Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

A Comparative Analysis on the Perspective of Sunni Theology and Hindu Tradition Regarding Euthanasia: The Impact of Belief in Resurrection and Reincarnation

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
Journal of Religion and Health Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The aim of this paper was to study the viewpoints of Sunni Islam and Hinduism on euthanasia to explore whether the Sunni tradition’s belief in the hereafter and the Hindu culture’s faith in reincarnation have any impact on these two religions’ positions on the rejection or justification of euthanasia. Examining these two theologies’ approaches demonstrated that Sunni Islam considers euthanasia suicide/homicide in light of the belief in the hereafter, whereas Hinduism can justify euthanasia through Gandhi’s interpretation of ahimsa, on the condition that all methods to alleviate the patient’s pain and suffering have been exhausted.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Similar content being viewed by others

Notes

  1. Jonathan E. Brockopp, “Taking Life and Saving Life: The Islamic Context,” in Islamic Ethics of Life: Abortion, War, and Euthanasia, ed. Jonathan E. Brockopp (Columbia: University of South Carolina Press, 2003), 1.

  2. Abdullah Saeed, “Trends in Contemporary Islam: A Preliminary Attempt at a Classification,” the Muslim World 97 (2007): 396.

  3. Abdulaziz Sachedina, “Islamic Ethics: Differentiations,” in the Blackwell Companion to Religious Ethics, ed. William Schweiker (Malden: Blackwell Publishing, 2005), 258.

  4. Abu Ḥamid Muḥammad ibn Muḥammad al-Ghazali, el-Mustasfa mim Ilmi Usul, trans. Yunus Apaydın (Kayseri: Rey Yayıncılık, 1994), 147.

    Jonathan E. Brockopp, “Taking Life and Saving Life: The Islamic Context,” in Islamic Ethics of Life: Abortion, War, and Euthanasia, ed. Jonathan E. Brockopp (Columbia: University of South Carolina Press, 2003), 14.

    Abu Ḥamid Muḥammad ibn Muḥammad al-Ghazali, O Son, trans. Lutfu Dogan (Istanbul: Bedir Yayınları, 1969), 3, 6.

  5. Thomas Eich and Jonathan E. Brockopp, “Introduction: Medical Ethics and Muslim Perspective,” in Muslim Medical Ethics, ed. Jonathan E. Brockopp and Thomas Eich (Columbia: University of South Carolina Press, 2008), 3.

  6. Ebrahim Moosa, “Muslim Ethics?” in the Blackwell Companion to Religious Ethics, ed. William Schweiker (Malden: Blackwell Publishing, 2005), 239.

  7. Abu Ḥamid Muḥammad ibn Muḥammad al-Ghazali, el-Mustasfa mim Ilmi Usul, trans. Yunus Apaydın (Kayseri: Rey Yayıncılık, 1994), 332–333.

  8. The Qur’an, (33:71), accessed September 28, 2016, https://quran.com/33.

  9. The Qur’an, (51:56), accessed September 28, 2016, https://quran.com/51.

    The Qur’an, (67:2), accessed September 28, 2016, https://quran.com/67.

  10. Frederick Mathewson Denny, “Muslim Ethical Trajectories in the Contemporary Period,” in the Blackwell Companion to Religious Ethics, ed. William Schweiker (Malden: Blackwell Publishing, 2005), 270.

  11. Abu Ḥamid Muḥammad ibn Muḥammad al-Ghazali, O Son, trans. Lutfu Dogan (Istanbul: Bedir Yayınları, 1969), 24, 18.

  12. Abu Ḥamid Muḥammad ibn Muḥammad al-Ghazali, el-Mustasfa mim Ilmi Usul, trans. Yunus Apaydın (Kayseri: Rey Yayıncılık, 1994), 333–343.

  13. Sherine Hamdy, “Rethinking Islamic Legal Ethics in Egyp’s Organ Transplant Debate,” in Muslim Medical Ethics, ed. Jonathan E. Brockopp and Thomas Eich (Columbia: University of South Carolina Press, 2008), 80–84.

  14. Shabbir M. H. Alibhai and Michael Gordon, “A Comparative Analysis of Islamic and Jewish End-of-Life Ethics: A Case-Based Approach,” in Muslim Medical Ethics, ed. Jonathan E. Brockopp and Thomas Eich (Columbia: University of South Carolina Press, 2008), 184.

