The Fatwa Process and Bioethics

Hello Heyman hamdulillahi Rabbil alameen wa Salatu was Salam ala Sayyidina Muhammad wa ala alihi wa sahbihi mehreen Allahu Allah. In fact, when I when I was in panic Allahumma

Hakim that I just respected sisters brothers, Salaam Alaikum, warahmatullahi, wabarakatuh barakato.

Everyone's still awake. I know it's been a long day. He said, 20 minutes, I might try to finish in 10 minutes. Everyone's getting overtime, I want to try to take less time maybe, I don't know, depends.

Technically 430 was our clothes off point. And I would like to thank all of you for staying for so long.

And also al bellava Academy for organizing this very important international conference and seminar on the topics that we're talking about today. And also, it's like a celebration of the last two, three years of the work that is being done by albula Academy, many students who took part in the various courses level one, level two, level three on Islamic bioethics and medicine, some of the students who received the certificates today. So it's like kind of a celebration. It's not really on a Sunday afternoon, late afternoon. I know it's Sunday is not a working day. So we, we need to try to make this a bit like a celebration. But I've seen the whole team has been very, very intense

hamdulillah not a problem.

Just a few points that I want to talk about. And I don't really have a presentation like you can just see, you'll have to look on my face instead of the screen there.

Just three, four points, very brief points. The first point is that this whole photo process and this session can be considered to be like a ongoing session from the previous session. A lot of the things that were discussed in the previous session are related to this session as well. This photo photo photo is not a swear word. You know sometimes you know when we hear a fatwa it's like Ayatollah Khomeini, like kill Salman Rushdie is like a fatwa. You know, some people really think but why some really harsh you know, these fatawa fatwa. You know, people use this word, and people get scared, you know, so it's just an Islamic verdict viewpoint that is collectively reached at all,

it's an individual's opinion. And this is why it's not something that is enforceable. There's a difference between fatwa and a da da, which means judiciary system in the classical times when you had the court, it was enforceable for twice is not enforceable. And this is why we don't have an hierarchy in Islam. And this is why somebody was asking this question. We have a difference of opinion. We have to live with it. Everybody wants to practice the deen in order to reach above subhana wa Taala. You want to please God, it's all about the next life. Everybody wants to be ethical, moral, religious, whatever. You could have a difference of opinion. Many of these issues

are very new. It relates to new modern issues. You will have different organizations Islamic Academy of Jeddah you'll have Islamic Academy of India you have also you know, the Malaysian Council and you'll have individual scholars and people will disagree. Now, people who they trust they will follow those opinions based on the heart the messenger sallallahu Sallam said in a hadith stuff the callback as your heart you will follow based on your conviction who you trust. And this is this is why we have these fatawa that are based on the research of scholars of individuals who have taken their time. So just the first quick point is that it's actually a very delicate position for a

jurist or for scholars or for Mufti or whatever you want to call them, religious leaders or Imams, or people who have deep knowledge of Islam, who actually take on this responsibility and task to arrive at conclusions. It's actually a very, very delicate responsibility. It's a procedures macom and a prestigious place in a position, but at the same time, it's very, very delicate, our classics, classical scholars from the time of the companions of the Allahu anhu May Allah be pleased with them till today. They've always realized the the delicacy, because remember, this is not just something that we're talking about the world forum for a shape for an Aryan for a Mufti to give a fatwa he has

to present himself or herself. You can have a move to animals here. You can have a female Mufti, you can have a female male Mufti and a female Mufti, but whoever that is, they actually present themselves before Hellfire and paradise before giving a ruling. It's not just a worldly activity. It's a really delicate matter. When you say to someone that this is allowed, like your mother in law said that Mufti Moonwalker on hon Allah mean that a religious scholar is actually a signature you are signing on behalf of God, you will be questioned some of them early scholars when they were asked these to say no, I don't have an answer go to somebody else. This was the practice even in the

