1 . أَخْبَرَنَا الْحَسَنُ بْنُ الْقَاسِمِ الطِّهْرَانِيُّ، قَالَ: سَأَلَنِي طَبِيبٌ بِإِيرَانَ أَنْ أَسْأَلَ الْمَنْصُورَ الْهَاشِمِيَّ الْخُرَاسَانِيَّ أَيَّدَهُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى عَنْ تَوَقُّفِ نَشَاطِ الدِّمَاغِ طُرًّا، فَسَأَلْتُهُ عَنْهُ، فَقَالَ: سَكْرَةٌ مِنْ سَكَرَاتِ الْمَوْتِ، قُلْتُ: تُرِيدُ حَيَاةً غَيْرَ مُسْتَقِرَّةٍ؟ قَالَ: هَكَذَا يَقُولُونَ.
Translation of the saying:
Hasan ibn Qasim al-Tehrani informed us, he said: A doctor in Iran asked me to inquire from Mansoor Hashemi Khorasani, may Allah Almighty support him, about the cessation of all brain activities, and I did so. So he said: “It is an agony from the agonies of death.” I said: “Do you mean an unstable life?” He said: “That is what (jurists) say.”
2 . أَخْبَرَنَا صَالِحُ بْنُ مُحَمَّدٍ السَّبْزَوَارِيُّ، قَالَ: سَأَلْتُهُ عَنِ الطَّبِيبِ يُدْخِلُ جِهَازًا فِي جَوْفِ مَنْ مَاتَ دِمَاغُهُ، فَيُحَرِّكُ قَلْبَهُ، قَالَ: ذَلِكَ لَحْمٌ يَعْبَثُ بِهِ.
Translation of the saying:
Salih ibn Muhammad al-Sabzawari informed us, he said: I asked him about a doctor who inserts a device into the abdomen of a person whose brain has died, so it makes his heart work. He said: “It is (a piece of) flesh that he plays with.”
3 . أَخْبَرَنَا هَاشِمُ بْنُ عُبَيْدٍ الْخُجَنْدِيُّ، قَالَ: كُنْتُ أَسْأَلُ الْمَنْصُورَ فَأَكْتُبُ مَا يُجِيبُنِي، فَسَأَلْتُهُ عَنِ الْمَرْأَةِ يُدْرِكُهَا الْمَوْتُ وَفِي بَطْنِهَا وَلَدٌ يَرْكُلُ، قَالَ: يُشَقُّ بَطْنُهَا وَيُخْرَجُ الْوَلَدُ، وَسَأَلْتُهُ عَنِ الرَّجُلَيْنِ يَخِرُّ السَّقْفُ عَلَيْهِمَا فِي زَلْزَلَةٍ أَوْ طُوفَانٍ أَوْ سَيْلٍ، فَيَهْلِكُ أَحَدُهُمَا وَيَبْقَى الْآخَرُ أَيَّامًا لَا يَعْثِرُ عَلَيْهِ النَّاسُ، فَيَخَافُ أَنْ يُهْلِكَهُ الْجُوعُ، أَيَأْكُلُ مِنْ أَخِيهِ؟ قَالَ: يَأْكُلُ مِنْهُ مَا يَسُدُّ بِهِ رَمَقَهُ إِنْ عَلِمَ أَنَّهُ قَدْ هَلَكَ، ثُمَّ يَتَصَدَّقُ بِدِيَةِ مَا أَكَلَ مِنْهُ إِنْ نَجَّاهُ اللَّهُ، وَسَأَلْتُهُ عَنِ الرَّجُلِ يُحِيطُ بِهِ الْمَوْتُ لِمَرَضٍ لَا عِلَاجَ لَهُ أَوْ نَقْصٍ فِي عُضْوِهِ، فَلَا يَجِدُ إِلَّا عُضْوَ مَيِّتٍ، أَيَقْطَعُهُ وَيُرَقِّعُهُ؟ قَالَ: لَا بَأْسَ بِهِ إِذَا كَانَ عَلَى هَذِهِ الْحَالِ، وَيُنْفِقُ دِيَةَ مَا قَطَعَ فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ إِنْ أَرَادَ شُكْرًا أَوْ أَرَادَ إِحْسَانًا.
