Islamic view on the human corpse

<big><big>Islamic View on the Human Corpse</big></big>
The human being is considered in Islam as the Vicegerent of God
(Allah) on earth.
'Behold, thy lord said to the angels: I will create a
vicegerent on earth.' l
Man was created by Allah through being breathed into with His
His spirit.
'He began the creation of man with [nothing more
than] clay; and made his from a quintessence of the nature of a fluid despised . But He fashioned him in due proportion and breathed into him something of His Spirit.' 2
'Behold, thy lord said to the angels: I am about to create man from
clay. When I have fashioned him and breathed
into him of My Spirit, fall ye down in obeisance unto him.' 3
Man is considered the most honoured creature of Allah on earth.
Even the angels were ordered to bow to him in veneration, the
moment Allah created Adam. Not only Adam was honoured by Allah
but his progeny also, provided they trod on the right path.
'We have honoured the children of Adam; provided them with
transport on land and sea; given them for sustenance things good and
pure; and conferred on them special favours, above a great part of our creation.' 4
Human life begins at the time of ensoulment, which is stated in
one of the sayings (Hadith) of the Muhammad as to
be the 120th day from the moment of conception. 5 Prior to that moment, the embryo has a sanctity but not reaching that of a full human being.
The life ends with the departure of the soul (or spirit), a process
which cannot be identified by humans except by the accompanying
signs, the most important of which are the cessation and respiration and of circulation.
For ages, humanity depended on these signs for declaration of
death. However, with the vast advances in medical technology in the
last three decades, the concept of Brain Death was accepted under
certain conditions. After a period of dispute and litigations, the concept of brain death gained ground all over the world. It is of interest to see how quickly the Muslim religious leaders responded to this new concept. The jurists of the Muslim world held many conferences to discuss and deliberate on this issue. The most important of these was the Third Conference of the Islamic Jurists held in Amman, Jordan, on 11-16 October 1986 - which acknowledged brain death as equal to 'cardiac' death. 6 The declaration of death and issuing of death certificates is considered the responsibility of the treating physician and the health authorities.
The issue of Brain Absent, as adopted by Harrison and others 17 for congenitally anomalous foetuses of anencephalics is still under discussion by the Muslim Jurists.
Once death is declared by the physician, the property of the
deceased is inherited by the heirs, which should be divided according to Islamic (shari'ah) law. The wife abstains from remarriage for a certain period -called ldda - unless she is pregnant, when this period ends by delivery.
Should the diagnosis of brain death be established unequivocally,
the physician in charge may keep the corpse ventilated for the purpose of pre-arranged organ donation until the consent of the heirs is received, or until an order from the magistrate (Qadi) in the case of an unknown corpse. The ventilated corpse is considered dead from the time of declaration of brain death and not from the time the ventilator is turned off.
The sanctity of the human body is however not lessened by the
departure of the soul and declaration of death. The human bodywhether living or dead, should be venerated likewise.
The Muhammed rebuked a man who broke a bone
of a deceased, which he found in a cemetery. The Prophet said, 'the
guilt of breaking the bones of a dead man is equal to the guilt of
breaking the bones of living man'. 7.8
The dead body should be washed and prepared for burial as soon
as possible, in order to avoid putrefaction, which occurs rapidly in hot climates, and this is an order by the Prophet. Due respect and reverence should be given to the funeral. Any bystander should stand up in veneration for the funeral passing by, even if it belonged to a non-Muslim, or an enemy. The Prophet Himself stood in veneration for the passing funeral of a Jew, at a time when Jews were his bitter enemies.
One of the Prophet's companions said 'It is the funeral of a
Jew' and the Prophet answered, 'Is it not a human soul?' 9
The expense of the funeral and burial should be sponsored by the
society or the Muslim government if the deceased is poor. Cremation
is not allowed in Muslim communities. Post-mortems/autopsies are also not allowed, except for:
1. Coroner cases, where the cause of death is suspicious. An order
from the Magistrate (Qadi) should be provided for autopsy.