time the companions sometimes they will go to companions and ask questions and one of them is to say no, ask that one hits an icon give you a ruling. Ask this one as that one in a time when everybody is eligible

according to the words

The hoodie that everybody wants to be on which the head when we look at our classical scholarship, everybody is so fearful. Oh, Bacardi Allahu anhu is so fearful. Amara hatami so fearful of giving a ruling to someone in mama shelter if somebody came to him and asked him a lot of the times he would ask questions and he would take time they would say, we need an answer you would say I actually present myself before Hellfire and paradise. How can I respond? Some of them used to say that

the one who was there's a Hadith of the messenger sallallahu alayhi wa sallam he said a joke from alpha to a joke Kamala Nora sunanda Dara me, the most courageous from you in giving a fatwa is the most courageous amongst you, presenting himself on the fire of hell. If you're really courageous about giving a fatwa, you're really daring to enter how viable you have to be careful. It's not about just this life. It's not about any other academic, you know, worldly subject, it's all about accountability before God. And this is why it takes time. Sometimes it takes effort you have to be very, very careful about and I think

a small was mentioning in the morning as well. Mr. Malik radi Allahu anhu.

He said, Murph day two hatachi deli server owner, Eric, I never issued not even one fatwa until 70. People who are more knowledgeable than me, testified that I'm actually worthy. And I was mentioned to him after that, that actually, you know, what's more important and significant with the statement, not the number 70. But the man are the more knowledgeable than me, you could have 2 billion people who are less knowledgeable, the new telling you you're really capable on Facebook, you just put a post on you'll get 205,000 likes, and everybody will say yes, yes, yes, yes, yes. It's not your Facebook fans, you need 70 people who are more knowledgeable people who are who have

spent 2030 4050 years of their life in deep Islamic scholarship. And so this is how the setup setup for non Muslim friends or those who don't know Arabic, the early predestined predecessors, that from the time of the companions, they were so careful about issuing religious verdicts because it was not just a matter of this life, it's about the hereafter before accountability before God. So that was just the first point that of course, we need to issue Fatah that doesn't mean that okay, we just like, okay, nobody's worthy, capable, capable. But be careful. And we all need to be careful. Point number two, of course, scholars need to understand this field. And they need to work. And you have

to also remember that a lot of the 50s or the scholars or people who are experts in Islamic jurisprudence, they don't actually just deal with that they're not just medics, or sorry, dealing with Islamic medical ethics or bioethics everyday, they have to literally talk about and discuss and relate to and give solutions on all aspects of life. Like one week, you will be giving, you know, a seminar or delivering a seminar on Islamic bioethics. And the following week, you're talking about divorce, and the third week, you're talking about marriage, and the fifth week, you're talking about dream interpretations and the six we're talking about something else. So you don't have absolute

experts. But we do need that, like Nanos saying that they will, they are training students to be actually specialized in certain areas of Islamic law, but it's dharmic law is vast. So

they do you need to, of course, understand this field. And this is where we have scholars need to work side by side alongside medical ethics professionals. And you know, that the sole role what we call the sole role must allow us to to understand what's happening on the ground. And this was also the practice of the predecessors. Mr. Malik, sorry, Mr. Mohammed, Hassan O'Shea Bernie who was one of the great scholars of the Hanafi school, he used to go and sit in the bazaars of Iraq on Kufa and Basra just to see how people trade people buy and sell. And he actually said Mullah meiotic is a man if oj and whoever doesn't know the times, or what's happening in his times, he's actually ignorant.

So they used to understand what's going on. And this is where we need scholars to have practical training, I actually feel it's very important, because we have theoretical theoretical knowledge, we have scholars who actually issue fatawa based on theory, let let let the physicians and we need to open up Open up surgeries and you know, let us go into the theaters and let us see how operations take place. And let us get involved. I know Dr. Papa is already a doctor as well as a scholar so handler has advantage but there are many others who don't have that advantage we need to go And likewise, medics who are professionals in the medical field come and see how these academies or

these councils or jurists or scholars or directors and how they work how and help them you know, we need to visit one another and see how things and you know, there should be a mutual respect sometimes I feel that there's sometimes there's no mutual respect between the two. Mr. Musharraf you're in or the Allahu anhu. He said, more. real science is real knowledge worth studying is a man to two sciences. Anyone will have done or sorry anyone for killing a Dr.

