Dissecting dead bodies in order to learn medicine

Fiqh councils and scientific committees have undertaken
detailed studies to come up with the ruling on dissecting human bodies in
order to learn medicine, and that is because this issue has to do with two
important principles: 

1 –The sanctity of the deceased in sharee’ah, and the strict
instructions to respect and honour the deceased. 

2 – The necessary interests that may be served by dissection
in many cases. 

We will quote fatwas that have been issued on this matter by
academic bodies and some contemporary scholars, which may by summed up by
noting that there is nothing wrong with using dead bodies for dissection to
learn and teach medicine, but that is subject to the condition that the body
not be that of someone whose life is protected by sharee’ah, and it should
not be done more than is absolutely necessary. 

It says in the statements of the Islamic Fiqh Council in
Makkah al-Mukarramah, quoting from Fiqh al-Nawaazil by al-Jayzaani
(4/208-209): 

Based on necessities which call for dissection or autopsy of
the dead body and in which dissection or autopsy serves an interest which
outweighs the concern about violating the sanctity of the deceased, the Fiqh
Council of the Muslim World League has determined the following: 

1 – It is permissible to dissect a dead body for one of the
following purposes: 

(a)Examination in the case of a
criminal investigation to find out the causes of death or what crime was
committed; that is when the qaadi (judge) is uncertain of the causes of
death and thinks that dissection or autopsy is the way to find out these
causes.

(b)Investigation of diseases in
cases where dissection or autopsy is called for so that in the light of this
post mortem examination, precautions may be taken or suitable treatments may
be determined for those diseases.

(c)Learning and teaching medicine
as is done in schools of medicine.

 2 – In the case of dissection for the purpose of teaching,
attention should be paid to the following guidelines: 

(a)If the body is that of a known
person, it is essential that he have given permission before his death for
his body to be dissected, or his heirs must give permission for that after
his death. The body of a person whose life is protected by sharee’ah should
not be dissected except in cases of necessity.

(b)The dissection should be
limited to whatever is necessary, so as not to tamper unnecessarily with the
body of the deceased.

(c)The bodies of women should not
be dissected by anyone other than female doctors, unless there are none.

3 – In all cases, all parts of the dissected body must be
buried afterwards. 

In the book al-Buhooth al-‘Ilmiyyah by the Council of
Senior Scholars in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (2/83-84) it says the
following: 

This matter may be divided into three categories: 

1 – Dissection or autopsy in the case of a criminal
investigation 

2 – Dissection in the case of an investigation into an
infectious disease, so that precautions may be taken in the light of this
investigation to protect others from the disease 

3 – Dissection for scientific purposes, for learning and
teaching 

After exchanging views, discussing and studying this issue,
the Council has determined the following: 

With regard to the first and second categories, the Council
thinks that permitting them serves many interests in the fields of security,
justice and protecting society from infectious diseases; the violation of
the dissected body is outweighed by the many public interests that are
served by that. 

Hence the Council is unanimously agreed that it is
permissible to dissect bodies for these two purposes, whether the body that
is dissected belonged to someone who was protected by sharee’ah or not. 

With regard to the third category, which is dissection for
educational purposes, since Islam came to achieve and increase that which is
in people’s interests, and to ward off and reduce that which is detrimental
to their interests, and as it seeks to do the lesser of two evils in order
to ward off the greater, then if there is a conflict of interests, the
greater interest must be served; 

And since dissecting animals other than humans cannot replace
dissection of humans; 

And since dissection serves many purposes that are seen in
scientific progress in various fields of medicine; 

Then the Council believes that it is permissible to dissect
human bodies in general, but because Islam pays a great deal of attention to
the dignity of the Muslim in death as in life, because of the report
narrated by Imam Ahmad, Abu Dawood and Ibn Maajah from ‘Aa’ishah (may Allaah
be pleased with her), that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah
be upon him) said: “Breaking the bone of the deceased is like breaking it
when he was alive”;  

And since dissecting involves a loss of dignity, and since
there is no necessity for dissecting them because it is possible to obtain
dead bodies that are not protected by sharee’ah, the Council believes that
dissections should be restricted to such bodies and not bodies of people who
are protected by sharee’ah. End quote. 

In Majmoo’ Fataawa Ibn Baaz (22/349) it says the
following: 

If the deceased was protected by sharee’ah during his
lifetime – whether he was a Muslim or a kaafir, whether a man or a woman –
then it is not permissible to dissect the body, because that is mistreatment
and violating his sanctity. It is proven that the Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) said:  “Breaking the bone of the deceased
is like breaking it when he was alive.” Narrated by Abu Dawood (2792). 

But if he was not protected, such as an apostate or a
non-Muslim in a state of war against the Muslims, then I do not see anything
wrong with dissecting his body for medical purposes. End quote. 

And Allaah knows best.