its part, the Board stresses the need for addressing this critical matter in order to ensure that the conditions stipulated in this Fatwa are executed, and that violating them entails legal accountability. And Allah Knows Best.

The Board of Iftaa`
Chairman of the Board, Chief Justice, Mohammad Mohailan
The Grand Mufti of Jordan,: Izz al-Deen al-Tamimi, Vice Chairman of the Iftaa` Board
Dr. Nooh al-Qodat, Mufti of Jordanian Armed Forces “I have a reservation on the second sign  and see that a patient is considered alive so long as a sign of life is present in him/her.”

Dr.Ibrahim al-Keelani         Dr. Abdulsalam Abbadi

Dr. Abdulfatah Amr              Dr. Abdulhalim Ar-Ramahi

Dr. Mostafa Az-Zarqa           Dr. Mahmood al-Sartawi

Dr. Yasee Dradkeh                Dr. Abdulssalam al-Abbadi

Dr. Sa`eid Hijawi                 

  Dr. Mahmood Al-Awattli  "The same reservation"