  15. Stef Van Den Brandan and Bert Broeckaert, “Medication and God at Interplay,” in Muslim Medical Ethics, ed. Jonathan E. Brockopp and Thomas Eich (Columbia: University of South Carolina Press, 2008), 196.

  16. Sherine Hamdy, “Rethinking Islamic Legal Ethics in Egyp’s Organ Transplant Debate,” in Muslim Medical Ethics, ed. Jonathan E. Brockopp and Thomas Eich (Columbia: University of South Carolina Press, 2008), 85.

  17. Abdullah Saeed, “Trends in Contemporary Islam: A Preliminary Attempt at a Classification,” the Muslim World 97 (2007): 396.

    Jonathan E. Brockopp, “Taking Life and Saving Life: The Islamic Context,” in Islamic Ethics of Life: Abortion, War, and Euthanasia, ed. Jonathan E. Brockopp (Columbia: University of South Carolina Press, 2003), 1–10.

  18. Deepak Sarma, “”Hindu” Bioethics?,” Religions and Cultures of East and West: Perspectives on Bioethics (2008): 52.

  19. Will Sweetman, “Hinduism: An Implicit or Explicit Religion?,” Implicit Religion 5, no. 1 (2002): 11–16.

  20. R. N. Dandekar, “Hinduism,” in Historia Religionum: Handbook for the History of Religions, Volume II-Religions of the Present, ed. C. Joucu Bleeker and Geo Widengren (Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1971), 237.

  21. Kim Knott, Hinduism: A very Short Introduction (New York: Oxford University Press, 1998), 111.

  22. S. S. Rama Rao Pappu, “Hindu Ethics,” in Contemporary Hinduism: Ritual, Culture, and Practice, ed. Robin Rinehart (Santa Barbara; Denver: ABC-CLIO, 2004), 158.

  23. Swami Bhaskarananda, The Essentials of Hinduism: A comprehensive View of the World’s Oldest Religion (Chennai: Sri Ramakrishma Math, 1998), 7.

  24. S. S. Rama Rao Pappu, “Hindu Ethics,” in Contemporary Hinduism: Ritual, Culture, and Practice, ed. Robin Rinehart (Santa Barbara; Denver: ABC-CLIO, 2004), 158.

  25. Constance A. Jones and James D. Ryan, Encyclopedia of Hinduism (New York: Facts On File, 2007), 150.

    Herbert Ellinger, Hinduism (Harrisburgh: Trinity Press International, 1996), 5.

    Swami Bhaskarananda, The Essentials of Hinduism: A comprehensive View of the World’s Oldest Religion (Chennai: Sri Ramakrishma Math, 1998), 98.

  26. Herbert Ellinger, Hinduism (Harrisburgh: Trinity Press International, 1996), 5.

    Swami Bhaskarananda, The Essentials of Hinduism: A comprehensive View of the World’s Oldest Religion (Chennai: Sri Ramakrishma Math, 1998), 98.

    Shirley Firth, “End-of-life: A Hindu View,” Lancet 366 (2005): 682.

  27. S. S. Rama Rao Pappu, “Hindu Ethics,” in Contemporary Hinduism: Ritual, Culture, and Practice, ed. Robin Rinehart (Santa Barbara; Denver: ABC-CLIO, 2004), 169.

  28. Herbert Ellinger, Hinduism (Harrisburgh: Trinity Press International, 1996), 6–7.

    S. S. Rama Rao Pappu, “Hindu Ethics,” in Contemporary Hinduism: Ritual, Culture, and Practice, ed. Robin Rinehart (Santa Barbara; Denver: ABC-CLIO, 2004), 161.

    Swami Bhaskarananda, The Essentials of Hinduism: A comprehensive View of the World’s Oldest Religion (Chennai: Sri Ramakrishma Math, 1998), 8.

  29. Swami Bhaskarananda, The Essentials of Hinduism: A comprehensive View of the World’s Oldest Religion (Chennai: Sri Ramakrishma Math, 1998), 7–8.

  30. S. S. Rama Rao Pappu, “Hindu Ethics,” in Contemporary Hinduism: Ritual, Culture, and Practice, ed. Robin Rinehart (Santa Barbara; Denver: ABC-CLIO, 2004), 161.

  31. Herbert Ellinger, Hinduism (Harrisburgh: Trinity Press International, 1996), 6–8.

  32. Constance A. Jones and James D. Ryan, Encyclopedia of Hinduism (New York: Facts On File, 2007), 18.

  33. Constance A. Jones and James D. Ryan, Encyclopedia of Hinduism (New York: Facts On File, 2007), 18.

  34. Joris Gielen, “Mahatma Gandhi’s View on Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide,” J Med Ethics 38 (2012): 432.

