Abstract
The discovery and invention of new medical applications may be considered blessings to humankind. However, some applications which might be the only remedy for certain diseases may contain ingredients or involve methods that are not in harmony with certain cultural and religious perspectives. These situations have raised important questions in medical ethics; are these applications completely prohibited according to these perspectives, and is there any room for mitigation? This paper explores the concept of darurah (necessity) and its deliberation in the formulation of fatwas on medicine issued by the National Fatwa Council of Malaysia. Darurah has explicitly been taken into consideration in the formulation of 14 out of 45 fatwas on medicine thus far, including one of the latest fatwas regarding uterine donation and transplantation. These fatwas are not only limited to the issues regarding the use of unlawful things as remedies. They include issues pertaining to organ transplantation, management of the corpse and treatment of brain dead patients. While deliberation of darurah in medicine may vary from issue to issue, darurah applies in a dire situation in which there are no lawful means to prevent harm that may be inflicted upon human life. Nevertheless, other aspects must also be taken into the deliberation. For example, consent must be obtained from the donor or his next of kin (after his death) to conduct a cadaveric organ transplantation.
Similar content being viewed by others
Notes
Ijtihad may be defined as an intellectual effort conducted by a qualified Muslim scholar to the best of his ability in order to deduce the ruling that does not have direct argument in the main references of shariah (Kamali 1996). These two references remain the main sources for the scholar, and any ruling resulting from ijtihad will always be in harmony with shariah.
Fatwa can be defined as an authoritative explanation of an Islamic perspective on certain issues given by a qualified Muslim scholar as a response to a question asked by an individual or a group of Muslims (al-Qaradawi 1988). Not all fatwas are made through ijtihad. Ijtihad would only be conducted to issue fatwas on certain issues such as permissibility of the new medical applications that do not have a clear argument in the main references of shariah (Dukhayyil 2007).
It is recommended that the readers refer to the previous studies that have been done to explain the objectives of shariah [for example Saifuddeen et al. (2014)], the Islamic concept of maslahah (benefit) and mafsadah (harm), as well as the Islamic principles of priority [for example Isa and Man (2014)] that are important in the ethical assessment of new medical applications.
The Conference of Rulers is made up of the nine Rulers and the four Governors of the States. According to the Federal Constitution of Malaysia, this conference has a number of critical roles, including matters related to Islam.
The Menomune vaccine was declared permissible in February 2014 after the council reviewed its latest formulation and production process.
References
al-Asqalani, A. A. H. (1987). Fath al-bari bi sharh sahih al-Imam Abi Abdillah Muhammad bin Ismail al-Bukhari. Cairo: Dar al-Bayan li al-Turath.
Albar, M. A. (1996). Islamic ethics of organ transplantation and brain death. Saudi Journal of Kidney Disease and Transplantation, 7, 109–114.
Albar, M. A. (2012). Organ transplantation: A Sunni Islamic perspective. Saudi Journal of Kidney Disease and Transplantation, 23(4), 817–822.
Alghrani, A. (2013). Womb transplantation and the interplay of Islam and the West. Zygon, 48(3), 618–634.
Ali, A. Y. (2007). The Holy Qur’an: Text and translation. Kuala Lumpur: Islamic Book Trust.
al-Qaradaghi, A. M., & Al-Muhammadi, A. Y. (2006). Fiqh al-qaḍaya al-ṭibbiyyah al-muaṣirah: Dirasah fiqhiyyah muqaranah muzawwadah bi qararat al-majamiʻ al-fiqhiyyah wa al-nadawat al-ilmiyyah. Beirut: Dar al-Bashair al-Islamiyyah.
al-Qaradawi, Y. (1980). al-Halal wa al-haram fi al-Islam (14th ed.). Cairo: Maktabah Wahbah.
Al-Qaradawi, Y. (1988). al-Fatwa: Baina al-indibat wa al-tasayyub. Cairo: Dar al-Sohwah.
al-Qaradawi, Y. (1997). al-Madkhal li dirasah al-shariah al-Islamiyyah. Cairo: Maktabah Wahbah.
al-Qattan, M. (1996). Tarikh al-tasyri’ al-Islami: Al-tasyri’ wa al-fiqh. Riyadh: Maktabah al-Ma’arif li al-Nashr wa al-Tawzi’.