Translation of the saying:
Hashim ibn Ubayd al-Khojandi informed us, he said: I was asking Mansoor (some questions) and writing down his answers. Then I asked him about a woman that death overtakes her while she has a baby in her womb that kicks. He said: “Her abdomen shall be cut open, and the baby shall be delivered,” and I asked him about two men that a roof collapses on them in an earthquake, storm, or flood, so one of them perishes, and the other survives for several days without being found by people. Then he fears that he may starve to death, shall he eat from (the body of) his brother? He said: “He eats as much as he can preserve his last spark of life with it if he knows that he is dead. Then he gives in charity the blood money of what he has eaten (by way of desirability, as it will be stated later on) if Allah saves him,” and I asked him about a man that death has surrounded him due to an incurable sickness or a disability in one of his organ. Then he finds nothing but an organ of a dead person, shall he amputate it and transplant it in himself? He said: “There is nothing wrong with it if he is in this state, and he shall spend in the way of Allah the blood money of what he has amputated if he intends (to show) gratitude or intends (to do) good.”
4 . أَخْبَرَنَا عَبْدُ اللَّهِ بْنُ حَبِيبٍ الطَّبَرِيُّ، قَالَ: سَأَلْتُ الْمَنْصُورَ أَيَّدَهُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى عَنِ الرَّجُلِ مَاتَ دِمَاغُهُ وَقَلْبُهُ نَابِضٌ، أَهُوَ مَيِّتٌ؟ قَالَ: لَوْ كَانَ مَيِّتًا مَا سَأَلْتَنِي عَنْهُ! قُلْتُ: إِنَّهُ لَا شُعُورَ لَهُ، وَلَا تَكَلُّمَ، وَلَا تَحَرُّكَ، وَلَا تَنَفُّسَ، إِلَّا إِذَا أُجْبِرَ عَلَيْهِ بِجِهَازٍ وَلَا يُرْجَى بَقَاؤُهُ، وَإِنَّمَا يَنْبَضُ قَلْبُهُ لِمَا يُجْبَرُ عَلَيْهِ مِنَ التَّنَفُّسِ، وَلَوْ لَمْ يُجْبَرْ عَلَيْهِ لَسَكَنَ! قَالَ: لَيْسَ عَلَيْكَ أَنْ تُجْبِرَهُ عَلَيْهِ إِذَا كَانَ عَبَثًا لَا طَائِلَ تَحْتَهُ، دَعْهُ يَذْهَبُ إِلَى رَبِّهِ إِذَا دَعَاهُ، قُلْتُ: فَإِنْ كَانَ مَرِيضٌ يُضْطَرُّ إِلَى عُضْوٍ مِنْ أَعْضَائِهِ كَقَلْبٍ أَوْ كَبِدٍ، أَيَجُوزُ أَنْ يُؤْخَذَ ذَلِكَ الْعُضْوُ فَيُلْصَقَ بِهِ؟ قَالَ: لَا بَأْسَ بِهِ إِذَا كَانَ الْمَرِيضُ مُؤْمِنًا يُخَافُ عَلَيْهِ الْمَوْتُ، وَلَا دِيَةَ عَلَيْهِ وَلَا عَلَى الْآخِذِ، قُلْتُ: إِنَّهُمْ يَقُولُونَ عَلَيْهِ دِيَةُ الْمَيِّتِ تُصْرَفُ عَنْهُ فِي وُجُوهِ الْخَيْرِ! قَالَ: وَأَيُّ خَيْرٍ أَخْيَرُ مِنْ إِحْيَاءِ نَفْسٍ مُؤْمِنَةٍ مَنْ أَحْيَاهَا فَكَأَنَّمَا أَحْيَى النَّاسَ جَمِيعًا؟! ثُمَّ قَالَ: مَنْ أَخْرَجَ قَلْبَ مَيِّتٍ أَوْ كَبِدَهُ ظُلْمًا فَعَلَيْهِ الدِّيَةُ.
Translation of the saying:
Abdullah ibn Habib al-Tabari informed us, he said: I asked Mansoor, may Allah Almighty support him, about a man whose brain is dead while his heart beats, is he dead? He said: “If he were dead, you would not have asked me about him!” I said: “He has no sensation, speech, movement, or breathing except when forced to do so by a device, and there is no hope for his survival, and his heart beats only because of the breathing that is forced on it, and if it is not forced on it, it will stop!” He said: “You do not have to force him to do so if it is in vain and serves no purpose. Let him go to his Lord if He has called him!” I said: “So if there is a patient who is in urgent need of an organ of his organs, such as the heart or the liver, is it permissible to take that organ and transplant it in him?” He said: “There is nothing wrong with it if the patient is a believer and it is feared that he may die, and there is no blood money on him, nor on the one for whom he has taken (the organ)!” I said: “They say the dead person’s blood money is on him so that it is spent on good works on his behalf!” He said: “And what good is better than reviving the life of a believer that whoever revives it, it is as if he has revived all mankind?!” Then he said: “Whoever removes the heart or the liver of a dead person unjustly, the blood money is on him.”
