A few years ago, this term came up and we all learned what it meant: “the right to die” pretty much. Dr. Kevorkian helped many patients with terminal diseases perform what was known as doctor-assisted suicide. These patients could no longer tolerate their pain and suffering, there was no medical relief and were just waiting to die but just to speed things up a bit and rid themselves of their misery, they would go through this greatly controversial procedure.
I don’t know what to say. On one hand, you have this issue of unbearable pain and suffering and on the other hand, most religions condemn any form of suicide.
niksik, remember Star Trek V, when Mccoy relives the memories of pulling the plug on his dad who is in immense pain and realizes after a while that the cure came out weeks after he did so. There is no right answer in this scenario, and this is indeed the most difficult decision a person has to take on someone's behalf.
I was just pondering on same question. We have many difficult to treat diseases. Now there are patients and families who take the fight to maximum, they adhere to toxic treatments wiht many side effects, take up diets that are bland and leave many things that make them happy. In this way they do probably add few months of their life.
There are others who wud not care much, they like to live they way they live and perhaps speed up there death.
Yes, so does that person get gunnah for commiting a suicide?
Yes according to my beliefs.
Allah says in Quran " La tanqna too Mir Rehmatillah" .
English Translation: Never lose faith in mercy of Allah. Then according to Muslim beliefs , Muslims get rewarded for their illnesses and sicknesses.
IDK... (I dont know)...I always say you need to walk a mile in those particular shoes before you can truly understand.
If you have a fatal disease...do you go for aggressive treatment which will make your last days nothing but misery? Or enjoy the shorter time that you have left...and perhaps even move things along with medications? I think Allah/God would forgive an overuse of morphine in the case of terminal and painful cancer patients yeah? You can't truly know what you'd want until you face that situation I think.
As far as a person who is unable to express their wishes...my heart breaks for them. Like Terri Schiavo, the woman in a vegetative state whose husband got legal permission to cease IV hydration and feeding. Her parents wanted her alive and thought that she would want to remain alive. Her husband differed, fought in the courts and won. She died after 17 days of no food or water.
Lesson to be learned...think about it and then write your will or at the very least make your loved ones aware of what you would want to happen in such a tragic situation.
I have often seen relatives that were least interested in people when they wre in good health suddenly become so interested in prolonging life on all costs when a person becomes very ill, is it guilt? remorse?
1) pulling the plug- i.e. patient is on life support may or may not be aware of surroundings etc
2) providing something to a patient to end their life
3) refusal of treatment
I think the only haram thing is #2, not sure about #3, but is refusing to accept treatment also not allowed? there are cases where treatment 'may' buy people some time, but it would be painful, stressful, have all kinds of issues. Would someone want to go for the treatment or just say no i dont want it and live out rest of his days in peace.
I am not talking in abstract terms here, a cousin of mine was dianosed with GI cancer, and by the time they found out it was so severe that they said he had maybe a few months to live with a huge dose of chemo and radiation. he refused and passed away in a few weeks.
I dont know, the quantity of time vs. quality of time can be a huge decision.
2 maybe is haram but Haram itself is conditional/subjective in Islam and there could be conditions/situations when it is OK ..
so lets take an example .. lets say that I became victim of this deadly virus that is so deadly in nature that anyone who even comes 20 feet close to me can catch that and will die. I am nothing but a biological atomic bomb for the humanity. If I asked to be killed, would that be OK? I guess so..
How about keeping my dignity? Like this woman who asked Prophet to pray for her death as because of Epilepsy, she was getting seizures and in that condition, her clothes were no longer hiding her body and making her naked.
or when we sometimes pray for some very old and ill member of our family that "Allah oon kee mushkil asaan kar day" (literally means may Allah give them death). Is that dua allowed .. maybe it is. Doing something to facilitate that dua is allowed? Hmmm ... now that is a million dollar question, innit?