عربي
Home


Resolutions of Iftaa' Board


Resolutions of Iftaa' Board

Resolution No. (117): "The Avoidance of Patient Positioning on Life Support Equipment as regards Hopeless Cases"

Date Added : 28-10-2015

Resolution No.(117): "The Avoidance of Patient Positioning on Life Support Equipment as regards Hopless Cases"

Date: 18/9/1427 AH, corresponding to 11/10/2006 AD.

 

The board received the following question:

 

Is it permissible for a medical team not to place a cancer patient on life support equipment, or a respirator, or to carry out renal dialysis for him/her if it has confirmed with certainty that such procedures are hopeless?

 

Answer: All success is due to Allah

 

The Board is of the view that it is permissible not to position a cancer patient on life support equipment, or a respiratory system, or dialysis machine if the treating team has confirmed and is certain that such procedures are hopeless (1) This is if this decision is backed by a report of an expert medical team comprising from three specialized, honorable, and trustworthy doctors, at least.

This is because patient positioning on the above system, or administering direct renal dialysis doesn`t help in his recovery, and neither hasten nor delay his death, because death is in the Hands of Allah Alone.  Allah The Almighty Says (what means): "But never will Allah delay a soul when its time [of death] has come. And Allah is acquainted with what you do." [Al-Munafiqun/11]. 

 

Evidence on the permissibility of refraining from treating such hopeless cases is what happened to Umar Bin Al-Khattab (May Allah be pleased with him) when he was stabbed in the mosque.  A drink made from dates was brought to him (2), which he drank, but it came out of a wound in his abdomen, then milk was brought to him, which he drank, and it came out of a wound in his abdomen as well, and then the people knew that treating him was hopeless because he was considered dead, and so they gave up on him. This indicates that when a patient is in a state of clinical death, he takes the ruling of a dead person. And Allah Knows Best.

 

Iftaa` Board

Head of the Iftaa` Board

                  Chief Justice / Dr. Ahmed Muhammad Hilayil

             Sheikh Abd al-Kareem al-Khusaawinah    

       Dr. Yusuf Ali Ghaythan

             Sheikh Saeed Abd al-Hafiz al-Hijawi        

Dr. Wasif al-Bakri

     Dr. Yaser al-Shamali

 

 

 

(1) The patient himself has the right to abstain from treatment if he is content with what Allah has decreed for him (namely, death), and prefers patience to treatment, but it is not permissible for a doctor to withhold treatment from a patient under the pretext that it is useless, since life and death are in Allah's hand.

(2) Wine: is a sweetened water with some dates for the purpose of being tasteful similar to juice, but not an intoxicated wine.

 

Decision Number [ Previous | Next ]


Summarized Fatawaa

Is the niṣāb calculated based on the price of 21-karat gold, or 24-karat gold?

All praise is due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our master, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.
Zakāh is obligatory on cash and on gold designated for saving or for trade, provided the total reaches the niṣāb (minimum threshold liable for zakah), and a full ḥawl (lunar year) has elapsed over it. The niṣāb is (85) grams of 24-karat gold; for 21-karat gold, the niṣāb equals (97) grams; and for 18-karat gold, it equals (113) grams.
The relied-upon position is to calculate the zakāh based on the buying price [i.e., the price the gold merchant would pay the owner to purchase the gold from him] on the day the zakāh obligation is due.
The one paying zakāh may assess/calculate the niṣāb using any of the aforementioned gold karats [i.e., he may choose whichever karat standard he wishes for the purpose of the calculation]. And Allah, the Exalted, knows best.

Does using a respiratory device (oxygen) affect the validity of fasting?

Using an oxygen device does not affect the validity of fasting because oxygen is a gas with no physical substance.
However, if medicinal substances with physical particles are added to the oxygen, its use would break the fast, as it enters the body cavity through a natural passage.

What is the ruling on performing the standing (qiyām) and bowing (rukū‘) portions of the prayer normally, while performing the prostration (sujūd) seated due to knee pain?

All praise is due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our master, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.
If performing sujūd (prostration) in prayer causes the worshipper pain in the knees, then it is permissible for him to perform it through gesture (īmā') while seated, since Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, has lifted hardship from His servants. On the authority of ‘Imrān ibn Ḥuṣayn (raḍiyallāhu ‘anh), he said: "I suffered from hemorrhoids, so I asked the Prophet ﷺ about [how to perform] the prayer, and he said: 'Pray standing; if you are unable, then sitting; and if you are unable, then on your side.'" [Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī]
If the valid excuse later subsides, the worshipper is then obligated to perform the prayer with all its pillars and conditions fully observed — including standing, rukū‘ (bowing), and sujūd (prostration). And Allah, the Exalted, knows best.

Is it permissible for household members to pool money for the Udhiyah and gift it to one of them?

Praise be to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our master, the Messenger of Allah.
 
It is permissible for members of a household to pool their money together and gift the total amount to one individual among them so that he may offer the sacrifice (Udhiyah). In this case, the family members receive the reward for giving charity (Sadaqah), and the one performing the sacrifice includes them in the spiritual reward (Thawab).
 
Furthermore, slaughtering a single sheep (on one's own) is considered religously better than participating as one of seven people in the sacrifice of a cow or a camel. And Allah the Almighty knows best.

See More