5 . أَخْبَرَنَا وَلِيدُ بْنُ مَحْمُودٍ السِّجِسْتَانِيُّ، قَالَ: سَأَلْتُ الْعَالِمَ عَنِ الْمَيِّتِ يُخْرَجُ قَلْبُهُ لِيُلْحَقَ بِحَيٍّ مُضْطَرٍّ إِلَيْهِ، قَالَ: لَا أَرَى بِذَلِكَ بَأْسًا، ذَلِكَ مِنْ آيَاتِ اللَّهِ، ذَلِكَ مِمَّا قَالَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى: ﴿يُخْرِجُ الْحَيَّ مِنَ الْمَيِّتِ﴾[1]، قُلْتُ: لَا تَزَالُ تَفْتَحُ عَلَيْنَا أَبْوَابًا مِنَ الْعِلْمِ! فَهَلْ لَهُ مِنْ دِيَةٍ عَلَى مَنْ فَعَلَ ذَلِكَ بِهِ؟ قَالَ: إِنْ فَعَلَ ذَلِكَ بِهِ وَقَدْ سَكَنَتْ أَنْفَاسُهُ فَلَيْسَ عَلَيْهِ دِيَةٌ، وَإِنْ فَعَلَ وَهُوَ يَتَنَفَّسُ أَرَى أَنْ يَتَصَدَّقَ عَنْهُ عُشْرَ الدِّيَةِ لِئَلَّا يَخْتَلِجَ فِي صَدْرِهِ أَنَّهُ آثِمٌ! فَأَخَذَنِي الْبُكَاءُ، فَقَالَ: وَمَا يُبْكِيكَ؟! قُلْتُ: رَأَيْتُ عَظَمَتَكَ فِي غُرْبَتِكَ فَبَكَيْتُ! قَالَ: الْعَظَمَةُ لِلَّهِ، وَإِنَّمَا أَنَا عَبْدٌ آتَانِي مِنْ عِنْدِهِ رَحْمَةً، وَجَعَلَنِي هَادِيًا مَهْدِيًّا.
Translation of the saying:
Walid ibn Mahmoud al-Sajistani informed us, he said: I asked the scholar about a dead person whose heart is removed to be transplanted in a living person who is in urgent need of it. He said: “I see nothing wrong with it. It is one of the signs of Allah. It is an example of what Allah Almighty has said: ‘He brings out the living from the dead!’” I said: “You always open some doors of knowledge for us! Then is there blood money on the one who did this to him?” He said: “If he did this to him while his breathing was stopped, there is no blood money on him, and if he did so while he was breathing (artificially), I see (fit) that he should give in charity one-tenth of the blood money (equivalent to ten camels or one hundred dinars) on his behalf so that he does not feel in his heart that he is a sinner!” At that moment, I began to cry. So he said: “What made you cry?!” I said: “I saw your greatness in your loneliness, so I cried!” He said: “Greatness is for Allah, and I am merely a servant whom He has granted mercy from Himself and made a guided guide.”
6 . أَخْبَرَنَا أَحْمَدُ بْنُ عَبْدِ الرَّحْمَنِ الطَّالَقَانِيُّ، قَالَ: سَأَلْتُهُ عَنِ الْمُضْطَرِّ الَّذِي قَدْ أَحَاطَ بِهِ الْمَوْتُ لِنَقْصٍ فِي عُضْوِهِ أَوْ عَيْبٍ، فَلَا يَجِدُ إِلَّا مَيِّتًا، أَلَهُ أَنْ يَقْطَعَ ذَلِكَ الْعُضْوَ مِنْهُ، فَيُلْحِقَهُ بِنَفْسِهِ، إِذَا خَافَ أَنْ يُدْرِكَهُ الْمَوْتُ؟ قَالَ: مَاذَا يُرِيدُ؟! أَيُرِيدُ أَنْ يَفِرَّ مِنَ الْمَوْتِ؟! ﴿قُلْ لَنْ يَنْفَعَكُمُ الْفِرَارُ إِنْ فَرَرْتُمْ مِنَ الْمَوْتِ أَوِ الْقَتْلِ وَإِذًا لَا تُمَتَّعُونَ إِلَّا قَلِيلًا﴾[2]، ثُمَّ سَكَتَ حَتَّى ظَنَنْتُ أَنَّهُ لَا يُجَوِّزُهُ، ثُمَّ قَالَ: لَيْسَ عَلَيْهِ جُنَاحٌ إِذَا كَانَ بَالِغًا ذَلِكَ الْمَبْلَغَ، قُلْتُ: فَهَلْ عَلَيْهِ أَنْ يَسْتَأْذِنَ لِذَلِكَ أَوْلِيَاءَ الْمَيِّتِ؟ قَالَ: لَيْسَ عَلَيْهِ أَنْ يَسْتَأْذِنَهُمْ إِذَا كَانَ بَالِغًا ذَلِكَ الْمَبْلَغَ، وَإِنِ اسْتَأْذَنَهُمْ فَلَيْسَ لَهُمْ أَنْ يَمْنَعُوهُ إِنْ وَجَدُوهُ مُؤْمِنًا، فَإِنَّمَا الْمُؤْمِنُونَ بِمَنْزِلَةِ الْجَسَدِ الْوَاحِدِ، إِذَا اشْتَكَى عُضْوًا مِنْهُ وَجَدَ أَلَمَ ذَلِكَ فِي سَائِرِ أَعْضَائِهِ، لِأَنَّ أَرْوَاحَهُمْ مِنْ رُوحٍ وَاحِدَةٍ، وَإِنَّ رُوحَ الْمُؤْمِنِ لَأَشَدُّ اتِّصَالًا بِرُوحِ اللَّهِ مِنِ اتِّصَالِ الشُّعَاعِ بِالشَّمْسِ.
