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Resolutions of Iftaa' Board

Resolution No.(11): “When is a Patient Considered Dead“

Date Added : 02-11-2015

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" 

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Summarized Fatawaa

Is it permissible to agree with a butcher to purchase the meat of an animal after it has been slaughtered — for instance, by buying the meat of a sheep at a price determined by the weight of its meat following slaughter, at a fixed rate per kilogram? And what is the ruling if the animal is being purchased with the intention of it being an uḍḥiyyah (sacrificial offering)?

 
 
 
 
 

All praise is due to Allah, and may peace and blessings be upon our Master, the Messenger of Allah.
It is not permissible to sell livestock in the manner of pricing each kilogram of meat after slaughter at a fixed rate, because the meat within the animal prior to slaughter is unseen and unknown. This leads to jahālah (ignorance of the subject matter) and gharar (contractual uncertainty), both of which are among the invalidating factors in sales transactions.
However, it is permissible for the buyer to issue a promise to purchase the meat of the animal after slaughter at a specified price per kilogram, with the actual sale being concluded at the time of weighing the meat — at which point both the quantity of the goods and the total price become known. There is no Sharī'ah objection to this arrangement.
The jurists have stipulated that for a sale to be valid, both countervalues must be present and observable. Al-Khaṭīb al-Shirbīnī, may Allah have mercy upon him, states:
"It is valid to sell a heap of grain whose total measure is unknown to both contracting parties at a rate of one sā' per dirham. This sale is valid because the subject of sale is present and observable, and ignorance of the total price is not harmful since it is known in detail — and uncertainty is thereby lifted."— [Mughnī al-Muḥtāj, Vol.2/P.355]
As for the uḍḥiyyah, the 'aqīqah, and vowed blood sacrifices (al-dam al-mandhūr) — full ownership of the animal must be established prior to slaughter. It is not valid for such animals to be slaughtered while still in the ownership of the butcher. Rather, the animal must be purchased alive and then slaughtered with the intention of uḍḥiyyah or the like. And Allah Almighty knows best.

Is it permissible for the guardian to give Sadaqa (voluntary charity) from the money of the orphans?

It is impermissible for the guardian to donate from the money of the orphans because he is entrusted with the safekeeping of that money, and is prohibited from donating it.

Does undergoing surgery under anesthesia break the fast?

Anesthesia itself does not break the fast because anesthetic gases have no physical substance (jirm), and subcutaneous anesthesia injections do not reach the body cavity (jauf). However, this is on condition that the person is conscious at some point during the fasting hours:
● If they were awake at the beginning of the day, their fast remains valid.
● If they wake up even for a moment before sunset, their fast is also valid.
However, if the surgery involves the entry of foreign substances into the body cavity, their fast is invalidated, and they must make up for that day later.

What can a menstruating woman do on Laylat al-Qadr?

If a menstruating woman engages in remembrance of Allah (dhikr), supplication (du‘a), and sincere devotion, she has indeed observed Laylat al-Qadr. She may also listen to the Quran from audio sources such as the radio or television.

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