Medical ethics and Islam: principles and practice (original) (raw)

Medical ethics and Islam: principles and practiceResource allocation and rights

A minimum level of cultural awareness is a necessary prerequisite for the delivery of care that is culturally sensitive. In this paper we simplify and highlight certain key teachings in Islamic medical ethics and explore their applications. We hope that the insights gained will aid clinicians to better understand their Muslim patients and deliver care that pays due respect to their beliefs. (Arch Dis Child 2001;84:72-75)

Islamic medical ethics: a primer

Bioethics, 2007

Modern medical practice is becoming increasingly pluralistic and diverse. Hence, cultural competency and awareness are given more focus in physician training seminars and within medical school curricula. A renewed interest in describing the varied ethical constructs of specific populations has taken place within medical literature. This paper aims to provide an overview of Islamic Medical Ethics. Beginning with a definition of Islamic Medical Ethics, the reader will be introduced to the scope of Islamic Medical Ethics literature, from that aimed at developing moral character to writings grounded in Islamic law. In the latter form, there is an attempt to derive an Islamic perspective on bioethical issues such as abortion, gender relations within the patient-doctor relationship, end-of-life care and euthanasia. It is hoped that the insights gained will aid both clinicians and ethicists to better understand the Islamic paradigm of medical ethics and thereby positively affect patient care.

Medical ethics and practices from Islamic perspective

International Journal Of Community Medicine And Public Health, 2020

Ethical physicians seem to have become an uncommon entity in modern day medical practice. Many patients and physicians feel that the profession of medicine is not living up to its own standards and expectations. One of the reasons is the lack of knowledge of the medial professionals about their religion and medical ethics. The ethics is not being right or wrong, instead it is the process of making better decisions or worse decisions compared to the worst decision. The introduction of newer technology in medical field such as organ transplantation, biotechnical parenting, blood transfusion, surrogacy, gender identification on fetal ultrasound, female genital mutilation has posed Muslim physicians and patients with some new questions of ethics. We look upon issues from the perspective of Muslim doctors and it is therefore important to discuss few of the practices according Quran, Sunnah. If the answers are not given in Quran and sunnah then one may turn to Ijma.

Medical Ethics form the Perspective of a Moslem Patient

Academia Letters, 2021

We are witnessing advanced and rapid medical development in many Moslem societies. These developments, inevitably, create more and more complicated medical ethical dilemmas. Moslem doctors have not kept abreast in developing suitable ethical discourses or frameworks to cope with, tackle and understand these ethical dilemmas from Moslem patients' perceptive. They have not been able to adequately satisfy and respond to the questions, queries and concerns raised by Moslem patients and their relatives whenever medical decisions with ethical components and dimensions need to be made. Doctors dealing with Moslem patients, generally, resort to ethical standards and principles that are based on Western/secular ethical philosophy to reach ethical decision-making. They , particularly, utilize the Four Principles of bioethics, , the deontological ethics theory, the utilitarian ethics theory as well as the basic rights and duties theories as developed by secular ethics. They always use these theories as a backdrop to reach an ethical medical decision and indeed in order to argue, discuss and interact with their patients and the patients' families in order for them to reach decision with their doctors. Such a secular approach often works because many moral beliefs and values are universally shared. However, it may not work for our patients as they look at ethics from different religious, societal and traditional prisms. We know, for example, that illness and cure perceptions have differing cultural influences on them. Moreover, in Islamic thoughts autonomy is not absolute and is restricted by some Islamic tenets and rules and "duties" are perhaps more stressed than are "rights". Indeed, our patients are more likely to accept a given ethical decision if it were discussed with them using Islamic, social values and perceptions than if it were presented to them using

What is it to practise good medical ethics? A Muslim's perspective

Journal of Medical Ethics, 2014

Good medical ethics should aim at ensuring that all human beings enjoy the highest attainable standard of health. With the development of medical technology and health services, it became necessary to expand the four basic principles of medical ethics and link them to human rights. Despite the claim of the universality of those ethical principles, their perception and application in healthcare services are inevitably influenced by the religious background of the societies in which those services are provided. This paper highlights the methodology and principles employed by Muslim jurists in deriving rulings in the field of medical ethics, and it explains how ethical principles are interpreted through the lens of Islamic theory. The author explains how, as a Muslim obstetrician-gynaecologist with a special interest in medical ethics, including international consideration of reproductive ethics issues, he attempts to 'practise good medical ethics' by applying internationally accepted ethical principles in various healthcare contexts, in ways that are consistent with Islamic principles, and he identifies the evidence supporting his approach. He argues that healthcare providers have a right to respect for their conscientious convictions regarding both undertaking and not undertaking the delivery of lawful procedures. However, he also argues that withholding evidence-based medical services based on the conscientious objection of the healthcare provider is unethical as patients have the right to be referred to services providing such treatment.

