What is the ruling on donating human organs?
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The Shaykh:
In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and may Allah send prayers and blessings upon His servant and Messenger, our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and all his Companions.
The questioner:
May Allah reward you, Honorable Shaykh. A questioner says: In these days, there has been much talk about donating human organs. What is the correct position on this?
The Shaykh:
This issue has been addressed by fatwas and decisions from the Fiqh Academies and the bodies of senior scholars. The gist is that there is no harm in transferring organs, provided two conditions are met. The first condition is that there be no harm to the donor, such as in the case of a kidney transplant; if the donor suffers no harm, then there is no harm in it. However, if there is harm to him, it is not permissible. Allah the Exalted said: "And do not throw yourselves into destruction" [and] "There is no harm and no reciprocating harm." The second condition is that the recipient benefits from this organ; the doctors must determine that this organ is suitable for the recipient. The third condition is that the donor...
...must have the legal capacity to dispose of his property. The donor must have the legal capacity to dispose of his property, meaning he must be an adult of sound mind. This is required for money, and it is required for organs a fortiori, because organs are more important than money. If it is required that the donor of money have the legal capacity to dispose of it, meaning be an adult of sound mind, then it is even more so for organs. From this condition, we know that it is not permissible to take the organs of a dead person. It is not permissible to take the organs of a dead person after his death, or before his death if he has died brain-dead. This is not permissible because in this case he does not have the legal capacity to dispose of his property; in fact, he has no capacity at all because death has begun with him. It is not permissible for us to strip his organs while he has not authorized it, and his guardian or relatives do not have the authority to give permission.
This is only in the case of the one who has the legal capacity to dispose of his property. If these conditions are met—that the donor has the legal capacity to dispose of his property, that there is no harm to him in transferring the organ, and that he is not affected by its transfer; that the donor is not harmed by the transfer of the organ from him and is not affected; and that the recipient benefits from it, and the organ is suitable for him according to the doctors' determination—then there is no harm in it.
In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and may Allah send prayers and blessings upon His servant and Messenger, our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and all his Companions.
The questioner:
May Allah reward you, Honorable Shaykh. A questioner says: In these days, there has been much talk about donating human organs. What is the correct position on this?
The Shaykh:
This issue has been addressed by fatwas and decisions from the Fiqh Academies and the bodies of senior scholars. The gist is that there is no harm in transferring organs, provided two conditions are met. The first condition is that there be no harm to the donor, such as in the case of a kidney transplant; if the donor suffers no harm, then there is no harm in it. However, if there is harm to him, it is not permissible. Allah the Exalted said: "And do not throw yourselves into destruction" [and] "There is no harm and no reciprocating harm." The second condition is that the recipient benefits from this organ; the doctors must determine that this organ is suitable for the recipient. The third condition is that the donor...
...must have the legal capacity to dispose of his property. The donor must have the legal capacity to dispose of his property, meaning he must be an adult of sound mind. This is required for money, and it is required for organs a fortiori, because organs are more important than money. If it is required that the donor of money have the legal capacity to dispose of it, meaning be an adult of sound mind, then it is even more so for organs. From this condition, we know that it is not permissible to take the organs of a dead person. It is not permissible to take the organs of a dead person after his death, or before his death if he has died brain-dead. This is not permissible because in this case he does not have the legal capacity to dispose of his property; in fact, he has no capacity at all because death has begun with him. It is not permissible for us to strip his organs while he has not authorized it, and his guardian or relatives do not have the authority to give permission.
This is only in the case of the one who has the legal capacity to dispose of his property. If these conditions are met—that the donor has the legal capacity to dispose of his property, that there is no harm to him in transferring the organ, and that he is not affected by its transfer; that the donor is not harmed by the transfer of the organ from him and is not affected; and that the recipient benefits from it, and the organ is suitable for him according to the doctors' determination—then there is no harm in it.
Source
قناة «العلامة الدكتور صالح الفوزان»، ما حكم التبرع بأعضاء الإنسان؟ لمعالي الشيخ صالح الفوزان — youtube.com
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.