INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MULTIDISCIPLINARY COMPARATIVE STUDIES (IJMCS)
Maqasid al-Shari’a and Organ Transplantation: Balancing Preservation of Life and Bodily Integrity in Contemporary Islamic Jurisprudence
E-ISSN: 4089-4904
P-ISSN: 4279-4976
DOI: https://iigdpublishers.com/article/1588
The global shortage of viable organs for transplantation has intensified ethical and legal debates across medical and religious domains. In Muslim-majority societies, questions surrounding organ harvesting and donation are frequently mediated through the discourse of Shari’a. While the preservation of life (hifz al-nafs) represents a primary objective of Islamic law, the principle of bodily integrity (hurmat al-jasad) carries equal juristic weight. This study examines how contemporary Islamic jurisprudence negotiates the tension between saving human life and respecting the sanctity of the human body through the analytical framework of Maqasid al-Shari’a. It analyzes the evolution of fatwas on organ transplantation, donation, and harvesting from 1980 to 2025 using a comparative fiqh methodology. Primary sources include the Qur'an, Sunnah, and classical fiqh texts; secondary sources comprise resolutions from the OIC Islamic Fiqh Academy, European Council for Fatwa and Research (ECFR), Assembly of Muslim Jurists of America (AMJA), and Al-Azhar, alongside peerreviewed bioethics literature. The analysis is structured around the five essential objectives (daruriyaat) of Maqasid al-Shari’a, prioritizing hifz al-nafs alongside hurmat al-jasad. Findings indicate a strong juristic consensus toward the conditional permissibility of organ transplantation: voluntary informed consent, absence of commercialization, proven medical necessity, and verifiable declaration of death in cadaveric donation. Living donation is restricted to renewable or non-vital organs where minimal harm is anticipated. Brain death criteria and organ trade remain the most contested areas, reflecting differing juristic weightings of necessity (darurah) versus human dignity. Contemporary Shari’a demonstrates significant flexibility in permitting organ harvesting as an expression of mercy and social solidarity. Framing organ donation as sadaqah jariyah (ongoing charity) within hifz al-nafs provides a robust Islamic bioethical foundation. The study recommends unified clinical and legislative guidelines for Muslim-majority nations to regulate organ donation, suppress trafficking, and enhance public awareness.
Aliyu Ibrahim Musaddad PhD, Salamatu Ibraheem Atukpa & Abdulmumini Bawuro Manga
Agoma, A. (2023). Old Stand-up Comedy, Orality, Subject Matter and the New Media: A Study of Alibaba’s 2016 January 1st Concert Performance. Ama: Journal Of Theatre And Cultural Studies, 14(1).
Agoma, A. (2023). SOLO PERFORMANCE AND THE RESTRUCTURING OF THE THEATRE CURRICULUM: A STUDY OF TUNJI SOTIMIRIN’S PERFORMANCE IN SOLO AFRICA. Ama: Journal Of Theatre And Cultural Studies, 15(1).
Agoma, A. (2025). Writing Solo Plays in Nigerian Theatre: Using Sotimirin’s Molue, Mbajiorgu’s The Prime Minister’s Son, and Binebai’s Karina’s Cross as Paradigms. Abuja Journal of Humanities, 6(2), 370-384.
Agoma, A. (2026). Solo Performance and the Superfluity of Facial Make-Up: A Study of Ipe, as Performed by Daniel Olamide, and Molue, as Performed by Tunji Sotimirin. Abuja Journal of Humanities, 7(1), 211-223.
Al-Ghazali, A. H. M. (1993). Al-Mustasfa min 'ilm al-usul (M. S. Al-Ashqar, Ed.). Mu'assasat alRisalah.
Al-Mousawi, M., Cherikh, W. S., & Matas, A. J. (2012). Commercial organ transplantation: A report from an international registry. Transplantation, 94(3), 212–216. [https://doi.org/10.1097/TP.0b013e3182594c7e](https://www.google.com/search?q=https://do i.org/10.1097/TP.0b013e3182594c7e)
Al-Nawawi, Y. (1994). Al-Majmu' sharh al-Muhadhdhab (Vol. 5). Dar al-Fikr.
Al-Qaradawi, Y. (2009). Fiqh al-maqasid: Inayat al-Shari’a bi-tahqiq masalih al-ibad. Maktabat Wahbah.
Al-Shatibi, I. (1993). Al-Muwafaqat fi usul al-Shari’a (A. A. Darraz, Ed.). Dar Ibn 'Affan.
Al-Zuhayli, W. (2006). Usul al-fiqh al-islami (2nd ed.). Dar al-Fikr.
American Psychological Association. (2020). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (7th ed.). [https://doi.org/10.1037/0000165- 000](https://doi.org/10.1037/0000165-000)
Arogundade, F. A., Barsoum, R. S., & Fadel, F. I. (2011). State of renal care in Sub-Saharan Africa: Challenges and solutions. Clinical Nephrology, 76(Suppl 1), 87–92.
Assembly of Muslim Jurists of America. (2013). Resolution on organ transplantation and brain death. AMJA 13th Annual Conference Proceedings, Chicago, IL.
Awaritoma, A. (2009). Stand-up Comedy in Nigeria.
Baba, A. A. Current Development.
Bello, A. K., & Adejumo, O. A. (2018). Knowledge, attitude and perception of organ donation among Muslims in Northern Nigeria. Nigerian Journal of Clinical Practice, 21(1), 42–48. [https://doi.org/10.4103/njcp.njcp_221_17](https://www.google.com/search?q=https://doi.org /10.4103/njcp.njcp_221_17)
Creswell, J. W., & Poth, C. N. (2018). Qualitative inquiry and research design: Choosing among five approaches (4th ed.). SAGE Publications.
Ebrahim, A. F. M. (1995). Organ transplantation: An Islamic perspective. Islamic Medical Association.
European Council for Fatwa and Research. (2000). Resolution No. 13/1: On organ transplantation and brain death. 7th Session, Dublin.
Gatrad, A. R., & Sheikh, A. (2002). Muslim beliefs and the donation of organs and tissue. Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine, 95(2), 57–60. [https://doi.org/10.1177/014107680209500203](https://www.google.com/search?q=https://doi .org/10.1177/014107680209500203)
