Bioethics From An Islamic Perspective - Sayed Jafar Qazwini - Night 9 | MYC

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[2022] MYC RAMADAN PROGRAM Topic: Bioethics From An Islamic Perspective Speaker: Sayed Jafar Qazwini Date: • April 10, 2022 • Night 9 of Ramadan 1443 📍Islamic Institute of America Dearborn Heights, MI

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[0:02][Music] flips is this good do you hear me [Music] muhammad [Music]

[1:48]muhammad respecting moral values and adhering to ethical norms is a universal

[2:04]value as an universally accepted value you don't see a religion explicitly

[2:13]tells its followers or adherents to violate people's for example dignity oppress

[2:24]them transgress against them violate their dignity no religion condones oppression stealing

[2:37]murders and any transgression against the fellow citizens you cannot find any

[2:47]creed whether it's divine or man-made that condones such kind of act

[2:52]in fact this ayah that i will recite underscores this fact that

[3:00]upholding to the universal mortal values is tantamount for allah to reward

[3:10]anyone who upholds those values here the ayah says [Music] out of

[3:31]those sects or those religions that i mentioned if all those sects

[3:39]uphold the moral values do well believe in allah and those you

[3:47]know main tenants believe in allah believe in the day of judgment

[3:54]with good deeds virtuous deed then he will be for sure will

[4:03]be rewarded in the hereafter that's an emphasis that those moral universal

[4:10]moral values and ethics is commonly shared between different denominations religions communities

[4:18]human communities and so forth my topic tonight brothers and sisters is

[4:28]called bioethics from the islamic perspective some youth members ask me what

[4:45]is bioethic what are you talking about you see those ethical laws

[4:51]moral laws that pertain to the advances of biology medicine and related

[5:00]fields are called bioethics let me simplify it anything that percent pertains

[5:08]to life our life human life is called bio now when it

[5:13]becomes an ethical issue is called bio ethics so those issues concerning

[5:24]for example biology biotechnology medical field those disciplines they should have a

[5:35]set of values ethical values ethical conditions so those are called bioethics

[5:45]let me give you an example when it comes to abortion we

[5:50]are dealing with life right either we terminate a life or we

[5:56]let it go so abortion is it allowed is it something considered

[6:06]ethical or non-ethical or sometimes ethical sometimes it's not ethical under what

[6:11]what condition is considered to be accepted and under what could what

[6:19]condition it is not accepted the same thing with the cloning you

[6:24]know what a cloning is cloning you know back probably you know

[6:30]two decades ago they cloned a sheep and afterward they cloned a

[6:34]monkey and so forth so as a cloning let's say a scientist

[6:39]come a university comes and say okay we can clone a human

[6:45]being is that an ethical issue or non-ethical issue and if it's

[6:50]ethical issue under which guidelines under which condition or there is no

[6:58]condition these are all discussed in the bioethical field in the bioethics

[7:05]field another example you know these are common things you know the

[7:10]abortion cloning they are big subjects for example a patient goes to

[7:17]the doctor and the doctor tells him you need to have a

[7:21]surgery your appendix is removed we need to remove your appendix because

[7:24]you're gonna be in trouble if we don't and he get admitted

[7:29]for a surgery is there a lot guideline to tell us to

[7:35]differentiate between unnecessary surgeries and certain unnecessary surgeries for example what about

[7:43]if the doctor is just making it up maybe the patient doesn't

[7:48]need the surgery and he's just trying to make it what why

[7:53]out of a profit because of you know just to make more

[7:57]money or because the hospital have told him in order for you

[8:02]to work in our hospital you should have for example to have

[8:06]20 surgeries per month therefore he needs to reach this number is

[8:11]there any guideline is there any condition for such kind of surgeries

[8:16]statistics beer out that there are almost 30 percent of surgeries are

[8:28]unnecessary surgeries meaning the patients didn't need them but somehow they ended

