What is the ruling on donating some organs?

The questioner : ... regarding corneal transplantation. I said, "O Shaykh, it is not permissible." But if I were to describe a specific situation of mine, I am a conscious person who cannot function ... because I have a cornea, unless this cornea is replaced. What is the ruling in my case regarding my cornea?

The Shaykh : No problem, my brother. Has this question not been addressed before, and have we not given an answer to it previously?

The questioner : The brother's answer did not satisfy me; it was not sufficient for me, because it concerns me personally.

The Shaykh : Okay, where do you want to get the cornea from now?

The questioner : They say that people donate them, but the most accurate information is that in Jordan, no one donates them; rather, they come from foreign countries. Because in Jordan, it is forbidden to take them from anyone, so they say they come from foreign countries ...?

The Shaykh : One by one. Scientific research does not accept enthusiasm; it requires calmness. Where does the cornea come from?

The questioner : They say from foreign countries.

The Shaykh : From foreign countries, who brings them?

The questioner : From people.

The Shaykh : From the living or the dead?

The questioner : Definitely from the dead.

The Shaykh : Yes, look, where have we ended up here? I am returning to my previous statement: this cornea, whether from a living person, which is harm, or from a dead person; what new thing have you brought?

Another questioner : I mean, is the cornea from a disbeliever from abroad?

The Shaykh : You brought that from yourself. I am asking him, what new thing have you brought in your question?

The questioner : My question ...

The Shaykh : I am not asking you what your question is; what new thing is in your question?

The questioner : I say there is nothing new, but I did not understand the previous answer; the satisfactory answer that it is permissible or not permissible did not enter my mind. But here, there is an issue raised by the brother; let us say, for example, that the one who raised it is a disbeliever. Is it permissible for us to take his cornea?

The Shaykh : What are you saying now? What extra thing have you brought, even if you asked your friend for help? What is the new thing?

The questioner : That this cornea is from a disbeliever.

The Shaykh : From a disbeliever. Okay, a dead disbeliever's cornea?

The questioner : Yes.

The Shaykh : A disbeliever has no sanctity, unlike a Muslim. Okay, how do you know that this is a disbeliever's cornea?

The questioner : I say that in Jordan, there are no corneas.

The Shaykh : We are talking about the corneas that come from abroad. How do you know that it is a disbeliever's cornea? Does everything that comes to us from abroad have to be from a disbeliever, or is there a possibility that it could be a Muslim's cornea as well?

The questioner : There is a possibility, but it is small.

The Shaykh : It is possible that a person died there and they put it in the refrigerator, and I do not know what, and so on ...

Another questioner : It comes with a label.

The Shaykh : A label.

The questioner : They say this cornea belongs to George, for example, who donated it before his death, and that he was involved in a car accident, and so on?

The Shaykh : I gave you the answer: if you know that it is a disbeliever's cornea, it is permissible, and we do not say, "May Allah guide you," regarding it ...