Translation of the saying:
Ahmad ibn Abd al-Rahman al-Talaqani informed us, he said: I asked him about a person constrained by necessity that death has surrounded him due to a lack or disability in his organ. Then he finds nothing but a dead person, can he remove that organ from him and transplant it in himself if he fears that death may overtake him? He said: “What does he want?! Does he want to escape from death?! ‘Say: Never does fleeing benefit you if you flee from death or killing, and then you will not enjoy but a little!’” Then he remained silent until I thought he would not consider it permissible. Then he said: “There is no sin on him if he has reached this level (of emergency).” I said: “Then does he need to ask permission from the guardians of the dead person for that?” He said: “He does not need to ask for their permission if he has reached this level (of emergency), and if he asks for their permission, they are not allowed to prevent him if they find him to be a believer; because believers are like one body that when one part of it suffers from pain, it feels its pain in other parts too, for their souls are from one Soul, and a believer’s soul is more connected to Allah’s Soul than the sun’s rays are connected to the sun.”
7 . أَخْبَرَنَا مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ إِبْرَاهِيمَ الشِّيرَازِيُّ، قَالَ: اسْتَشَارَهُ رَجُلٌ فِي تَرْقِيعِ قَلْبِ أَبِيهِ بَعْدَ أَنْ مَاتَ دِمَاغُهُ، وَقَالَ: يَأْتِينِي رَجُلٌ مَرِيضٌ يُخَافُ عَلَيْهِ الْمَوْتُ، فَيَسْأَلُنِي أَنْ آذَنَ لَهُ فِي ذَلِكَ، فَلَا أَدْرِي مَا أَقُولُ لَهُ، قَالَ: انْظُرْ، فَإِنْ كَانَ مُسْلِمًا يُوَالِي آلَ مُحَمَّدٍ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَآلِهِ وَسَلَّمَ وَيُوَالِينِي فَأْذَنْ لَهُ، فَإِنَّكَ لَوْ دَفَنْتَ قَلْبَ أَبِيكَ فِي صَدْرِ مُؤْمِنٍ يَذْكُرُ اللَّهَ وَيَعْمَلُ الصَّالِحَاتِ خَيْرٌ مِنْ أَنْ تَدْفَنَهُ فِي التُّرَابِ يَأْكُلَهُ الدُّودُ! ثُمَّ قَالَ: ائْذَنْ لَهُ يُحْيِي اللَّهُ بِهِ جُزْءَ أَبِيكَ يَعْبُدَهُ وَيَكُونَ لَهُ ثَوَابُ عِبَادَتِهِ.
Translation of the saying:
Muhammad ibn Ibrahim al-Shirazi informed us, he said: A man asked his advice about the transplantation of his father’s heart after his brain had died, and he said: “A sick man that it is feared he may die comes to me and asks me to give him permission for that, and I do not know what to say to him.” He said: “Take a look. So if he is a Muslim who loves the family of Muhammad, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him and his family, and loves me, then give him permission; because if you bury your father’s heart in the chest of a believer who remembers Allah and does righteous deeds, it is better than burying it in the soil so that worms would eat it!” Then he said: “Give him permission so that Allah revives a part of your father with him that worships Allah and the reward of its worship is for him.”
Explanation of the saying:
For more information about the details and points discussed in these enlightening sayings that unravel the juristic knots of organ transplantation of brain-dead individuals, refer to Q&A 76.
