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Resolutions of Iftaa' Board

Date Added : 25-01-2018

Resolution No.(2) by the Board of Iftaa`, Research and Islamic Studies: "Ruling on Donating Corneas"

Date: 11/7/1404 AH; 11/4/1984 AD

 

Question:

What is the ruling on people who donate their corneas, after their death, to the blind?

Answer:

All perfect praise be to Allah; and may His blessings and peace be upon Prophet Mohammad and upon all his Family and Companions.

Principles of Islamic law permit making use of the dead peoples` corneas, by transplanting them in the eyes of the blind, or those in danger of becoming blind, within the following conditions:

1- Confirming the death of the donor.

2- Doctors assuming that the transplanting of the corneas will most probably be a success.

3- The deceased had given permission before he/she died, or his heirs permitted it.

Amongst the evidences, derived from Islamic law, permitting this matter are:

First: Transplanting organs from the deceased to the living safeguards human beings, which is one of the aims of Islamic law (Sharia).

Second: Undoubtedly, blindness, or losing sight is a damage that befalls a human being, and preventing it is a necessity, in Islamic law, that allows transplanting corneas of the deceased in the eyes of the living, and this goes in line with the agreed upon jurisprudential rulings such as: "Necessity knows no prohibitions.", "Necessity is assessed by its degree, and “The milder of two harms is permissible in case of necessity."

Third: Transplanting the cornea of a deceased person in the eyes of a blind living person to regain his/her sight isn`t the kind of mutilation which has been forbidden by the Prophet (PBUH). He (PBUH) forbade the mutilation which humiliates the dead person and violates his/her honor. In light of Islamic Sharia, the dead person is honored by having donated his/her cornea since he/she will receive a recompense from Almighty Allah. Similarly, the living is honored by regaining his/her sight, enjoying this favor bestowed upon him/her from Almighty Allah and thanking Him for it.

Therefore, Muslim jurists permit cutting open the belly of a dead pregnant woman in order to save her fetus who is most probably alive. They also permit cutting open the belly of a deceased who had swallowed the money of another person. They interpreted this permission as follows: "Honoring the living and safeguarding him/her take precedence over safeguarding the dead from mutilation ." Almighty Allah Said in the Holy Quran (What means): "Nor are alike those that are living and those that are dead." [Fatir/22].

Fourth: Islamic Sharia encouraged people to seek treatment for the Prophet (PBUH) said: "Allah has sent down ailment and cure, and made a cure for each ailment, so seek treatment, but avoid forbidden cures." Transplanting corneas of the dead in the eyes of the living is an act of treatment.

Fifth: Donating corneas to the blind is from charity that Sharia encouraged giving to those in need, for a blind person`s need for sight is greater than a poor person`s need for money, and his (the blind) need for food and drink. Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) said in this regard: "If anyone relieves a Muslim believer from one of the hardships of this worldly life, Allah will relieve him of one of the hardships of the Day of Resurrection. If anyone makes it easy for the one who is indebted to him (while finding it difficult to repay), Allah will make it easy for him in this worldly life and in the Hereafter, and if anyone conceals the faults of a Muslim, Allah will conceal his faults in this world and in the Hereafter. Allah helps His slave as long as he helps his brother.” [Moslim]. And Allah Knows Best.

 

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Summarized Fatawaa

Is it permissible for the doctor to uncover the hair of a female patient out of necessity?

It is only permissible for him to do so when there is no female doctor, and he should examine the patient in the presence of one of her Mahrams(unmarriageable kin).

What is the ruling on combining prayers at the Musala (Place for prayer) of a shopping center because of heavy rain, knowing that some people come from outside that center?

Praise be to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds. If there is hardship in going back to that Musala at the time of Asr or Isha` prayers, then it is permissible to combine prayers (Duhr with Asr and Maghrib with Isha`). Kindly consider calling us. And Allah knows best.

I`m married to an American citizen who used to be married to a man in Mexico and filed for divorce there. It is worth pointing that in America she isn`t registered as married. When she arrived in Jordan, her lawyer called and told her that she got the divorce, and based on this we got married in Jordan. What is the ruling of Sharia on this?

All perfect praise be to Allah the Lord of The Worlds. May His blessings and peace be upon our Prophet Mohammad and upon all his family and companions.
 
You haven`t mentioned whether this woman has converted to Islam or not. If she had embraced Islam and three menstrual cycles passed, but her first husband hasn`t converted to Islam, then her relationship with him is over. If you married her after this (Passing of three menstrual cycles and first husband not having embraced Islam) then your marriage is valid. However, if she didn`t convert to Islam then your marriage contract with her is invalid and you have to wait until she gets divorced by her first husband and observes Iddah, which is three menstrual cycles. Afterwards, you can conclude the marriage contract. We pray that Allah doesn`t hold you to account for what you have done because you thought she was divorced. We recommend that you seek Allah`s forgiveness as much as you can and do righteous deeds. We also advise you to marry a Muslim woman to preserve your and your children`s religion since Almighty Allah Says (What means): "Wed not idolatresses till they believe…" [Al-Baqarah/ 221]. It is true that marrying a Kitabi (One who believes in a book of sacred scriptures and with whom a Muslim may marry in what is deemed a lawful marriage) is permissible, it involves great risks, as stated in the aforementioned verse. And Allah The Almighty Knows Best.
 

Are all the children of a suckling woman considered brothers to the strange child whom their mother had breastfed, or just to the one who had suckled with him?

All the children of the woman who had suckled a strange child are considered his/her brothers and sisters.

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