We're a multi billion have done animal and animal type medicine and Islamic law, these two are really worth if you're in any other industry than sorry, but they are also important. But he said, these two are really really important, you know, fields, and they both prestigious if you look at our history, doctors and scholars, scholars of the Islamic disciplines for kaha, and at a bar, they were really respected they should respect one another and they used one used to take care of your, your physical health and the other would take care of your spiritual health. And they need to work together and respect one another. Sometimes in the scholars fraternity, the well you know, we have

these things like you know, el mundo El Bulli, Joe Halima, do, you know that we have knowledge and the judges are like, they just whatever, that's showing disrespect. And likewise, within the medical field, they need to realize that scholars who are involved in deep Islamic scholarship, they have something to offer not just belittle them, or belittle the fatawa ability, or whatever, they just, you know, sitting back in, you know, 1943, doing whatever they're doing in back in the ancient times, or something like that. So, it's really important to sort of respect and appreciate each other's work. Point number three, quickly, are you done 1340 minutes.

In terms of the process, a lot of things were discussed, and in 20 minutes, you can really talk about the process. But of course,

this knowledge, Islamic knowledge is not restricted to any class, like somebody was saying earlier in the morning that Islamic scholarship is not restricted to a certain or a particular class. Of course, it's not Islam is not like any other phase where you have to be of an elite group, or some kind of class or some kind of background or ethnicity. It's not like that you can be blue, white, black, yellow, green, convert, revert born Muslim, non, you know, whatever. But there are prerequisites, like in every field that are prerequisites, you know, law is not restricted to any class, you can be a Pakistani and a lawyer, and you can be a Pakistani and a doctor and a lawyer as

well. And you can also be an, you know, a Bengali and a doctor or lawyer or doctor or lawyer. It's not a problem. But there are prerequisites, you can't just have everybody be the doctor and everybody needs a lawyer. So these conditions, the root of each the heart of what we said, when we say he had, you know, there is some sort of issue that can take place today as well, which is based on classical music. So with new issues, but if there are, there are prerequisites that are conditions. And we have to learn that there is qualification there is training, there's so many things involved, and some of the examples were given in the previous session, like looking at the

text of the Quran and Sunnah. And then the welfare can the fit under our aid and the principles and scholars who actually who issue these fatawa they're not just like having a cup of tea and giving fatawa some of them are staying awake. I know a lot of people colleagues who actually sometimes have sleepless nights and Isabelle will tell you that, you know, he's been working on organ donation, transplantation organ donation, I just spoke to him a few weeks ago, he is sitting there until 1am 2am 3am 4am, sometimes one night, he's not sleeping, just researching this. And he's not a research fellow at Cambridge University that is getting 100,000 pounds for that. It's absolutely

voluntary. You know, you literally spend nights and days looking through sifting through books, classical texts of Hadees and fake and, you know, literally spending hours and hours of your life. But people do that voluntarily. So it does require a lot of effort. And we really need to, you know, appreciate that it requires a lot of effort looking at the context looking at whether the Aurora whether it is harder, as he was talking about organ donation, whether there's neuro muscular Hydra, some people, actually there are also opinions that they do not agree with. I'm not saying I

have this opinion, but I'm just saying that in the world, there are certain opinions of people who do not agree with organ donation altogether as well. Now we need to look at them What are they saying? Do they have a background as well? Do they have some sort of religious academic understanding and evidence and proof etc. We need to respect those people who have scholarship and deep you know, qualification. And also Islamic scholarship requires remember, it's this it's religious base. So it also requires a lot of piety so that hantuchova along with qualifications, have deep knowledge and faith and Athena and all of that and all the different knowing the Quran and

the Quran, the Fuhrer Salah, hantuchova, you know religiosity, God fearing, God fearing this and you know, being close to Allah and this accountability is very, very important in Islam. Anyone who has to be an expert like in any other fields, you could be a very good person, as a, you know, you know, a lawyer, as a person in your law, you could be very good, but your private life doesn't matter in Islam is not like that your private life plays a massive role in how you are as a scholar. If your private life is not moral and ethical, then you can't really be an Islamic scholar because this is how Islam works. It's all to do with the hereafter in America.