  35. Mahatma Gandhi, Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi Vol. 15, accessed October 20, 2016, http://www.gandhiashramsevagram.org/gandhi-literature/mahatma-gandhi-collected-works-volume-15.pdf, 168.

  36. Mahatma Gandhi, Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi Vol. 21, accessed October 20, 2016, http://www.gandhiashramsevagram.org/gandhi-literature/mahatma-gandhi-collected-works-volume-21.pdf, 199.

  37. Mahatma Gandhi, Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi Vol. 25, accessed October 20, 2016, http://www.gandhiashramsevagram.org/gandhi-literature/mahatma-gandhi-collected-works-volume-25.pdf, 95.

  38. Joris Gielen, “Mahatma Gandhi’s View on Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide,” J Med Ethics 38 (2012): 432.

  39. Swami Bhaskarananda, The Essentials of Hinduism: A comprehensive View of the World’s Oldest Religion (Chennai: Sri Ramakrishma Math, 1998), 141.

  40. The Quran, (3:185), accessed October 16, 2016, https://quran.com/3.

  41. Abu Ḥamid Muḥammad ibn Muḥammad al-Ghazali, Death and Doomsday (Istanbul: Saglam Yayınevi, 1999), 136.

  42. Dariusch Atighetchi, Islamic Bioethics: Problems and Perspectives (Dordrecht: Springer, 2007), 269.

  43. The Quran, (23:99-100), accessed October 16, 2016, https://quran.com/23.

  44. Abu Ḥamid Muḥammad ibn Muḥammad al-Ghazali, Death and Doomsday (Istanbul: Saglam Yayınevi, 1999), 136–138.

  45. The Quran, (99:6-8), accessed October 16, 2016, https://quran.com/99.

  46. Vincent Barry, Philosophical Thinking about Death and Dying, (Canada: Thomson Wadsworth, 2007), 112.

  47. Swami Bhaskarananda, The Essentials of Hinduism: A comprehensive View of the World’s Oldest Religion (Chennai: Sri Ramakrishma Math, 1998), 93.

  48. Swami Bhaskarananda, The Essentials of Hinduism: A comprehensive View of the World’s Oldest Religion (Chennai: Sri Ramakrishma Math, 1998), 93–94.

  49. M. Jane Eshleman, “Death with Dignity: Significance of Religious Beliefs and Practices in Hinduism, Buddhism, and Islam,” Todays or Nurse 14, no. 11 (1992): 21.

  50. Abu Ḥamid Muḥammad ibn Muḥammad al-Ghazali, Death and Doomsday (Istanbul: Saglam Yayınevi, 1999), 136–138.

    Vincent Barry, Philosophical Thinking about Death and Dying, (Canada: Thomson Wadsworth, 2007), 112.

  51. Swami Bhaskarananda, The Essentials of Hinduism: A comprehensive View of the World’s Oldest Religion (Chennai: Sri Ramakrishma Math, 1998), 95.

  52. Swami Bhaskarananda, The Essentials of Hinduism: A comprehensive View of the World’s Oldest Religion (Chennai: Sri Ramakrishma Math, 1998), 91–95.

  53. Vincent Barry, Philosophical Thinking about Death and Dying, (Canada: Thomson Wadsworth, 2007), 112.

  54. S. S. Rama Rao Pappu, “Hindu Ethics,” in Contemporary Hinduism: Ritual, Culture, and Practice, ed. Robin Rinehart (Santa Barbara; Denver: ABC-CLIO, 2004), 161–165.

  55. M. Jane Eshleman, “Death with Dignity: Significance of Religious Beliefs and Practices in Hinduism, Buddhism, and Islam,” Todays or Nurse 14, no. 11 (1992): 21.

  56. Swami Bhaskarananda, The Essentials of Hinduism: A comprehensive View of the World’s Oldest Religion (Chennai: Sri Ramakrishma Math, 1998), 80.

  57. Swami Bhaskarananda, The Essentials of Hinduism: A comprehensive View of the World’s Oldest Religion (Chennai: Sri Ramakrishma Math, 1998), 80–81.

  58. Swami Bhaskarananda, The Essentials of Hinduism: A comprehensive View of the World’s Oldest Religion (Chennai: Sri Ramakrishma Math, 1998), 85.

