Search

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5915/42-1-5128 By analyzing the issue of Do Not Recuscitate (DNR) orders through an Islamic theory of ethics based on the five purposes of law, maqasid al-sharia, ethical principles based on the principles of law, qawa`id al-fiqh, and other applicable legal provisions, a DNR order is permissible in cases of a high degree of certainty that resuscitation is futile and will not result in net and lasting benefit for the patient.

The term 'ethics' translated into Arabic as akhlāqiyāt suggests an alien notion that ethics is separate from or is parallel to the law. Ethics is an indivisible part of Islamic law, unlike the situation in the West where ethics evolved in the recent past as a distinct area of study and practice to deal with issues of a 'moral' character that the secular positive law could not deal with since it divested itself of 'religious' elements. The Islamic view is that some moral issues cannot be resolved using empirical experience alone. With clear and robust purposes and operating under various sources of the law, Muslims can analyze and resolve all ethical issues from within the Law and do not therefore need another discipline outside the Law.