[8:33]up in the surgical room is there any way to stop such

[8:39]kind of thing this is called an ethical value you see my

[8:44]point so going back to islam going back to my first topic

[8:50]i said that all religions adhere to the universal moral values no

[8:57]religion will take tell his followers to transgress to oppress to murder

[9:06]others always tell them to behave and to be good citizens then

[9:09]someone would ask me then how come we see so much of

[9:13]violence and wars and killings and and sometimes under the name of

[9:20]religion the problem brothers and sisters is not with the codes of

[9:23]religions rather with the practices many people take religion as a cover

[9:29]to advance their own motives because you know they want to have

[9:37]their own motives accomplished they use religion as a cover and through

[9:43]their own interpretation of the religion they conduct their crimes that's the

[9:50]problem and of course each religion have some deviance islam have some

[9:55]demi deviance christianity have some deviants other religions all have deviants who

[10:01]take who hijack the name of their religions in order to advance

[10:06]their own hidden agenda now how does islam view life when somebody

[10:13]tell you okay tell me about your own religion you're considered to

[10:18]be a muslim what is the value of life in your religion

[10:24]the ayah that i recited at the beginning allah says in whoever

[10:38]commits a crime of a killing of murdering a single person with

[10:44]no justified cause as if he has caught if he killed an

[10:54]entire humanity in look at the value of a single life equal

[11:07]to the lives of entire humanity how many people have been coming

[11:14]to this world since the beginning of the creation until the day

[11:20]of judgment how many billions how many hundreds of billions will come

[11:23]the almighty equates the value of a single life to that of

[11:32]the entire humanity and in the same token woman whoever preserve it

[11:36]whoever saves the life as if he has saved the entire humanity

[11:43]you know what it means allah is not is putting a price

[11:51]tag for a single life what is the price tag of a

[11:56]single life cannot it's so invaluable that cannot have any price you

[11:59]know when i tell you how much does this worth you tell

[12:03]me this worth as much as the entire water water in the

[12:06]world meaning that this is so precious that you cannot put a

[12:12]price tag on it this much value god has given to human

[12:17]life whether you murder a single person or an entire humanity in

[12:24]the eyes of god is the thing same thing is horrible thing

[12:28]and when you save a single life as you have saved the

[12:35]entire humanity this is the sacredness of life in islam is shown

[12:40]and demonstrated number one you have to strive for saving lives no

[12:44]matter what and under which conditions the priority has to be saving

[12:51]this life second whoever takes any life unjustly without a proper cause

[12:59]without a justified cause as he have killed the entire humanity he

[13:05]has become a murderer which is totally forbidden and outlawed this much

[13:14]allah subhanahu wa ta'ala puts for the value of a human being

[13:19]when allah has created a human being and he described it in

[13:26]the holy quran how he describes the process of creating man which

[13:32]unrivaled by any process god does not describe so marvelously the creation

[13:39]of sin of something as much as he did for the human

[13:43]being look at this ayah after your salah we have created human

[14:01]being we place it like a zygote in the worm of mothers

[14:16]we have changed this fertilize zygote to a clot then then this

[14:30]cloud changed to a lump of flesh then this lump of flesh

[14:37]changed morphed into bones then after it moved the bones with tissues

[14:56]and muscles [Music] when he gives the entire detail of the creation

[15:10]of a human being then he says glorified be god god marvels

[15:17]about the creation of a human being while he didn't say so

[15:23]when he created the entire universe what is more difficult creation of

[15:28]the universe or the creation of a human being obviously the creation

[15:34]of this universe is much more difficult and complicated than the creation

[15:39]of a human being but god does not marvels about the creation

[15:43]of the universe allah says it's more sophisticated is more complicated when

[15:58]he creates a human being what does it signify signifies the value

[16:03]the stature of the life of a human being therefore scholars say

[16:11]that life is an invaluable gift of god that give it to

[16:16]people it is not my own property my life doesn't belong to

[16:23]me the genuine the true owner of my life is allah subhanahu

[16:27]wa ta'ala he is the one who give us all and take

[16:38]it away that's why you see so much value god gives to

[16:43]the life of a human being and under no condition you cannot

[16:47]trespass that line it is impossible that you pass this red line

[16:54]that god has delineated we should be careful that the life of

[17:00]a human being worth more than anything else unnegotiated uncompromised this is

