Ruling regarding life support

[ummtaalib]

Q. A family member is on life support and is brain dead for several Months. The doctors have advised us to put him off life support, as there is no hope of his recovery. Is it permissible to put him off life support?

 

(Question published as received)

 

A. If a patient is on a life support machine and after due consultation, the medical experts determine that the condition of the patient is terminal and there is no hope of recovery, it would be permissible to switch off the life support machine (passive euthanasia).

 

However, under no circumstance is it permissible to take the life of the patient by directly being the cause of death like giving the patient a lethal injection (active euthanasia).

 

And Allah Ta’ala Knows Best

 

Mufti Ismaeel Bassa

Mufti Moosa Salie

 

(The answer hereby given is specifically based on the question asked and should be read together with the question asked. Islamic rulings on this Q&A newsletter are answered in accordance to the Hanafi Fiqh unless otherwise stated.) 

 

 

Fatwa Department
Jamiatul Ulama (KZN) 
Council of Muslim Theologians