Altawil, Z., & Arawi, T. (2015). Uterine transplantation: Ethical considerations within Middle Eastern perspectives. Developing World Bioethics,. doi:10.1111/dewb.12085.
al-Zahabi, A. A. M. (1990). al-Tibb al-nabawi. Beirut: Dar Ihya al-Ulum.
al-Zarqa, A. M. (1989). Syarḥ al-qawaid al-fiqhiyyah. Damascus: Dar al-Qalam.
al-Zuhail, W. (1985). Nazariyyah al-darurah al-shar’iyyah: Muqaranah ma’a al-qanun al-wadha’i. Beirut: Muassasah al-Risalah.
al-Jauziyyah, I. Q. (n. d). al-Tibb al-nabawi. Beirut: Dar al-Fikr.
al-Nawawi, M. A. Z. (n. d). al-Minhaj fi sharh sahih Muslim bin al-Hajjaj: Sharh al-Nawawi ala Muslim. Jordan: Bait al-Afkar al-Duwaliyyah.
al-Sijistani, A. D. S. (n.d). Sunan Abi Daud. Beirut: Maktabah al-Asriyyah.
Brännström, M., et al. (2014). Livebirth after uterus transplantation. The Lancet,. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(14)61728-1.
Campbell, C. S. (1998). Religion and the body in medical research. Kennedy Institute of Ethics Journal, 8(3), 275–305.
Caplan, A. L., Perry, C., Plante, L. A., Saloma, J., & Batzer, F. R. (2007). Moving the womb. Hastings Center Report, 37(3), 18–20.
Dorff, E. N. (2005). End-of-life: Jewish perspectives. The Lancet, 366, 862–865.
Dukhayyil, A. R. M. (2007). Al-Fatwa: Ahammiyyatuha, ḍawabiṭuha wa atharuha. Al-Madinah al-Munawwarah: Ja’izat Nayif ibn `Abd al-`Aziz Al-Sa`ud al-`Alamiyah lil-Al-Sunnahal-Nabawiyah wa-al-Dirasat al-Islamiyah al-Mu`asirah.
Eriksson, A., Burcharth, J., & Rosenberg, J. (2013). Animal derived products may conflict with religious patients’ beliefs. BMC Medical Ethics,. doi:10.1186/1472-6939-14-48.
Goila, A. K., & Pawar, M. (2009). The diagnosis of brain death. Indian Journal of Critical Care Medicine, 13(1), 7–11.
Ibn Manzur, M. M. (1968). Lisan al-Arab. Beirut: Dar al-Sadir.
International Islamic Fiqh Academy. (1986). Qarar raqam 17 (3/5) [1] bi sya’ni ajhizah al-in’as. http://www.fiqhacademy.org.sa/qrarat/3-5.htm. Accessed July 15, 2015.
International Islamic Fiqh Academy (1988). Qarar raqam 26 (4/1) [1] bi sya’ni intifa’ al-insan bi a’dha’ jism insan akhar hayya kana aw mayta. http://www.fiqhacademy.org.sa/qrarat/4-1.htm. Accessed September 12, 2014.
International Islamic Fiqh Academy. (1990). Qarar raqam 57 (6/8) [1] bi sya’ni zira’ah al-a’dha’ al-tanasuliyyah. http://www.fiqhacademy.org.sa/qrarat/6-8.htm. Accessed January 21, 2011.
Isa, N. M., Baharuddin, A., Man, S., & Chang, L. W. (2014). Bioethics in the Malay-Muslim Community in Malaysia: A study on the formulation of fatwa on genetically modified food by the National Fatwa Council. Developing World Bioethics,. doi:10.1111/dewb.12057.
Isa, N. M., & Man, S. (2014). “First Things First”: Application of Islamic principles of priority in the ethical assessment of genetically modified foods. Journal of Agricultural and Environmental Ethics, 27(5), 857–870.
Islamic Fiqh Academy. (1985). Bi sya’ni mawdu’ zira’ah al’a’dha’. http://www.themwl.org/Fatwa/default.aspx?d=1&cidi=99&l=AR&cid=12. Accessed July 6, 2015.