[17:06]the value of a human being not only preserving the life rather

[17:13]you need to make sure that you have a healthy condition as

[17:17]well when you get sick we ought to we have a religious

[17:24]duty and moral duty to seek treatment to seek curement here rasulallah

[17:41]whenever you get sick definitely you need to seek for treatment you

[17:49]cannot abandon yourself you cannot neglect yourself why because neglecting self sickness

[17:55]will endanger your life when you endanger your life you will end

[18:03]up losing it therefore the path toward losing your life you know

[18:07]it's blocked from the beginning tells you you need to go and

[18:11]find a curement because for every sickness god has created a curement

[18:16]that you need to follow now maybe a critic says you the

[18:22]muslims who claim that life is so much a precious is so

[18:30]much valuable then how come you have capital punishment for example you

[18:36]prosecute people to death there is death penalty in islam how is

[18:42]it so when you say that the life is so precious seems

[18:47]that is not so precious otherwise death penalty should not been prescribed

[18:52]under any circumstances what is the logic brothers and sisters a life

[19:00]is respectable and a precious as long as it is preserving other

[19:04]people's life and respecting other lives but when this life does not

[19:15]care when this person care less about about other people's life and

[19:19]recklessly violate those rights and take away another life then this life

[19:25]become worthless and it's no longer is a sign of god no

[19:30]longer is considered to be a valuable gift of god valuable gift

[19:36]of god is considered as long as you preserve the value of

[19:41]other lives but the minute you take them away we also lose

[19:47]our values there is no value for a life that's a transgress

[19:51]murders assaults robs oppresses peoples always does wrongdoing and sinful act it

[20:01]doesn't have any value anymore look at the words of alibi al-hussein

[20:08]has a beautiful elegant in he says in his prayers he says

[20:24]keep me alive as long as i am obeying you obliging myself

[20:29]to your path as long as i am following your orders but

[20:40]if my life becomes a posture of shaytan that shaitan can do

[20:47]whatever he wants then take me away before your wrath comes upon

[21:01]me take my life life with sin worth nothing a decent life

[21:08]is the one that is obeying allah subhanahu wa'ta'ala now what is

[21:17]the difference between the ethical laws in life pertaining matters the bioethics

[21:25]between a secular standards and islamic standards is there any difference or

[21:33]this is a universal law universal moral values that both accept here

[21:39]we try to do a comparison between the two after your you're

[21:45]being allowed salawat you see each legal system the secular western legal

[21:58]system and the islamic system both have a foundations for their laws

[22:04]in the secular system the foundation for their legal system and including

[22:12]bioethics is the individual's liberty and individual's right they always look at

[22:23]the individuals right and freedom and liberty don't they call it land

[22:28]of a free home of the brave is that what they call

[22:30]land of a free so always they look at the individuals right

[22:37]and liberty and based on that they design their laws so based

[22:45]on that the bioethic laws started from those you know stemmed from

[22:49]those four principles they tell you number one is the right of

[22:54]autonomy meaning anyone who's subject for example to treatment a patient who

[23:04]goes to hospital he has to have the right of autonomy meaning

[23:07]you cannot force him against his will to do something the will

[23:14]of the person is highly regarded you cannot obstruct that this choice

[23:22]the freedom of choice is a priority for the citizen and for

[23:29]the patient second when you treat him you have to treat him

[23:33]in a dignified way you need to preserve his dignity not in

[23:37]degradation you cannot force him to do something against his will this

[23:44]is called the right of autonomy second it tells you it should

[23:52]be beneficial meaning that whatever treatment you provide you help this patient

[23:58]it has to be at the best of his interest you don't

[24:04]look at the price tag you don't look at the interest of

[24:08]the hospital you don't look at the interest of the doctor rather

[24:12]the interest of the patient himself or herself does she require surgery

[24:19]then yes you recommend a surgery if she doesn't require a surgery

[24:26]you cannot you cannot suggest the surgery because you need for example

[24:31]to meet certain condition between the doctor and the hospital so beneficence

