Muhammad ibn Adam al-Kawthari – The Fatwa Process & Bioethics

			sullo 100 Rahim Al hamdu Lillahi Rabbil Alameen wa salatu salam ala Sayyidina Muhammad wa ala alihi
wa sahbihi Ultramarine Allahumma aluminum I in fact when I when I lived and I was in our early
months of Hanukkah whom Allah and Milena Ylang Arlington are in the country came over I just
respected Sisters Brothers, salaam alaikum, wa rahmatullahi, tido 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 going overtime, I want to try to take less time maybe I don't know, it depends.
		

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

			And also our beloved 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 receive 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 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,
		

			and really 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 how far to a process and
this session can be considered to be like an ongoing session from the previous session. What are the
things that were discussed in the previous session? are related to this session as well. This font
to offer to effect was not a swear word. You know sometimes you know when we hear a fatwa it's like
Ayatollah Khomeini, like killed Salman Rushdie is like a fatwa. You know, some people really think
fatwa is some really harsh, you know, this 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 or
		

			it's an individual's opinion. And this is why it's not something that is enforceable. There's a
difference between fatwa and Kadosh Kadosh, 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 Allah
subhanaw taala you want to please God, it's all about the next life. Everybody wants to be ethical,
moral, religious, whatever. You could have difference of opinion. Many of these issues are very new.
		

			It relates to new modern issues, you will have different organizations and Islamic Academy of Judah
you'd 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 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 minorities 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 prestigious Macomb 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 are 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 for them for a chef for an island 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 move to you can have a female
male move to you and a female moved here 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 Mr. Ibrahim Rama Allah said that
moved the moonwalk there when hon Allah mean that a religious color is actually a signatory 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
		

			that companions sometimes they will go to companions and ask questions and one of them is to say no
ask that one. It's an I can't give you a ruling. Ask this one as that one in a time when we're
everybody is eligible. Cool.
		

			According to the words
		

			of the Hadith that everybody wants to be in which they hid. When we look at our classical
scholarship everybody is so fearful Oh Bacara the Allahu Anhu is so fearful AmeriGlo Hatami is so
fearful of giving a ruling to someone Imam Shafi somebody came to him and asked him a lot of the
times 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 Jerome Allen
footgear Jerome Allah Nora, sunnah Dara me, the most courageous from you in giving a fatwa is the
most courageous amongst you, presenting himself on the fire of *. If you're really courageous
about giving a fatwa, you're really daring to enter hellfire, but 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,
		

			as Mara was mentioning in the morning as well, Imam Malik Radi Allahu Anhu.
		

			He said my birthday to her Tasha Haley's server owner, only Derek. 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
this statement, not the number 70. But the man Arla more knowledgeable than me, you could have 2
billion people who are less knowledgeable than you telling you you're really capable on Facebook,
just put a post and 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 self set off for
our non Muslim friends or those who don't know, Arabic, the early predestined predecessors, from the
time of the companions there was 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 shoot for tarla 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 a lot of the movies or the scholars or people who are experts in Islamic jurisprudence,
they don't actually just deal with that 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. On the sixth, we're talking about something else. So you don't have absolute
		

			experts. But we do need that, like Armand was saying that they will. They are training students to
be actually specialized in certain areas of Islamic law, but Islamic 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 soul what we call
the soul must Allah to to understand what's happening on the ground. And this was also the practice
of the predecessors. Imam Malik, sorry, Mr. Mohammed, Al Hassan, che 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 Melania money for German 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 for power, but 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. Puppet is already a doctor as well as a scholar so
handler has the 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 data lifters and the how they work how and help them you
know we need to visit one another and see how things you know there should be a mutual respect
sometimes I feel that there's sometimes there's no mutual respect between the two Imam Shafi or the
Allahu Anhu he said, Man, real sciences real knowledge worth studying is L man. Two Two sciences.
Everyone will fail he'll have done sorry ailment or you will fail killing at the end
		

			Wireless mobility lab done element and element tape 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 ours
history doctors and scholars, scholars of the Islamic disciplines, folk Aha, 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, you know, we have these
		

			things like you know,
		

			Joe Harley Malou, you know that we have knowledge on the Giles I 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 be Tillet belittle
them, or belittle the fatawa ability layer 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, I've already done that in 40 minutes.
		

			In terms of the process, a lot of things were discussed, and in 20 minutes, you can't 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 faith 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 Elia as
		

			well. And you can also be, you know, a Bengali and a doctor, a lawyer, a doctor and a lawyer. It's
not a problem. But there are prerequisites, you can't just have everybody be a doctor, and everybody
needs a lawyer. So these conditions, the shoot of each the heart of what we say when we say it's too
hard, you know, there is some sort of hysteria that can take place today as well, which is based on
classical folk with new issues, but there are precut, 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 are given in the previous session, like looking at the text of the Quran
		

			and Sunnah. And then the azul fair can the faith and the cooperation 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 Isabella will tell you that, you know, he's been working on organ donation, transplanted
organ donation, I just spoke to him a few weeks ago, he is sitting there for 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 Hadith
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 it is the ruler or whether
there's Hajah Dr. Austin was talking about organ transplant donation, whether there's the Aurora or
Musleh Hydra some people who actually get 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 Salah and Taqwa along with qualifications of deep knowledge and faith
and appeal and all of that and all the different knowing the color and and the OSU and the Fuhrer,
		

			Salah and Taqwa, you know religiosity, God fear, 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, 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 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 first Victorian Cunnamulla to 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 fit. 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 judo 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 and 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 the Deputy Minister where your money for whom minister, wha hoo, your man for whom a boon whoever
is two days or equal that he is in deception. He's in last so we have to improve and evolve every
single day. Of course, we can make improvements, but this has to be done collectively, especially
you new issues, new medical issues, by ethnic issues, they require collective research of expert
Islamic scholars and experts within the medical field. The messenger of allah sallallahu alayhi wa
sallam said in a hadith once said, and it used to be Talib 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 fuqaha, 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, all day
long, and all night long days to, you know, perform Pamela and worship before Allah subhanaw taala
		

			they will call her and RBD. And 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 a lot
of the scholars here, Abu Hanifa, the Allahu Anhu. And his school of thought, for example, as an
example, all the schools 100 Allah will respect and honor Abu Hanifa school was based on this cause
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 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 has finished. Whatever even in Hinduism, you have someone who
says something, Mr. FINAL AUTHORITY, a lot of non Muslims, they can't 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 opens it leaves the door open for research for
people to debate and discus. As long as they've got the qualifications not anytime they can hurry,
		

			as long as they've got the qualifications and qualifications doesn't mean you have to be a graduate
from Omarosa, 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 will suit and fair
can 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 OMA 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 Giselle Kamala Harris Ramallah guna Marburger.