Islamic Fiqh Academy. (1987). Bi sya’ni mawdu’ husul al-wafat wa raf’u ajhizah al-in’as min jism al-insan. http://www.themwl.org/Fatwa/default.aspx?d=1&cidi=113&l=AR&cid=12 Accessed July 10, 2015.
Islamic Fiqh Academy. (1987). Bi sya’ni mawdu’ tasyrih jasas al-mawt. http://www.themwl.org/Fatwa/default.aspx?d=1&cidi=112&l=AR&cid=12. Accessed July 10, 2015.
Islamic Fiqh Academy. (2002a). Bi sya’ni al-adawiyyah al-musytamilah ‘ala al-kuhul wa al-mukhaddarat. http://www.themwl.org/Fatwa/default.aspx?d=1&cidi=150&l=AR&cid=12. Accessed July 15, 2015.
Islamic Fiqh Academy. (2002b). Bi sya’ni hukm isti’mal al-dawa’ al-musytamil ala syaiin min najs al-ain, ka al-khinzir wa lahu badil aqalla minhu faidah. http://www.themwl.org/Fatwa/default.aspx?d=1&cidi=153&l=AR&cid=12. Accessed July 15, 2015.
Kamali, M. H. (1996). Fiqh and adaptation to social reality. The Muslim World, 86, 62–84.
Malaysian Medical Council. (2006). Guideline of the Malaysian Medical Council: Brain death. http://www.mmc.gov.my/v1/docs/Brain%20Death.pdf. Accessed July 18, 2014.
Ministry of Health Malaysia & Department of Islamic Development Malaysia (JAKIM). (2011). Organ transplantation from the Islamic perspective. http://www.moh.gov.my/images/gallery/orga/edu/awam/Organ_TranIsmEN.pdf. Accessed July 6, 2015.
Oliver, M., Woywodt, A., Ahmed, A., & Saif, I. (2011). Organ donation, transplantation and religion. Nephrology, Dialysis, Transplantation, 26, 437–444.
Padela, A. I. (2010). Public health measures & individualized decision-making: The confluence of H1N1 vaccine and Islamic bioethics. Human Vaccines, 6(9), 754–756.
Padela, A. I., Furber, S. W., Kholwadia, M. A., & Moosa, E. (2014). Dire necessity and transformation: Entry-points for modern science in Islamic bioethical assessment of porcine products in vaccines. Bioethics, 28(2), 59–66.
Perju-Dumbrava, D., Aniţan, S., Siserman, S., Fulga, I., & Opincaru, I. (2010). Virtopsy—an alternative to the conventional autopsy. Romanian Journal of Legal Medicine, 53(1), 75–78.
Randhawa, G., Brocklehurst, A., Pateman, R., Kinsella, S., & Parry, V. (2010). Faith leaders united in their support for organ donation: Findings from the UK organ donation taskforce study. Transplant International, 23(2), 140–146.
Saifuddeen, S. M., Rahman, N. N. A., Isa, N. M., & Baharuddin, A. (2014). Maqasid al-Shariah as a complementary framework to conventional bioethics. Science and Engineering Ethics, 20(2), 317–327.
Salih Abdul Latif, A. R. (2003). al-Qawaid wa al-dawabit al-fiqhiyyah al-mutadhamminah li al-taysir. Madinah al-Munawwarah: al-Jamiah al-Islamiyyah bi al-Madinah al-Munawwarah.
Serour, G. I., & Dickens, B. M. (2001). Assisted reproduction developments in the Islamic world. International Journal of Gynecology and Obstetrics, 74, 187–193.
Van den Branden, S., & Broeckaert, B. (2010). Necessary interventions: Muslim views on pain and symptom control in English Sunni e-fatwas. Ethical perspectives-Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, 17(4), 626–651.
Yaacob, A. M. (1998). Perkembangan institusi fatwa di Malaysia. In A. M. Yaacob & W. R. Abd Majid (Eds.), Mufti dan fatwa di negara-negara ASEAN. Kuala Lumpur: Institut Kefahaman Islam Malaysia.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Isa, N.M. Darurah (Necessity) and Its Application in Islamic Ethical Assessment of Medical Applications: A Review on Malaysian Fatwa. Sci Eng Ethics 22, 1319–1332 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11948-015-9698-1
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11948-015-9698-1