laminate. So that's very important as well. And, and finally, so therefore, this is a specialized field, those who are not specialized and they don't, they are not experts, and they need to pursue a degree in quantum law, the moon as the people of knowledge, if you don't know and like I said it based on your trust and your reliance on people. And finally, the fourth point is that these are very new issues, medical issues by ethnic issues are very important. We definitely require collective. So this is not a job of one person. This is something you know, the fatawa that are coming out and they have been coming out like Islamic Academy has been working in j dub since 1980s.

They're trying the best. Dr. Oz you mentioned a lot of critical points and I acknowledge a lot of those, but they're trying the best a lot of people are trying their best in what they're trying to do.

They can of course, we can always improve this, you know, there's a saying of one of the companions or that are very minister your money for what minister wha hoo, Yeoman, for whom a boon whoever is today's equal that he is in deception. He's in lost so we have to improve and evolve every single day. Of course, we can make improvements. But this has to be done collectively, especially new issues, new medical issues, bioethical issues, they require collective research of expert Islamic scholars and experts within the medical field. The Messenger of Allah sallallahu Sallam said in a hadith once said, When are you going to be asked him that O Messenger of Allah, when we receive when

we come across certain issues and situations where we don't find clear explicit text in the Quran and Sunnah we don't find clear proof, what should we do? He says, shall we do alcohol RBD. In that case, you should all collectively, you know, together, come to conclusive answers, make Matura and he said, Make Matura consult collectively consult with the alcohol, the jurist who are actually worshipers as well. And this is why we find so much Baraka and blessings in the olden times of those great scholars that they used to during the day, they used to research all day, not all day long, and all night long days to, you know, perform to emulate and worship before Allah subhanaw taala.

They were an obedient at the same time. And this we have this example, the companions used to also collectively look at issues. And then we have these four schools of thought we all know, and a lot of the scholars here, Abu hanifa, the Allahu anhu. And his school of thought, for example, as an example, all the schools 111 respect and honor, Abu hanifa school was based on this kind of a collective committee where he would have 40 people and look at issues over days, sometimes taking three days and seven days and 10 days and 12 days, and arriving at conclusions. So this is the fourth point and that's it, I'm ending with this. But just this last, like kind of summary is that

this was what I already pointed out towards earlier on that this these fatawa are not binding because we in Islam, we don't have an hierarchy system. In Christianity, you have the Pope, he will say abortion is not allowed, end of story holla finish whatever even in Hinduism, you have someone who says something, Mr. final authority, a lot of non Muslims, they can understand this, that who speaks for the Muslims. This is this is actually a specific aspect of Islam, that there is no single authority because this what this does, is that it it leaves the door open for research for people to debate and discuss. As long as they've got the qualifications not any time they can hurry, as long

as they've got the qualifications and qualifications doesn't mean you have to be a graduate from another site. It could be anybody but who has studied and who has, you know, got expertise and understanding of the mastery of Arabic language and the Quran and the Sunnah and or siouxland, Falcon, whatever, whatever. And then, so it leaves the door open for people to carry on investigating and researching and of course, inevitably, without a doubt there will be a difference of opinion and difference of opinion is a salient feature of this oma it's a blessing for this on an XLR format is Rama. So there's nothing wrong in like people having different viewpoints. People can

follow whoever they trust any committee they trust and inshallah, with that we can take things further. I think I've stuck to my promise and I finished in 18 minutes. Joseph Kamala Harris, Ramallah