Ruling regarding life support

· 24 Shawwal 1443 AH1 min readEnglish
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Question

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?

Answer

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

Answered by
Mufti Ismaeel Bassa, Mufti Moosa Salie
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