[24:35]always you keep the ma you keep in mind the best interest

[24:43]of the patient this third rule it tells you non-male efficience which

[24:53]is it says that first do no harm what does it mean

[24:57]tells you you're a doctor you want to prescribe a medication for

[25:02]your patient you need to be 100 percent sure that this medication

[25:09]does not have a side effect does not hurt the patient when

[25:15]you tell him immunize you need to know for sure that immunization

[25:20]vaccination does not hurt him then you become beneficial you want to

[25:25]help him good but you don't put him through harm's way first

[25:30]make sure that you do not hurt him then you try to

[25:37]help him you see my point two things you want to help

[25:40]but your help is conditioned that you do not exert any harm

[25:46]to him be careful do not harm him first second you become

[25:50]beneficial and then you help him out you see i will give

[25:56]you a general example you have a neighbor but we always harass

[26:01]the neighbor it tells you do not harass the neighbor be quiet

[26:05]don't harass them don't park your car in their driveway don't throw

[26:12]your trash in their way this is better than you do those

[26:16]and then at the end in ramadan and after you send them

[26:20]a bowel of luchi don't do this you want to be helpful

[26:24]to them you want to be kind to them you give them

[26:27]a bowl of mulu at the same time you harass them no

[26:30]don't harass them and don't send them you see the point so

[26:36]this non-maleficence tells you stop do not hurt the patient then when

[26:41]you're sure that you're not hurting the patient then you can be

[26:43]beneficial to them and help them is this it clear now sallallahu

[26:53]and the last one you see we said three principles first was

[26:59]right of autonomy beneficience non-maleficence and justice you know every patient every

[27:08]citizen deserve a fair treatment if my treatment for this patient let's

[27:13]say five hundred dollars under no circumstances i should make it one

[27:20]thousand dollars that i give additional treatment from here and there for

[27:26]example he needs a one medication but i end up writing 50

[27:29]medications for him why because the pharmaceutical is looking for me telling

[27:34]me sell those you know medications because we need to make a

[27:40]profit here tells you justice prevents you from doing that have you

[27:45]seen those doctors when when they are visited by a patient instead

[27:49]of writing one or two medications they write tons of medications for

[27:56]them either they don't know what's going on they cannot find the

[28:00]illness of the patient so they try to you know trial and

[28:02]error let's say okay let's hit with this medication and that medication

[28:05]until one of them will hit the target either they don't know

[28:10]what they're doing or because they want to benefit the pharmaceutical companies

[28:15]this is against the fourth element justice you need to be fair

[28:21]with those patients so based on those principles of brothers and sisters

[28:25]you see that the life of people have advanced for example if

[28:34]we used to live in the 1900s we had a very good

[28:40]chance before our 50th birthday we've been we would have been dead

[28:46]because at that time the average life expectancy was below 50.

[28:52]today for example in japan the life expectancy expectancy the average 85

[29:00]years old in the united kingdom is 81 years old in the

[29:06]united states it is 80 years old why first because of the

[29:13]scientific advances especially in the medical field and second because of those

