Ruling on the transfer of organs from one person to another
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Your Eminence! Regarding the transfer of organs from one person to another, whether before death or after, is there any issue with it?
We see that it is not permissible, neither before death nor after death.Even if the dead person bequeathed it and said: If one says, "When I die, give my cornea to so-and-so, or my kidney to so-and-so, or my liver to so-and-so, or the like," then it is not permissible to carry out this bequest; because it is a bequest of something forbidden, and a bequest of something forbidden is not carried out. The scholars have mentioned this.And refer to the book: In *Al-Iqna'* in the jurisprudence of the Hanbalis, in the book of funerals, in the chapter on washing the dead, you will find that they explicitly stated: It is not permissible to take anything from the organs of the dead, even if he bequeathed it.And they cited the saying of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him): (Breaking the bone of a dead person is like breaking it while he is alive) How is this permissible? You are not free to do with your body as you please.Allah has said to you: [An-Nisa: 29] And killing the soul does not mean that one takes a knife and slaughters himself. No, rather, everything that leads to harm is part of killing the soul.
The evidence: Amr ibn al-As was sent by the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) on a military expedition. One night, he had a sexual discharge, and the night was cold, so he performed dry ablution and led his companions in prayer. When they returned to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), he said: (Did you lead your companions in prayer while in a state of major ritual impurity?He said: O Messenger of Allah! I remembered the saying of Allah the Exalted: ((And do not kill yourselves. Indeed, Allah is Merciful to you)) [An-Nisa: 29] And the night was cold, so I performed dry ablution and prayed. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) laughed. Was it in approval or disapproval? It was in approval. If it had been disapproval, he would have corrected him.
So I say: The transfer of organs is forbidden in life and in death.
If someone were to say: Is not saving a person from destruction obligatory?So the answer is: Yes, it is obligatory. But is he hungry and I have food, so I must feed him? Is he thirsty for water, so I must give it to him? But to cut something from my organs for him, this is not permissible.
Some people in this issue, those who issue rulings of permissibility, compared it to the fact that Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, mentioned that al-Khidr killed a boy who was a disbeliever, while his parents were believers. The verse is: [Al-Kahf: 80] They said: This killing was for the benefit of the parents.So we say: May Allah help us!! Where is the evidence from this?!! This boy was a disbeliever. Is the blood of a disbeliever forbidden or permissible? His blood is permissible. Moreover, he was a disbeliever who caused corruption;Because he says: [Al-Kahf: 80] So if he was a disbeliever whose blood was permissible, there is no evidence in it; because our discussion is about one who is protected.
So the conclusion is that this is my opinion, and it is also the opinion of His Eminence Shaykh Abdul Aziz ibn Baz, as I asked him in the session of the Council of Senior Scholars, and he said this: It is forbidden.
Everyone who reflects on the texts finds that it is forbidden.And in it there is harm now: In other lands, they prey on the young in the markets. They take a young boy and slaughter him, take his liver, and sell it for millions of dirhams; because they do not fear Allah and do not have mercy on the servants of Allah.
We see that it is not permissible, neither before death nor after death.Even if the dead person bequeathed it and said: If one says, "When I die, give my cornea to so-and-so, or my kidney to so-and-so, or my liver to so-and-so, or the like," then it is not permissible to carry out this bequest; because it is a bequest of something forbidden, and a bequest of something forbidden is not carried out. The scholars have mentioned this.And refer to the book: In *Al-Iqna'* in the jurisprudence of the Hanbalis, in the book of funerals, in the chapter on washing the dead, you will find that they explicitly stated: It is not permissible to take anything from the organs of the dead, even if he bequeathed it.And they cited the saying of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him): (Breaking the bone of a dead person is like breaking it while he is alive) How is this permissible? You are not free to do with your body as you please.Allah has said to you:
And do not kill yourselves [or one another]. Indeed, Allah is to you ever Merciful.
وَلا تَقْتُلُوا أَنْفُسَكُمْ إِنَّ اللَّهَ كَانَ بِكُمْ رَحِيماًThe evidence: Amr ibn al-As was sent by the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) on a military expedition. One night, he had a sexual discharge, and the night was cold, so he performed dry ablution and led his companions in prayer. When they returned to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), he said: (Did you lead your companions in prayer while in a state of major ritual impurity?He said: O Messenger of Allah! I remembered the saying of Allah the Exalted: ((And do not kill yourselves. Indeed, Allah is Merciful to you)) [An-Nisa: 29] And the night was cold, so I performed dry ablution and prayed. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) laughed. Was it in approval or disapproval? It was in approval. If it had been disapproval, he would have corrected him.
So I say: The transfer of organs is forbidden in life and in death.
If someone were to say: Is not saving a person from destruction obligatory?So the answer is: Yes, it is obligatory. But is he hungry and I have food, so I must feed him? Is he thirsty for water, so I must give it to him? But to cut something from my organs for him, this is not permissible.
Some people in this issue, those who issue rulings of permissibility, compared it to the fact that Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, mentioned that al-Khidr killed a boy who was a disbeliever, while his parents were believers. The verse is:
And as for the boy, his parents were believers, and we feared that he would overburden them by transgression and disbelief.
وَأَمَّا الْغُلامُ فَكَانَ أَبَوَاهُ مُؤْمِنَيْنِ فَخَشِينَا أَنْ يُرْهِقَهُمَا طُغْيَاناً وَكُفْراًand we feared that he would overburden them by transgression and disbelief.
فَخَشِينَا أَنْ يُرْهِقَهُمَا طُغْيَاناً وَكُفْراًSo the conclusion is that this is my opinion, and it is also the opinion of His Eminence Shaykh Abdul Aziz ibn Baz, as I asked him in the session of the Council of Senior Scholars, and he said this: It is forbidden.
Everyone who reflects on the texts finds that it is forbidden.And in it there is harm now: In other lands, they prey on the young in the markets. They take a young boy and slaughter him, take his liver, and sell it for millions of dirhams; because they do not fear Allah and do not have mercy on the servants of Allah.