my dad had a subarachnoid hemorrhage this basically means a blood vessel bursted in the brain happens to alot of people usually above 50 and the damage is very different to each individual leading to full recovery or not.
my dad had one in the beginning of december 2006, my mother saw it immediately when he collapsed she called the ambulance he came to the hospital and they immediately knew what he had he went in the operation room and they had put drain on him to drain the blood away..
he become conscious one day after the operation, the damage he had was he couldn't (partially) move is right side of the body but the left worked he also had trouble talking (left side of the brain controls language). we all had great hope he would recover and would be with us.
but the bad news comes now. around christmas 2006 (end of the december) his situation got bad, he had a fever and they were testing if he could live without the drain but it failed and be fall in a coma.
for 3 weeks he was in a deep coma with his eyes closed and didn't even respond to pain, but now his eyes are open en he kind of follows you with eyes and responds to pain, nothing else then this he can do. they call this a coma vigil or prolonged coma some people can remain in this situation for along time .
he only lives on liquid food that is going to stomach and there are NO MACHINES keeping him alive, my dad is neither dead or alive this situation is very disturbing.
docters are afraid to talk to us about his situation because they hardly know things them self, they said to us he might come out of his coma and become conscious but their will be immensive damage and they don't know if this even will happen or when.
i pray for him alot.
now i am asking is it ''islamic'' to keep my dad alive? Keep in mind he doesn't live on machines.
i want to add he is 58 and was very healthy othert then he smoked, this was very unexpected. he had so many plans and things to do and this came falling from the sky on him!
i just want to know what islam tells about keeping people alive in very bad situations?
As far as i know it is haram to kill a person or suicide, although your situation is unique i theink this still applies.
Try www.askimam.com or www.islamqa.com
or Inshallah someone with more knowledge will answer.
The brothers are right, i hope you take the steps to find an answer, all i can say is i think its important not to lose trust in Allah:
Tansliterations and interpretation of the meanings)
"hasbiyAllahu la ilaha illa hu alayhi tawakaltu wa huwa rabbul arshil adheem" (9:129)
Allah is sufficient for me, there is none worthy of worship but Him, in Him I put my trust, and he is the Rabb of the supreme throne
and realise that: "...wa huwa alaa kulli shayin qadeer"
...and He is able to do all things
mashaAllah you say you are already making your dua so i say may Allah accept them. ameen
Food and drink and ordinary nursing care are not to be withheld as long as the patient lives (is breathing).
Human Life
The sanctity of human life is a basic value as decreed by God even before the
times of Moses, Jesus and Mohammad. Commenting on the killing of Abel by his
brother Caine (the two sons of Adam), God says in the Quran: "On that account
We ordained for the children of Israel that if anyone slay a person -unless
it be for murder or spreading mischief in the land- it would be as if he slew
the whole people. And if anyone saved a life, it would be as if he saved the
life of the whole people" (Quran 5:32). The Quran also says: "Take not life
which Allah made sacred otherwise than in the course of justice" (Quran
6:151 and 17:33). The Shari'a went into great detail in defining the
conditions where taking life is permissible whether in war or in peace (as an
item of the criminal law), with rigorous prerequisites and precautions to
minimize that event.
Is there a Right to Suicide?
Not in Islam. Since we did not create ourselves we do not own our bodies. We
are entrusted with them for care, nurture and safe keeping. God is the owner
and giver of life and His rights in giving and in taking are not to be
violated. Attempting to kill oneself is a crime in Islam as well as a grave
sin. The Quran says: "Do not kill (or destroy) yourselves, for verily Allah
has been to you most Merciful" (Quran 4:29). To warn against suicide Prophet
Mohammad said: "Whoever kills himself with an iron instrument will be
carrying it forever in hell. Whoever takes poison and kills himself will
forever keep sipping that poison in hell. Whoever jumps off a mountain and
kills himself will forever keep falling down in the depths of hell."
Euthanasia - Mercy Killing
The Shari'a listed and specified the indications for taking life (ie. the
exceptions to the general rule of sanctity of human life), and they do not
include mercy killing or make allowance for it. Human life per se is a value
to be respected unconditionally, irrespective of other circumstances. The
concept of a life not worthy of living does not exist in Islam.
Justification of taking life to escape suffering is not acceptable in Islam.
