Maulana Wahiduddin Khan | Khabar South Asia Website | October 08, 2013
Donation of prominent Muslim's body to science sparks debate
But one top Islamic scholar says neither the Qur'an nor the Hadith forbid organ donation, and that donating a dead body to benefit others cannot be declared unlawful.
"There is a well-known principle accepted among the ulema, that is, al-aslu fi l-ashyaa al-ibaha, which in Arabic means, originally everything is lawful except that which the Shariah has forbidden," Maulana Wahiduddin Khan, founder of New Delhi-based Centre for Peace and Spirituality International, told Khabar.
There is consensus among scholars that only Allah and his Prophet can make anything haram, he added.
"In such a situation there is every right to say that organ donation is lawful in Islam."
In fact, organ donation is a "kind of divine donation" and should never be compared to muthla, the Islamic scholar said.
"Some are saying that organ donation is nothing but muthla. But they are drawing a wrong parallel. Muthla means disfigurement -- that results from acts of hate and enmity. Organ donation is totally based on charity, compassion and love for others – you can never call it muthla," he said.
"There is a Hadith which says: 'Make yourself useful for others'. In the present scientific age, organ donation is a clear example of this kind of usefulness."