What is the ruling on dissecting corpses?

The questioner : What is your opinion on the process of dissecting a Muslim and a non-Muslim after their death?

The Shaykh : What process?

The questioner : Dissecting the corpse of a Muslim and a non-Muslim after their death, especially, O Shaykh, to identify a crime where that requires dissecting the corpse. Is that permissible?

The Shaykh : If the corpse is that of a Muslim man or woman, it is not permissible, due to his (peace and blessings be upon him) saying: And the deceased, of course, the discussion is about the Muslim. At the time when it is not permissible to exalt him with an exaltation that compromises tawhid (the oneness of Allah), but at the same time, Islam still respects his sanctity. Some of the hadiths combine both matters in a single text, meaning they encourage not exaggerating in honoring the deceased because it contradicts pure tawhid, and at the same time, they encourage not insulting him. This is in his (peace and blessings be upon him) saying, narrated by Imam Muslim in his Sahih, where he said: This is of the first type: do not sit on graves. His (peace and blessings be upon him) saying: And the reason I mentioned is that the purpose of performing the dissection process on some corpses is to know the causes of death or murder. I say this is a purely foreign system; it falls under the category of not imitating the disbelievers. So from this perspective as well, it is not permissible for us to adopt the customs and laws that originated from the lands of disbelief, of which we were commanded in the Qur'an and the Sunnah to differ from them. Every Muslim should know the difference, first, between his Islamic methodology, of which he should be proud, and the methodology of the disbelievers, which stems from the earth and conflicting desires. He should praise his Lord (Mighty and Majestic) for safety from that. These people, when they do not apply the Shari'ah rulings in investigating the causes of murder and causes of death and the like, and instead have earthly systems, they were forced to adopt such means, which are also among the unlegislated means. And I just heard his (peace and blessings be upon him) saying: As for if the deceased is a disbeliever, if the disbeliever permits the dissection of the deceased's people, this is permissible. But if it is an aggression by a Muslim against a disbeliever, that is not permissible, because it is also among the Islamic etiquettes that Muslims were commanded in the battles that took place between them and the polytheists to bury the dead of the disbelievers. That is what they talk about today, and little do they realize in their actions what they say with their tongues regarding the honor of human beings in general. This humanity is only known by Islam. And if they knew the rights of man as they claim, they would have followed the Shari'ah of Islam, and that would have sufficed them from all these laws they invented. And Allah (Mighty and Majestic) says in the Noble Qur'an: This is the answer to what you asked.