2. For the diagnosis of difficult cases, where this was not possible during the lifetime of the deceased, and where the diagnosis would help the community at large. The heirs, or the next of kin, should agree in writing to post-mortem procedures. In Islamic law (Shariah), the spouse is not considered as the next of kin for such purposes.
3. For the purpose of teaching anatomy and pathology, Islam
encouraged Muslim to study medicine and since this cannot
be done unless anatomy and pathology are studied, the Muslim jurists allowed dissection of human bodies and autopsy,
provi-ded the relatives' consent is obtained. Muslim jurists
allowed organ donation for the purpose of transplantation
both from living donors and from the corpses. 10-l6 However, donations from the living should not cause any harm to the donor, and he should be capable of freely giving his full consent.
Donations from corpses is also permitted, provided the deceased
had agreed in his lifetime to such a procedure, or the next of kin
agrees, in the absence of prior consent. In unidentified corpses, the Muslim Qadi, or Governor, can issue a decree allowing organ donation.
The selling of human organs is forbidden in Islam, as it is considered an anathema.
For a legal definition of the Islamic next of kin refer to Dr. I. Ghanem's article in Medicine, Science and the Law (1988) vol. 28, No.3, pp. 241/242. Dr. Ghanem suggests that the answer lies in the degrees of relationship for the purposes of legal deputization or representation. He opined that most schools of Islamic law are agreed that an incapacitated relative (e.g., in coma) may be represented by the following relatives in order of priority:
1. father, son, mother;
2. Siblings, wife, grandfather and grandson;
3. Paternal and maternal uncles; and
4. cousins
He points out that the pre-Islamic position of blood guardians was :
1. son and descendants;
2. father and ascendants;
3. brothers and nephews, and
4. uncles and cousins.
S0 although a wife is the next of kin in the West, she is not the Islamic next of kin for the purpose of an autopsy.
References:
1. Holy Qur'an: Sura 2, Aya 30.
2. Holy Qur'an: Sura 32, Aya 6-9.
3. Holy Qur'an: Sura 38, Aya 71,72.
4. Holy Qur'an: Sura 17, Aya 70.
5. Ibn Masoud, Sahih Bukhari 6:220; Sahih Muslim 2643.
6. Decree No.5, Third conference of Islamic Jurists,Amman 11-16 October 1986.
7. Abu Dawud, Sunan Abi Daw'ud,Dar Al Hadith, Homs,Syria (nd).3:312,213.
8. Ahmed Ibn Hanbal, Musnad Ahmed, Dar Al Maarif, Cario; Comment by Ahmed Shakir; vol.6:58.
9. Narrated by five of the six most authentic books of Hadith: Sayings and Parctice os the Prophet Muhammad - viz. Sahih Bukhari, Sahih Muslim, , , and Sunan Ibn Maja.
10. Fatwa (Judicial decree) of Sheikh Hasan Ma'moon (Grand Mufti of Egypt - i.e,grand Jursits),No.1087 dated 14 April 1959.
11. Fatwa of Sheikh Ahmed Heridi (Mufti of Egypt), No.993 dated 23 October 1966.
12. Fatwa of Sheikh Khatir (Mufti of Egypt) No. 1069 dated 3 February 1973.
13. Fatwa of Ministry of Islamic Affairs, Kuwait, No.132/79 dated 24 December 1979.
14. Fatwa of Grand Jurists of he Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, No.99 dated 6 November 1402H (1982).
15. Decree No.5, Third Conference of Islamic Jurists, Amman 11-16 October 1986. Figh Academy Book of Decrees, Jeddah 1988:34.
16. Decree No.1, Fourth Conference of Islamic Jurists, Jeddah6-11 February 1988. Fiqh Academy Book of Decrees,Jeddah 1988:55-58.
17. Harrison, MR.,Lancet 1986; 13:1383~1385.

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