Prophet Mohammad taught: "There was a man in older times who had an
infliction that taxed his patience, so he took a knife, cut his wrist and
bled to death. Upon this God said: My subject hastened his end, I deny him
paradise." During one of the military campaigns one of the Muslims was killed
and the companions of the prophet kept praising his gallantry and efficiency
in fighting, but, to their surprise, the Prophet commented, "His lot is
hell." Upon inquiry, the companions found out that the man had been seriously
injured so he supported the handle of his sword on the ground and plunged his
chest onto its tip, committing suicide. The Islamic Code of Medical Ethics
endorsed by the First International Conference on Islamic Medicine (Islamic
Organization of Medical Sciences, Kuwait, 1981, p.65) includes: "Mercy
killing, like suicide, finds no support except in the atheistic way of
thinking that believes that our life on this earth is followed by void. The
claim of killing for painful hopeless illness is also refuted, for there is
no human pain that cannot be largely conquered by medication or by suitable
neurosurgery...".
There is still another dimension to the question of pain and suffering.
Patience and endurance are highly regarded and highly rewarded values in
Islam. "Those who patiently preserve will truly receive a reward without
measure" (Quran 39:10). "And bear in patience whatever (ill) may befall you:
this, behold, is something to set one's heart upon" (Quran 31:17). Prophet
Mohammad taught "When the believer is afflicted with pain, even that of a
prick of a thorn or more, God forgives his sins, and his wrongdoings are
discarded as a tree sheds off its leaves." When means of preventing or
alleviating pain fall short, this spiritual dimension can be very effectively
called upon to support the patient who believes that accepting and standing
unavoidable pain will be to his/her credit in the hereafter, the real and
enduring life. To a person who does not believe in a hereafter this might
sound like nonsense, but to one who does, euthanasia is certainly nonsense.
The Financial Factor
There is no disagreement that the financial cost of maintaining the incurably
ill and the senile is a growing concern, so much so that some groups have
gone beyond the concept of the "right to die" to that of the "duty to die".
They claim that when the human machine has outlived its productive span its
maintenance is an unacceptable burden on the productive stratum of society,
and it should be disposed of, and rather abruptly than allowing it to
deteriorate gradually (Jacques Atalli: La medicine en accusation - in Michel
Solomon 'L' avenir de la vie', Coll. Les visages de L'avenir. Ed. Seghers,
Paris, 1981, p. 273-275). This logic is completely alien to Islam. Values
take priority over prices. The care for the weak, old and helpless is a value
in itself for which people are willing to sacrifice time, effort and money,
and this starts, naturally with one's own parents "Your Lord decreed that you
worship none but Him, and that you be kind to your parents. Whether one or
both of them attain old age in your life, say not to them a word of contempt
but address them in terms of honor. And lower to them the wing of humility
out of compassion, and say: my Lord, bestow on them Your mercy even as they
cherished me in childhood" (Quran 17:25- 25). Because such caring is a virtue
ordained and rewarded by God in this world and in the hereafter, the
believers don't take it as a debit but as an investment. In a materialistic
dollar- centric community this logic is meaningless, but not so in the
value-oriented God heeding community of the faithful.
When individual means cannot cover the needed care, it becomes, according to
Islam, the collective responsibility of society, and financial priorities are
reshuffled so that values take priority over pleasures, and people derive
more pleasure from heeding values than from pursuing other pleasantries. A
prerequisite of course is a complete moral and spiritual re-orientation of a
society that does not hold to these premises.
Clinical Situations
In an Islamic setting the question of euthanasia usually does not arise, and
if it does, it is dismissed as religiously unlawful. The patient should
receive every possible psychological support and compassion from family and
friends, including the patient's spiritual (religious) resources. The doctor
also participates in this, as well, and provides the therapeutic measures for
the relief of pain. A dilemma arises when the dose of the pain killer
necessary to alleviate pain approximates or overlaps with the lethal dose
that might bring about the patient's death. Ingenuity on the part of the
doctor is called upon to avoid this situation, but from a religious point of
view the critical issue is the doctor's intention: is it to kill or to
alleviate? Intention is beyond verification by the law but according to Islam
it cannot escape he ever watchful eye of God Who according to the Quran
"knows the treachery of the eyes, and all that hearts conceal" (Quran 40:19).
Sins that do not fulfil the criteria of a legal crime are beyond the domain
of the judge but remain answerable to God.
The Islamic Code of Medical Ethics (1981 p.67), states: "In his/her defense
of life, however, the Doctor is well advised to realize his limit and not
transgress it. If it is scientifically certain that life cannot be restored,
then it is futile to diligently keep the patient in a vegetative state by
heroic means or to preserve the patient by deep freezing or other artificial
methods. It is the process of life that the doctor aims to maintain and not
the process of dying. In any case, the doctor shall not take a positive
measure to terminate the patient's life".