  59. Bert Broeckaert, “Treatment Decisions in Advanced Disease: A Conceptual Framework,” Indian Journal of Palliative Care 15, no. 1 (2009): 30.

  60. Bert Broeckaert, “Treatment Decisions in Advanced Disease: A Conceptual Framework,” Indian Journal of Palliative Care 15, no. 1 (2009): 34.

  61. Bert Broeckaert, “Treatment Decisions in Advanced Disease: A Conceptual Framework,” Indian Journal of Palliative Care 15, no. 1 (2009): 34.

  62. Dr. Jashwant A. Darji et al., “Euthanasia: Most Controversial and Debatable Topic,” NJIRM 2, no. 3 (2011): 94.

    Bert Broeckaert, “Treatment Decisions in Advanced Disease: A Conceptual Framework,” Indian Journal of Palliative Care 15, no. 1 (2009): 35.

  63. Ebrahim Moosa, “Muslim Ethics?” in the Blackwell Companion to Religious Ethics, ed. William Schweiker (Malden: Blackwell Publishing, 2005), 239–240.

  64. Jonathan E. Brockopp, “Taking Life and Saving Life: The Islamic Context,” in Islamic Ethics of Life: Abortion, War, and Euthanasia, ed. Jonathan E. Brockopp (Columbia: University of South Carolina Press, 2003), 10.

    Abdulaziz Sachedina, Islamic Biomedical Ethics Principles and Application (New York: Oxford University Press, 2009), 7–8.

  65. Jonathan E. Brockopp, “Taking Life and Saving Life: The Islamic Context,” in Islamic Ethics of Life: Abortion, War, and Euthanasia, ed. Jonathan E. Brockopp (Columbia: University of South Carolina Press, 2003), 2.

  66. Jonathan E. Brockopp, “the “Good Death” in Islamic Theology and Law,” in Islamic Ethics of Life: Abortion, War, and Euthanasia, ed. Jonathan E. Brockopp (Columbia: University of South Carolina Press, 2003), 177.

  67. International Organization of Islamic Medicine, Islamic Codes of Medical Ethics, 1981, 64–68.

  68. Shabbir M. H. Alibhai and Michael Gordon, “A Comparative Analysis of Islamic and Jewish End-of-Life Ethics: A Case-Based Approach,” in Muslim Medical Ethics, ed. Jonathan E. Brockopp and Thomas Eich (Columbia: University of South Carolina Press, 2008), 184.

  69. Abu Ḥamid Muḥammad ibn Muḥammad al-Ghazali, Death and Doomsday (Istanbul: Saglam Yayınevi, 1999), 39–41.

  70. Jonathan E. Brockopp, “the “Good Death” in Islamic Theology and Law,” in Islamic Ethics of Life: Abortion, War, and Euthanasia, ed. Jonathan E. Brockopp (Columbia: University of South Carolina Press, 2003), 190.

  71. Dariusch Atighetchi, Islamic Bioethics: Problems and Perspectives (Dordrecht: Springer, 2007), 269.

  72. Abu Ḥamid Muḥammad ibn Muḥammad al-Ghazali, Death and Doomsday (Istanbul: Saglam Yayınevi, 1999), 19–21.

  73. Dariusch Atighetchi, Islamic Bioethics: Problems and Perspectives (Dordrecht: Springer, 2007), 268.

  74. Abu Ḥamid Muḥammad ibn Muḥammad al-Ghazali, O Son, trans. Lutfu Dogan (Istanbul: Bedir Yayınları, 1969), 24.

  75. Abu Ḥamid Muḥammad ibn Muḥammad al-Ghazali, Death and Doomsday (Istanbul: Saglam Yayınevi, 1999), 59.

  76. Shabbir M. H. Alibhai and Michael Gordon, “A Comparative Analysis of Islamic and Jewish End-of-Life Ethics: A Case-Based Approach,” in Muslim Medical Ethics, ed. Jonathan E. Brockopp and Thomas Eich (Columbia: University of South Carolina Press, 2008), 184.

