Islamic Fatwa Council

[Terpsícore Deckelman]

As an Islamic legal body, we take note of the condition of the oppressed all over the world," Muhammad Ali Al-Maqdisi, a cleric for the council, said in a video statement shared with Fox News Digital.

Palestinian members of the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of the Hamas movement, take part in a gathering Jan. 31, 2016, in Gaza City to pay tribute to fellow militants who died after a tunnel collapsed in the Gaza Strip. (Mahmud Hams/AFP via Getty Images)

According to the council, the decision to issue the legal ruling, which while being non-binding is considered highly influential in the Muslim world, came after the publication of a series of video testimonies from ordinary civilians in Gaza published last month by the U.S.-based Center for Peace Communications.

The series, "Whispered In Gaza," which used animation and voice-altering technology to protect the identity of the Gaza-based speakers, offered a rare and unfiltered glimpse into life in the poverty-stricken, embattled Palestinian enclave and highlighted the anger and fears ordinary people there have toward their autocratic Hamas rulers.

Hamas, a designated terrorist organization according to the U.S., EU and Israel, has maintained an iron-clad grip on Gaza since violently taking over the territory in 2007 after Israel unilaterally withdrew in 2005. The group, which receives funding and training from Iran, imposes a strict Islamic code on its 2 million-plus residents as it continues to engage in fighting Israel, including firing endless rounds of rockets and incendiary devices into Israeli territory and mass protests along the border fence.

Israel, together with Egypt on its southern border, continues to maintain a tight civilian and military blockade over the area, controlling the flow of goods and humans in and out of the Strip and responding to attacks perpetrated by Hamas and other militant Palestinian groups.

Grand Ayatollah Fadhil al-Budairi, one of the three chairmen of the Fatwa Council, said in a separate video statement that, after seeing the evidence, the "Islamic authority stands with the oppressed Palestinian people."

"We do not accept that any harm be done to them, whether it comes from Israel or from Palestinian governing elements, whether they be from Hamas or others," he said. "The Palestinian people have suffered enough, and we do not accept that this oppression continues. We implore the Islamic and humanitarian organizations to aid in the preservation and protection of human rights in the Palestinian context."

While the fatwa marks the first time any accredited Islamic legislative body has explicitly declared Hamas to be illegitimate from the vantage point of Islamic law, it follows similar rulings by the UAE Fatwa Council and the Council of Senior Scholars of Saudi Arabia against the Muslim Brotherhood movement and all of its branches, declaring them terrorist organizations "that defame Islam and operate in opposition to mainstream Islamic unity, theology and jurisprudence."

Members of Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of the Palestinian Hamas Islamist movement in the Gaza Strip, take part in a rally to commemorate the martyrs of the last battle between Hamas and Israel May 24, 2021. (Mohammed Talatene/picture alliance via Getty Images)

Ruth Marks Eglash is a veteran journalist based in Jerusalem, Israel. She reports and covers the Middle East and Europe. Originally from the U.K, she has also freelanced for numerous news outlets. Ruth can be followed on Twitter @reglash

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The Shariah is not a rigid set of rules for restricting constraining and limiting human freedom, in fact it is flexible and ever changing body of law and ethics. It is this flexibility of Shariah that makes it capable of being fit for all times and places. Muslim jurists believe that all divine laws, have purpose and clear objectives.

Traditionally known as Maqasid as Shariah the higher objectives of Shariah. These are many, however, the five most common are: the protection of human life, dignity, freedom of religion, wealth and family. Islam believes that the achievement of these brings about happiness and prosperity.