Medical Ethics from the Muslim Perspective

Neurosurgery and Medical Ethics, 1999

Consumerism is one of the aspects that need to be addressed to achieve the goal of becoming a developed country. In conventional economics, consumer behavior refers to how a user allocates an amount of money on various combinations of goods or services in order to maximize their satisfaction. However, Islam as a complete way of life acts to control and restrict human behavior as consumers, to achieve prosperity, peace and happiness in this world and hereafter. Therefore, this paper will try to delve into the ethics that should be considered by every individual Muslim in selecting, purchasing and using the products or services of any kind. Among those are referring to the priority of needs, preserving and keeping the maqasid al-shari'ah, complying with the principles of 'halal' and 'haram', quality consumption, celebrating individual and society maslahah and the practice of moderation.

Medical Ethics in Religious Traditions: A Study of Judaism, Catholicism, and Islam

J IMA, 2006

Multiculturalism and its associated plurality of value systems is rapidly becoming the norm in modern medical practice. Given this increasing diversity, greater emphasis upon cultural and ethical competence in physician training is necessary in order to provide culturally sensitive and ethically sound care. Religious values shape ethical codes and are expressed in the cultural norms of subcommunities in a society. Thus, an understanding of religious values that may influence the clinical encounter is important. This paper provides an overview of the ethical constructs of the sacred law traditions of Judaism, Catholicism, and Islam and will outline approaches taken by each faith regarding medical ethics. It is hoped that the insights gained will aid both clinicians and ethicists to better understand these religious paradigms of medical ethics and thereby positively affect patient care through increased tolerance and understanding.

ISLAMIC PERSPECTIVE ON MEDICAL AND PARAMEDICAL CODES OF ETHICS

Ethical considerations and applications are very significant for conducting any professional duty, most especially medical and allied professions like Medical and Surgical care and treatments, Nursing care and Midwifery. This is because medical care is directly concerned with saving life, treatment of ailments and relief of sufferings of sick persons. Various professions codified their peculiar ethical codes of conduct for offering better services to their clients. Since ethical conducts are morally oriented and Islam instructs its followers to always be morally upright, it could rightly be deduced that there are some ethical guidelines within its teachings in the Qur'an and Sunnah (prophetic traditions) for offering better services to patients by Muslim professionals in medical and allied professions. These includes attitudes between the health worker and the patient, the heath worker and his colleagues, personal qualities, confidence, sincerity and dedication to duty, among others. This article is therefore an attempt to highlight on Islamic perspective of ethical conducts for Muslim health personnel, for emulation and execution.

Islamic medical ethics in the 20th century

Journal of Medical Ethics, 1989

While the practice of Western medicine is known today to doctors ofall ethnic and religious groups, its standards are subject to the availability ofresources. The medical ethics guiding each doctor is influenced by hislher religious or cultural background or affiliation, and that is where diversity exists. Much has been written about3Jewish and Christian medical ethics. Islamic medical ethics has never been discussed as an independent field ofethics, although several selected topics, especially those concerning sexuality, birth control and abortions, have been more discussed than others. Islamic medical ethics in the 20th century will be characterised on the basis ofEgyptian fatawa (legal opinions) issued by famous Muslim scholars and several doctors. Some ofthe issues discussed by Islamic medical ethics are universal: abortions, organ transplants, artificial insemination, cosmetic surgery, doctor-patient relations, etc. Other issues are typically Islamic, such as impediments to fasting in Ramadan, diseases and physical conditions that cause infringement ofthe state ofpurity, medicines containing alcohol, etc. Muslims' attitudes to both types ofethical issues often prove that pragmatism prevails and the aim is to seek a compromise between Islamic heritage and the achievements ofmodern medicine, as long as basic Islamic dogma is not violated. Key index terms Shari'a: Islamic law based on the Qur'an and Hadith (Oral Tradition). fatwd: a legal opinion often expressed in a question/ answer format. mufti: a religious scholar who issues legal opinions. maslaha: the principle of public benefit, which can sometimes be used to promote new legal ideas for which the Shari'a holds no reference. The modern person rarely thinks ofmedicine as having Key words Islamic medical ethics; God), the Hadith (the Oral Tradition as transmitted by Muhammad's Companions), and the Shari'a (Islamic copyright.