  77. Abu Ḥamid Muḥammad ibn Muḥammad al-Ghazali, Death and Doomsday (Istanbul: Saglam Yayınevi, 1999), 94, 45–53.

  78. John Renard, Responses to 101 Questions on Hinduism (New York: Paulist Press, 1999), 66.

  79. S. Cromwell Crawford, “Ethical Foundations for Hindu Bioethics,” Dialogue and Alliance 17, no. 2 (2003/2004): 82.

  80. S. Cromwell Crawford, “Ethical Foundations for Hindu Bioethics,” Dialogue and Alliance 17, no. 2 (2003/2004): 84.

  81. Mahatma Gandhi, Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi Vol. 17 and 16, accessed October 22, 2016, http://www.gandhiashramsevagram.org/gandhi-literature/mahatma-gandhi-collected-works-volume-17.pdf, 17:445, 317, 455, 456, 16:195.

  82. S. Cromwell Crawford, “Ethical Foundations for Hindu Bioethics,” Dialogue and Alliance 17, no. 2 (2003/2004): 84–85.

  83. Cromwell Crawford, “Hindu Bioethics,” in Religious Perspectives in Bioethics, ed. John F. Peppin, Mark J. Cherry and Ana Iltis (Leiden: Taylor & Francis, 2004), 201.

  84. Cromwell Crawford, “Hindu Bioethics,” in Religious Perspectives in Bioethics, ed. John F. Peppin, Mark J. Cherry and Ana Iltis (Leiden: Taylor & Francis, 2004), 201.

  85. R. N. Dandekar, “Hinduism,” in Historia Religionum: Handbook for the History of Religions, Volume II-Religions of the Present, ed. C. Joucu Bleeker and Geo Widengren (Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1971), 318.

  86. Shirley Firth, “End-of-life: A Hindu View,” Lancet 366 (2005): 683.

  87. Cromwell Crawford, “Hindu Bioethics,” in Religious Perspectives in Bioethics, ed. John F. Peppin, Mark J. Cherry and Ana Iltis (Leiden: Taylor & Francis, 2004), 202–203.

    Shirley Firth, “End-of-life: A Hindu View,” Lancet 366 (2005): 684.

    Swami Bhaskarananda, The Essentials of Hinduism: A comprehensive View of the World’s Oldest Religion (Chennai: Sri Ramakrishma Math, 1998), 82.

  88. Cromwell Crawford, “Hindu Bioethics,” in Religious Perspectives in Bioethics, ed. John F. Peppin, Mark J. Cherry and Ana Iltis (Leiden: Taylor & Francis, 2004), 204.

  89. Joris Gielen, “Mahatma Gandhi’s View on Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide,” J Med Ethics 38 (2012): 432.

  90. Joris Gielen, “Mahatma Gandhi’s View on Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide,” J Med Ethics 38 (2012): 432.

  91. Shirley Firth, “End-of-life: A Hindu View,” Lancet 366 (2005): 685.

  92. Joseph Prabhu, “Trajectories of Hindu Ethics,” in the Blackwell Companion to Religious Ethics, ed. William Schweiker (Malden: Blackwell Publishing, 2005), 363.

  93. Joris Gielen, “Mahatma Gandhi’s View on Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide,” J Med Ethics 38 (2012): 433–434.

  94. Mahatma Gandhi, Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi Vol. 37, accessed October 22, 2016, http://www.gandhiashramsevagram.org/gandhi-literature/mahatma-gandhi-collected-works-volume-37.pdf, 21–22.

  95. Herbert Ellinger, Hinduism (Harrisburgh: Trinity Press International, 1996), 5.

  96. The Qur’an, (42:30), accessed October 23, 2016, https://quran.com.

  97. Hadith, accessed October 23, 201, http://hadith.com/index.php?hid=1.

  98. Mahatma Gandhi, Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi Vol. 70, accessed October 23, 2016, http://www.gandhiashramsevagram.org/gandhi-literature/mahatma-gandhi-collected-works-volume-70.pdf, 191.

  99. S. S. Rama Rao Pappu, “Hindu Ethics,” in Contemporary Hinduism: Ritual, Culture, and Practice, ed. Robin Rinehart (Santa Barbara; Denver: ABC-CLIO, 2004), 169.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Center for Healthcare Ethics, Duquesne University, 300 Fisher Hall, 600 Forbes Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA, 15282, USA

    Ercan Avci

Authors
  1. Ercan Avci
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Ercan Avci.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest

No conflict of interests.

Additional information

Publisher's Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Avci, E. A Comparative Analysis on the Perspective of Sunni Theology and Hindu Tradition Regarding Euthanasia: The Impact of Belief in Resurrection and Reincarnation. J Relig Health 58, 1770–1791 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10943-019-00836-4

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10943-019-00836-4

Keywords

Search

Navigation