The seeking of medical treatment from illness is mandatory in Islam,
according to two sayings of the prophet: "Seek treatment, subjects of God,
for to every illness God has made a cure", and "Your body has a right on
you." But when the treatment holds no promise it ceases to be mandatory. This
applies both to surgical and/or pharmaceutical measures, and, according to a
majority of scholars, to artificial animation equipment. Ordinary life needs
which are the right of every living person and which are not categorized as
"treatment" are regarded differently.
These include food and drink and ordinary nursing care, and they are not to be withheld
as long as the patient lives (is breathing).
-Author unknown
Last edited by NoName55; 03-19-2007 at 12:43 AM.
Reason: link added and belated vote of regret
Dear Brother Masi:
first of all I am very sorry for the sad situation you are in... May Allah make it easy on both you and your family... And grant your father Peace and mercy...
Sounds to me like your father still has some function but not higher reticular function (higher mental function of the brain)--- Usually brain cells don't regenerate, as they are arrested in G0 for life... a few places in the body once the cells die can't come back to life unfortunately the brain and the heart are one of them.... Technically however though your father is in a vegetative state, he is still able to maintain basic functions that would disable anyone from labeling him "brain dead" I think the only thing I can advise is that you seek the help of a scholar who has some background in Medicine and I believe there is such a person who lives in Riyadh he is both a neurosurgeon and a Muslim scholar, all I know of him is his first name and I believe it is Khalid... he had several lectures on similar issues that concern patients like your dad... I believe that for now you need to look for hospice care for your father... Where he can get round the clock help... and try to contact the Saudi Embassy and ask them if someone could either hook you up with this doctor or give a humanitarian opinion of the matter that is hopefully educated.. for now make your dad as comfortable as possible and engage him... you know he is somewhere still inside so try to console him by reading him Quran and holding his hands... and speaking to him of familiar things... even if he isn't responsive it will still reach him
I truly am sorry for your troubles...
wasalaam Alykoum
fi aman illah
Text without context is pretext If your opponent is of choleric temperament, seek to irritate him
May Allah grant your father immediate shifa & good health. Ameen
Your father isn't being kept alive by machines - therefore he is very much alive. There is no question of you keeping him alive or not.
According to some coma patients they knew what was going on before they were able to move etc...
The Prophet (PBUH) said there is shifa is surah Al-Fatiha! Recite it frequently and blow on your right hand and wipe hand over your fathers head and body.
InshaAllah if it Allah's will, He will grant shifa. I pray He does. Ameen.
this is a very difficult area. Apparently your Father still has some upper brain functioning (above the brain stem and Medulla oblangata) therefore he can not be classified as brain dead and in the legality of most countries he would be considered alive from a legal standpoint. the question is how much cognitive ability does he have. That can not be fully determened. Although the brain is well mapped and nearly every area is identified for specific functions. There comes to be much disagrement over how much and what areas need to be functional for there to be actual thought. In my days of study we did learn that very little is required for there to be the ability to think and comprehend as areas of the brain seem to be able to take on functions that we did not know they could. I can remember incidents in which the only activity we could detect was in the visual cortex and yet when the person recovered from the coma we learned that they were very much aware of their surroundings the entire time they were comatose.
So the best advice I can give at this time is to consider him to be very much aware of your presence even though he can not respond. Until a Doctor and a Scholar both tell you he is no longer alive, I would say the best route is to do all possible to preserve his life.
This should be a joint decision between family, Doctors (at least one of who is a neurosurgeon) I would also advise consulting with a physiological psychologist if possible, and a well educated Islamic Scholar.
May ALLAH grant him high stage in Jannat and grant you and your family patience...ameen
***** قال ابن أبي مليكة : أدركت ثلاثين من أصحاب النبي - صلى الله عليه وسلم - كلهم يخاف النفاق على نفسه
Ibn Abī Mulaykah said: "I encountered thirty Companions of the Prophet, every one of them fearing hypocrisy for himself." [Muslim]
Inna lillaahi wa innaa ilayhi raaji3oun sorry to hear akhee, may Allah have mercy upon him, forgive him and make his new abode spacious and may Allah grant your family patience, continue to make du'aa for dad, cos the du'aa of the righteous child is an ongoing charity...
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