[29:20]bioethical rules those standards that have been placed in order to be

[29:27]watchful and vigilant toward patient's life and this trend is moving on

[29:31]you know the life expectancy by time is going up and up

[29:34]and up there is an anecdote it's a bit funny but it's

[29:41]true well i don't know if this story is a true but

[29:43]the trend is true they say an old man went to an

[29:49]insurance shop he was about 90 years old he went to the

[29:54]insurance shop to the insurance company and told them i need life

[29:59]insurance they told him you're 90 years old and you need life

[30:04]insurance no way we're not going to get your life insurance and

[30:08]you were 90 years old he looked at them and said but

[30:12]you did it for my mom they said your mom how old

[30:17]is your mom he said my mom is 110 years old and

[30:21]you're already given her life insurance they go through their system they

[30:27]check it they find out yeah true his mom 100 years 110

[30:31]years old and she has a life insurance so they apologize to

[30:36]him and they told him okay uh there is a bunch of

[30:38]paperwork that you need to sign for each one of them why

[30:42]don't you come back on tuesday and we'll be happy to help

[30:48]you out he said tuesday no i cannot attend on tuesday i

[30:51]cannot come on tuesday why can't you come on tuesday i said

[30:54]because the wedding of my grandfather he he is getting married and

[31:03]i cannot come on tuesday they said your grandfather how old is

[31:11]your grandfather he said he's 140 years old they said 140 years

[31:15]old and he wants to get married he said no he doesn't

[31:21]want to get married but his parents are forcing him to get

[31:24]married this indicative of the trend that our lives and life expectancy

[31:32]and longevity is increasing due to what due to those principles and

[31:38]the advances in medical science what does islam say those were pertaining

[31:49]to the western societies largely islam accept all those points beautiful no

[31:57]mistakes in fact it has incorporated this jurists have incorporated those principles

[32:04]into their regulations and they say when you look at quran you

[32:09]will see plenty of evidences that support this idea it is against

[32:26]any maleficents against any injustice therefore you see those roots in the

[32:32]holy quran when you talk about dignity of a human being 1400

[32:37]years ago the quran has emphasized on this fact the children of

[32:46]adam have been dignified they are having quran allah they have a

[32:58]better you know status than the rest of the creatures so those

[33:02]are all incorporated within the islamic laws however the foundation on which

[33:10]those laws are based in islam is different from the foundation where

[33:15]the laws are based in the secular world so the foundations are

[33:20]different remember we said that in the west they look at the

[33:24]individual's right individuals right is a priority is an important thing when

[33:30]you look at islam tells you no we're not talking about individuals

[33:33]right we're talking about his obligations out of a duty and obligation

[33:40]he has to preserve life a totally different mindset here as a

[33:46]right of people here's an obligation of people why there is an

[33:55]obligation in order to serve the benefits the expediency of people the

[34:00]masala and mafasit anything that ends up and contribute to the expediency

[34:06]of people we ought to do it it's wajib it's a rule

[34:09]it's a duty an obligation and anything that harms the community and

[34:17]harms individuals you need to stop it so number one thing is

[34:21]out of duties and obligations not out of right when i say

[34:25]that i have the right to drink this bottle right meaning that

[34:31]i am entitled to it but i choose not to do it

[34:36]and it's okay but when i say that i am obligated to

[34:38]drink this water do i have a choice no more choice i

[34:43]have to do it why because this is in my interest so

[34:46]islam look at it from this angle anything that pertains to the

[34:52]interest to the beneficence of people it's a must you have to

[34:57]do it that's the whole difference between the western secular ideology and

[35:04]that of islamic ideology here you can see the purpose why islam

[35:08]emphasizing on life you see when it comes to abortion for example

[35:14]in the western secular culture tells you the mom has the right

[35:21]to choose she has a dignified life and she can choose and

[35:25]you cannot you know take the right of choice from her islam

[35:31]says yes she has the right to choose but as long as

[35:34]she does not hurt any other innocent life i am a free

[35:41]but my freedom ends where other people's rights start so when i'm

[35:48]taking other people's life tells you stop here we cannot do it

[35:52]your freedom has ended you cannot go farther this is the whole

[35:55]difference between an islamic perspective and a secular perspective tells you this

[36:01]life is so precious you cannot end it at any circumstances you

[36:06]know there is a terminology terminology called called euthanasia or euthynasia it's

