Disposing of human body parts resulting from certain surgical procedures
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Fatwa No. ( 21323 )
Praise be to Allah alone, and peace and blessings be upon the one after whom there is no prophet. And after: The Permanent Committee for Scholarly Research and Ifta has reviewed what was sent to His Eminence the Grand Mufti from His Excellency the General Director of Hospitals, based on a letter from the General Director of Health Affairs in the Qassim Region, which was based on a letter from the General Supervisor of King Saud Hospital in Unaizah , and which was referred to the Committee by the General Secretariat of the Council of Senior Scholars with number (15) and date 3/1/1421 AH. The questioner asked a question to the effect of: Referring to Fatwa No. (8099) dated 21/5/1405 AH, issued by the Permanent Committee for Scholarly Research and Ifta regarding how to dispose of human body parts resulting from certain surgical procedures , the text of which states: (We refer to you the memorandum of the question received by us from the Director of the Religious Affairs Branch in the Western Region, number (8) and date 11/1/1405 AH, and you are requested to give us the Shari'ah ruling on this, as we have many hospitals affiliated with the Ministry of Defense and Aviation, and the cases there are similar, and they ask us for a ruling on the method of disposing of human body parts resulting from certain surgical procedures, as they mention that their method of disposal is burning.
The parts mentioned, and around which the questions generally revolve, are: 1- Parts amputated as a result of injury in accidents. 2- Parts from which we do not expect disease, such as the remnants of purification (circumcision for males). 3- The placenta resulting from childbirth and the remnants of pregnancy at various stages (abortion). 4- Remnants of dental work and teeth and the like. We hope that Your Eminence will kindly give us the Shari'ah ruling so that we can circulate it to the hospitals of the Ministry of Defense and Aviation. May Allah guide you. And it answered as follows: It is not permissible to burn them, but it is obligatory to bury them in a pure place, unless the aborted fetus has been breathed into with the soul, which is the one that has passed four months, in which case it is washed, shrouded, prayed over, and buried in the Muslim cemeteries if it was born between Muslims or between parents one of whom is Muslim. As for if the aborted fetus is from two disbelieving parents, it is not washed nor prayed over, but is buried in its clothes or in a wrapping in an unknown land. End. And since some inquiries have been received, they are: 1- What is meant by a pure place? Is a cemetery required, or any other location, and the competent authority for the burial process? 2- Is the burial done daily, or is it done by collecting and storing in a refrigerator
for the dead? 3- Is what is meant by the remnants of dental work and teeth and the like the extracted teeth and molars, or is it something else? We request a fatwa on these inquiries, and peace be upon you and the mercy of Allah and His blessings.
The Permanent Committee has reviewed the issues raised by His Excellency the General Director of Hospitals, number (12507 / 6851 / 26) dated 29/12/1420 AH, based on a letter from His Excellency the General Director of Health Affairs in the Qassim Region, number (121446 12 / 45) dated 1/12/1420 AH, regarding Fatwa No. (8099) issued on 21/2/1405 AH by the Permanent Committee for Scholarly Research and Ifta on how to dispose of human body parts, and it answered as follows: First: What is meant by a pure place is: a place that protects those human parts from desecration and prevents annoyance from their smell, and that is by burying them in the public cemetery, and this is best, or in a barren land far from the facilities of the town. And if the detached parts are from a disbeliever, they are disposed of by burying them in a pit other than the Muslim cemeteries. Second: The burial is done whenever a quantity of them has accumulated, whether in one day or in several days; because this is more convenient for those who perform the burial.
Third: Extracted molars and teeth are not included in the human parts that must be buried; because they are in the ruling of what is detached, and because no harm occurs by not burying them. And success is from Allah, and may Allah send prayers and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad and his family and his Companions.
Praise be to Allah alone, and peace and blessings be upon the one after whom there is no prophet. And after: The Permanent Committee for Scholarly Research and Ifta has reviewed what was sent to His Eminence the Grand Mufti from His Excellency the General Director of Hospitals, based on a letter from the General Director of Health Affairs in the Qassim Region, which was based on a letter from the General Supervisor of King Saud Hospital in Unaizah , and which was referred to the Committee by the General Secretariat of the Council of Senior Scholars with number (15) and date 3/1/1421 AH. The questioner asked a question to the effect of: Referring to Fatwa No. (8099) dated 21/5/1405 AH, issued by the Permanent Committee for Scholarly Research and Ifta regarding how to dispose of human body parts resulting from certain surgical procedures , the text of which states: (We refer to you the memorandum of the question received by us from the Director of the Religious Affairs Branch in the Western Region, number (8) and date 11/1/1405 AH, and you are requested to give us the Shari'ah ruling on this, as we have many hospitals affiliated with the Ministry of Defense and Aviation, and the cases there are similar, and they ask us for a ruling on the method of disposing of human body parts resulting from certain surgical procedures, as they mention that their method of disposal is burning.
The parts mentioned, and around which the questions generally revolve, are: 1- Parts amputated as a result of injury in accidents. 2- Parts from which we do not expect disease, such as the remnants of purification (circumcision for males). 3- The placenta resulting from childbirth and the remnants of pregnancy at various stages (abortion). 4- Remnants of dental work and teeth and the like. We hope that Your Eminence will kindly give us the Shari'ah ruling so that we can circulate it to the hospitals of the Ministry of Defense and Aviation. May Allah guide you. And it answered as follows: It is not permissible to burn them, but it is obligatory to bury them in a pure place, unless the aborted fetus has been breathed into with the soul, which is the one that has passed four months, in which case it is washed, shrouded, prayed over, and buried in the Muslim cemeteries if it was born between Muslims or between parents one of whom is Muslim. As for if the aborted fetus is from two disbelieving parents, it is not washed nor prayed over, but is buried in its clothes or in a wrapping in an unknown land. End. And since some inquiries have been received, they are: 1- What is meant by a pure place? Is a cemetery required, or any other location, and the competent authority for the burial process? 2- Is the burial done daily, or is it done by collecting and storing in a refrigerator
for the dead? 3- Is what is meant by the remnants of dental work and teeth and the like the extracted teeth and molars, or is it something else? We request a fatwa on these inquiries, and peace be upon you and the mercy of Allah and His blessings.
The Permanent Committee has reviewed the issues raised by His Excellency the General Director of Hospitals, number (12507 / 6851 / 26) dated 29/12/1420 AH, based on a letter from His Excellency the General Director of Health Affairs in the Qassim Region, number (121446 12 / 45) dated 1/12/1420 AH, regarding Fatwa No. (8099) issued on 21/2/1405 AH by the Permanent Committee for Scholarly Research and Ifta on how to dispose of human body parts, and it answered as follows: First: What is meant by a pure place is: a place that protects those human parts from desecration and prevents annoyance from their smell, and that is by burying them in the public cemetery, and this is best, or in a barren land far from the facilities of the town. And if the detached parts are from a disbeliever, they are disposed of by burying them in a pit other than the Muslim cemeteries. Second: The burial is done whenever a quantity of them has accumulated, whether in one day or in several days; because this is more convenient for those who perform the burial.
Third: Extracted molars and teeth are not included in the human parts that must be buried; because they are in the ruling of what is detached, and because no harm occurs by not burying them. And success is from Allah, and may Allah send prayers and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad and his family and his Companions.
Source
www.alifta.gov.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.