Abstract
Juridical councils that render rulings on bioethical issues for Muslims living in non-Muslim lands may have limited familiarity with the foundational concept of wilāyah (authority and governance) and its implications for their authority and functioning. This paper delineates a Sunni Māturīdi perspective on the concept of wilāyah, describes how levels of wilāyah correlate to levels of responsibility and enforceability, and describes the implications of wilāyah when applied to Islamic bioethical decision making. Muslim health practitioners and patients living in the absence of political wilāyah may be tempted to apply pragmatic and context-focused approaches to address bioethical dilemmas without a full appreciation of significant implications in the afterlife. Academic wilāyah requires believers to seek authentication of uncertain actions through scholarly opinions. Fulfilling this academic obligation naturally leads to additional mutually beneficial discussions between Islamic scholars, healthcare professionals, and patients. Furthermore, an understanding derived from a Māturīdi perspective provides a framework for Islamic scholars and Muslim health care professionals to generate original contributions to mainstream bioethics and public policy discussions.
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Notes
There are secondary considerations, such as maṣlaḥah—public interest—that are also utilized when legally valid.
Shaykh al-Hind, the famous Ḥanafi and Deobandi scholar, also translates the words “ulu ‘l-amr” in this verse as those in authority; see [8, p. 126]. (The publication date for the Bayān al-Qur’an is not available, but this two-volume commentary of the Qur’an is world renowned).
This is evident from the fact that the Muslims who migrated to Ethiopia did not call upon the ruler and his subjects to abide by Sharīʿah law.
Often translated as “people of remembrance,” referring to those who know the Qur’an.
This is implicit in the afore-cited verse as the purpose of asking is not merely to satisfy one’s curiosity, but to follow the advice of the scholar.
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Arozullah, A.M., Kholwadia, M.A. Wilāyah (authority and governance) and its implications for Islamic bioethics: a Sunni Māturīdi perspective. Theor Med Bioeth 34, 95–104 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11017-013-9247-3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11017-013-9247-3