[36:15]the the um the merciful death or the right to terminate your

[36:23]own life when someone is terminally ill let's say in fourth stage

[36:26]cancer god forbid he tells the doctor and my life you know

[36:30]i don't want to suffer anymore the doctor tells him okay no

[36:35]problem i'll give you a certain medication or because you're on a

[36:38]ventilator i remove the ventilator and kalas you will be done this

[36:41]is a merciful killing because for the sake of the individual here

[36:45]islam says no life is more important and more precious than his

[36:51]choice he doesn't has a choice he cannot have a choice to

[36:55]violate the value of life this is the difference between the two

[37:01]ideologies of course islam look at the life and the right of

[37:07]people and the right of life even before the start of that

[37:13]life before the birth of a human being does he want to

[37:16]have a decent life for this child first of his parents think

[37:20]of his parents first you as a man whom you want your

[37:25]bride to be think of the mother and you a mother think

[37:30]of the father which father you want your children to be you

[37:35]need to make sure that you choose the decent father for your

[37:42]children because if you choose a bad father a reckless father you

[37:47]have viola violated the lives you have violated the rights of those

[37:50]children who will come in the future because you have destroyed their

[37:56]own a future in the hadith from the prophet peace be upon

[37:59]him he says if you give your daughter to someone who is

[38:11]alcoholic then in fact you have ruined her life her future life

[38:17]and her children's life as well therefore be careful when you choose

[38:21]when you choose your mate your soulmate you must be very careful

[38:28]because the right of children in the future will be your responsibility

[38:33]you cannot go to any bar and say oh you know this

[38:35]lady i will pick to be my wife to my soul mate

[38:41]why because you're going to ruin the future of your children and

[38:44]the same thing with the woman who goes after a reckless husband

[38:47]or someone who's a considered to be sinner why for the sake

[38:53]of the children because the upbringing of those children depends on the

[38:58]parents and if they have a bad trainer at the beginning bad

[39:01]teacher at the beginning then everything will be ruined children have the

[39:06]right of education children have the right to be given a good

[39:12]name a decent name children have the right to be sheltered to

[39:20]be fed to be nourished in the right way allah is telling

[39:25]those people who used to kill their children because they were so

[39:30]you know in their poverties they were so poor in their condition

[39:34]says you cannot in fantasize your children i remember a while ago

[39:47]maybe 30 40 years ago in china they had the one child

[39:54]policy per family any family who has one child cannot have a

[40:01]second one until maybe recently in 2013 14 when they abolished this

[40:07]law at that time let's say the family was looking for a

[40:09]boy and they end up with a girl what they do somehow

[40:14]they would get rid of the girl by killing her or send

[40:19]her somewhere else the same thing the arabs in jahalia used you

[40:35]have no right to have an infanticide killing your own children the

[40:42]life after death when we our life is terminated after death again

[40:48]islam puts so much heavy emphasis on that as well it says

[40:57]the sanctity of the man is equal before and after death one

[41:04]day the prophet peace be upon him when sitting in a medjlist

[41:07]and all of a sudden they brought a janazah a coffin you

[41:11]know people were in a funeral they passed by in a procession

[41:15]they passed by the area where the prophet was the prophetess stood

[41:21]up for that gennady they told him he's non-muslim he said even

[41:25]so he's a human being show dignity toward that person to that

[41:34]deceased this much islam emphasize on that he tells you you have

[41:38]no right when he's dead you cannot expose his body even when

[41:43]you wash it you need to wash each part slowly while you

[41:48]cover him you make sure that his dignity is all preserved after

[41:52]death when you put him in a coffin it is highly recommended

[41:56]that the coffins to go on the shoulders don't put it in

[42:00]a wagon don't put it in uh what do you call it

[42:04]those uh wagons right the cars that they take the the um

[42:07]the coffins of the of the disease of the dead what are

[42:12]they called hurts yes it is highly recommended that people themselves use

[42:18]their own shoulders to carry the coffin to the grave tells you

[42:22]that the body cannot be mutilated you cannot decapitate the body of

[42:29]anyone this is the instructions of rasulullah and when whoever dies you

[42:38]have to perform salatin regardless of his faith whether he he's muslim

[42:44]or non-muslim maybe he's atheist still he deserves the proper burial and

[42:49]when you bury the dead he has to face the qibla these

[42:55]are all etiquettes for the people who have passed away that much

[42:59]dignity islam puts for the soul for the life even after death

[43:08]of any human being and foreign [Music] you

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Bioethics From An Islamic Perspective - Sayed Jafar Qazwini - Night 9 | MYC

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