Donating blood un-Islamic: Fatwa

Seeing red

In a ‘fatwa’ issued in response to a question, the seminary said donating blood or body parts was not permitted in Islam as human beings are not the “owners” of their bodies.

The decree is posted on the website of Darul Uloom’s fatwa section dealing with ‘haram and halal’ issues, where a questioner asked the seminary its opinion on whether taking part in blood donation camps is right or wrong.

However, the opinion of the prominent Islamic seminary has not gone down well with several Muslim intellectuals who have asserted that religious bodies have already stated that there was no problem with blood donation.

Terming the fatwa as ‘incorrect,’ noted scholar Maulana Wahiduddin Khan said it should not deter the Muslim community from donating blood.

“We have time and again appealed to the community to come out to donate blood, and will continue to do so,” he said, when his response was sought on the issue.

In the fatwa, the seminary said, “We are not owners of our body parts to handle them freely. So it is unlawful to donate blood or body parts.” However, it added that “if someone donated blood to save the life of a near relative, it is allowed.”

Chairman of the Department of Islamic Studies at Jamia Milia Islamia University, Delhi, Akhtarul Wase said donating blood was necessary to save lives and recalled that the Islamic Fiqh Academy — the body that deals in Islamic jurisprudence — has already stated that there was no problem in donating blood. He added that a fatwa is only an opinion.