title: Opinions on the Legitimacy of Brain Death Among Sunni and Shi'a Scholars.
abstract: The concept of brain death poses a great challenge to clinicians who may be required to bridge the interface of culture, religion, law, and medicine. This review discusses and applies Islamic jurisprudence to the question of whether brain death is accepted as true death under Islamic law. Among the five sources of Islamic law, the Qur'an and Sunnah do not directly address brain death. Scholarly consensus (Ijmā') does not exist, and Qiya does not apply. When applying Ijtihad, the identified collection of non-binding fatwā offer conflicting results. Debate continues as to the validity of brain-death criteria within Islamic circles.
authors.affiliation: Department of Emergency Medicine, West Virginia University School of Medicine, 1 Medical Center Drive, Morgantown, WV, 26506-9149, USA. Taqwa1@gmail.com.|Critical Care Medicine Department, Clinical Center, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA. Taqwa1@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Andrew C
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Miller
mesh_terms: D001293:Attitude to Death; D001926:Brain Death; D006801:Humans; D007514:Islam / Q000523:psychology*; D012068:Religion and Medicine
keywords: Brain death; Death; End of life; Islam; Medical ethics