The two outstanding principles of Islamic Shariah are moderation and setting limits. The principle of moderation means that we avoid extremes, we adopt the middle way, and this is the best policy to protect human life and human interest, the whole philosophy of Halal and Haram, the lawful and unlawful in Islam is based on this principle of moderation, to protect human life and dignity from extremes, so it prohibits killing innocent lives, intoxicant, gambling, adultery, etc

The second principle is of setting limits. This again is about preventing excesses and over indulgence by setting clear limits to human freedom, the purpose seems to be to motivate learning and understanding reasons behind the divine boundaries. In the Quran they are called hudud limits that we must not transgress. The purpose of these divine laws is to restrict and bring order into the human life. It is interesting to note that the Quran after mentioning what kind of meat is permissible. The Quran teaches that if one is in dire need, life is threatened one can eat even forbidden meat. This is clear evidence of the flexibility of certain laws of Shariah.

Scientific development and discoveries over the last few decades in the field of medicine have been truly astonishing from treatment of certain cancers to infertility and prospects of stem cell repairing kits. Although science claims to be value neutral it still poses challenges to people of all faiths. This may be due to the belief that science aims for expediency, pragmatism and physical and material gains. Faith on the other hand also cares for these but emphasises spiritual, moral and social dimension of life with the aim of creating a balance between them. The moral and spiritual dimensions cannot be sacrificed at the altar of material gains.

Finally, I would like to clarify that the reliability and accuracy of a fatwa, an Islamic juristic opinion, depends on four things: the time, the place, the people and the circumstances. Simply translated, this means that a fatwa on a specialist subject like organ donation requires the Mufti, the jurists to understand modern healthcare, epidemiology, and the need of the people. In the light of the above opinions of Muslim scholars, we can discern that British Muslims living in the limelight of media and Islam-phobic environment must behave impeccably and morally in the best way and take part in promoting the common good.

Most Muslim countries have national council of scholars that present Islamic viewpoint on many contemporary issues many of the national councils have accepted the permissibility of organ transplants; the Jordanian Council of scholars, some scholars from Pakistan like Maulana Muhammad Hussain Naeemi and the Iranian Council of Shia scholars, Islamic Fiqh Council of Jeddah, the European Council for fatwa and research, the UK Shariah Council, the National fatwa Council of Malaysia, the Islamic medical Association of north America, the Islamic the religious Council of Singapore the fatwa committee of Kuwait.

Prof Tariq Ramadhan has succinctly summarised this state of affairs as follows; the answers have been developed and have grown more detailed over the past 20 years, leading to more precise vision of Islamic ethics, it clearly comes out that:

From Islamic perspective the case for donating organs is stronger than the case for not doing so. In essence Islamic teachings are in harmony with science. Knowledge is one, whether revealed or discovered, scientific advances are therefore welcome but as with all knowledge it can be used for good or evil the spiritual maturity with which individuals and society use the new technologies is therefore critical, religion gives knowledge that helps in making right decisions. This purpose is ultimately not limited by this earthly period it prepares the believer for eternal life, which holds the key to understanding the purpose and meaning of life. Muslims believe in the spiritual creation of life, which invests it with inviolable dignity and sanctity. On the other hand, we also believe in the right of a sick person to be given opportunity to improve his or her quality of life by organ donation. Now that organ transplant is relatively successful medical procedure and adds enormously to the quality of life of sick people we should accept it just as you would be willing to receive an organ if you were ill

Organ donation happens when organs are taken from dead or living people and given to others whose lives are severely affected by a failed organ. Organs that would otherwise go to waste When a person has died can be given to seriously ill people to dramatically improved and save their lives. It is a generous act. The most commonly donated organs are the kidneys, heart, liver, lungs, pancreas and small bowel.

The other type of organ donation is donation following the circulatory death. This type of organ donation is considered patients who are expected to die despite medical treatment but it is only after the heart has stopped beating.

[2] Saving the life of any human being, no distinction between a muslim and non muslim, so giving organs for use by any in need of it irrespective of faith. .Just like receiving organs from non muslims is permissible so is giving.

The council will serve as the official reference for fatwas in the country and will organise the work of government authorities, institutions and individuals related to Islamic rulings, official news agency WAM reported.

It will also grant licences to issue fatwas, train muftis and develop their skills, and conduct related studies and research, in coordination with the General Authority of Islamic Affairs and Endowments.

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