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euthanasia bothers on striking a fair balance between preservation oflife and the need to reduce the pains of the patient in a helpless situation.

Further advancement in technology has brought about what iscalled cryonics. Cryonics is an outcome of speculative medicaltechnology through which the brain of a freshly dead body is removedfor preservation since memory, personality, identity and some otherimportant information are stored in cellular structures in the brain.The exploitation of these rare human qualities through future scientif icresearch and the need to preserve same for a possible revival is themain thrust of cryonics.2 Though the modern epoch of cryonics beganin 1962, the history of the idea of cryonics can be traced to the famousletter written by Benjamin Franklin in 1773.3

This paper examines the practice of cryonics in the modern worldthrough a periscopic view from the Islamic medical jurisprudence.This will be carried out through an ethico-legal analysis of the salientissues involved in the practice of cryonics. The next section gives ageneral insight into the practice of cryonics to provide a general butbrief background information on the modern age polemics regardingthe enactment of laws to legalize cryonics in some countries. This isan area of medical jurisprudence that is still evolving; this accountsfor the dearth of relevant literature on this area of research.Furthermore, section three ventures into the actual definition of deathbased on different perspectives because this has proved to be a

controversial issue among the proponents and opponents of cryonics.The fourth section extensively discusses the practice of cryonics

in Islamic medical jurisprudence. The paper concludes that thepractice of cryonics constitute an outright contravention of thefundamental ethical and legal issues in Islamic medical jurisprudencebecause death is as a phenomenon is a chain of events which isconsidered as the beginning of an end. Speculative theories aregenerally not given the force of law in Islamic jurisprudence.

An Insight into the Practice of Cryonics

Cryonics can be described as the study or practice of preserving adead body by cooling it immediately at an extremely low temperature

which is about the temperature of liquid nitrogen in the hope ofrestoring it to life later with the help of future medical technologicaladvances. According to the Wikipedia Encyclopedia, cryonics can

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Islamic Perspective of Cryonics: A Critical Appraisal / 47

be simply described as the low-temperature preservation of humansand animals that can no longer be sustained by contemporarymedicine until resuscitation may be possible in the future. 4 In mostcases, it is the brain that is immediately removed since it is thequintessence of information and the data bank of the human body.The process is known as human cryopreservation. The proliferationof cryogenic research in medical practice in the modern world isunprecedented. Despite the speculative nature of cryopreservation,cryonics is still widely practiced. To this end, Omar Hasan Kasuleemphasized on the speculative nature of cryonics:

The whole practice of cryonics is based on a speculation that future

scientific discoveries will be able to reverse death. The practice ofcryoni cs is based on the hope that one day medical technology wi ll beable to reverse the death process so that the clinically dead can comeback to life.5

This speculative conjecture of certain medical experts has led to thecryopreservation of 95 patients as at 1 of August 2009 at theCryonics Institute (CI) in Michigan.6

Monthly Cr yonics Instit ute Statistics fr om May 2006

Date Members CRYO SA Patients Humandna PETS Petdna

1-Aug-09 810 380 72 95 157 63 361-Jul-09 803 378 70 93 157 61 321-Jun-09 797 371 70 93 157 60 31

1-May-09 794 368 69 92 154 58 311-Apr-09 790 364 65 91 154 58 311-Mar-09 785 357 63 91 152 58 301-Feb-09 779 354 60 91 148 58 281-Jan-09 768 354 61 91 146 57 281-Dec-08 766 349 59 91 146 57 281-Nov-08 767 347 56 90 146 57 281-Oct-08 762 346 56 90 146 56 271-Sep-08 757 339 54 90 141 56 261-Aug-08 755 331 53 90 140 56 241-Jul-08 746 334 50 90 138 56 241-Jun-08 736 330 49 87 135 53 241-May-08 727 327 50 87 135 52 241-Apr-08 721 326 49 87 132 52 211-Mar-08 718 324 47 86 132 52 21

1-Feb-08 718 321 45 85 129 52 211-Jan-08 710 318 42 85 127 50 20

Source: Cryonics Institute (CI) Member Statistics Details available at http://www.cryonics.org/statistics_details.html )

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The above table shows the ari thmetic progression in the numberof members, patients, cryos, pets, pet DNAs. The MEMBERSgenerally describes CI membership of either animate option one oroption two. CRYO represents CI members with funding andspecific contracts for human cryopreservation who may be regardedas prospective patients. A subcategory of CRYO is SA whichstands for the CI members having contracts with both CI andSuspended Animation. In addition, PATIENTS represents humanpatients in cryostat storage at the CI who are believed to beresuscitatable though future medical advancements. HUMAN DNAis the human tissue or DNA of CI members in cryostat storage, whi lePET DNA represents the pet ti ssue or DNA of CI members Petsin cryostat storage. Generally, PETS are pets of CI members incryostat storage at the CI.

It is interesting to observe that practitioners of cryonics do notregard anybody dead; instead, they regard a person with cardio-respiratory failure as a patient who is due for cryopreservation.Ordinarily, in the general medical practice, anybody with cardio-respiratory failure is declared dead.7 However, ...contemporaryintensive care unit (ICU) medicine has complicated the issue of whatconstitutes death in a life support environment. Not only is thedistinction between sapient life and prolongation of vital signs blurredbut the concept of death itself has been made more complex. 8 The

polemics in the complex issues involved in the modern definition ofdeath will be addressed in a different part of the paper.

The procedure in cryonics is somehow complicated. It isappropriate to give a brief mental description of the procedure adoptedin cryopreservation. Mark Hunting summarizes the process thus:

Fi rst, the patient i s declar ed legall y dead. The doctor s then immediatelystart to reduce the core body temperature to -5C (roughly icetemperature). Whilst the patient is cooled their fluids are drained andreplaced with a vitr ifying flui d. This prevents the formation of ice crystals

at sub zero temperatures. Once vitrification is complete, the bodytemperature is reduced by approximately 1C per hour until it reachesthe final resting temperature of approximately -196C. The body can

now be stored in a l iquid nit rogen cooled vacuum for an extended per iod.9

In line with above procedure, four scientific justifications areemployed in explaining the concept of cryonics. As explained by
http://www.cryonics.org/statistics_details.htmlhttp://www.cryonics.org/statistics_details.html

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Benjamin B. Best, the four concepts upon which the procedure isbased are:

1. Low temperature can slow metabolism;

2. Ice formation can be reduced or even eliminated by the useof vitrification mixtures;

3. Legally dead does not mean irreversibly dead;

4. Damage associated with low temperature preservation andclinical death that is not reversible today is theoreticallyreversible in the future.10

Considering these four justifications, it is apt to observe that thescientific issues involved like the issue of low temperature and theuse of vitrification may be outside the scope of this research. However,the controversy on the reversal of the dead with scientific processesraises further issues relating to being legally dead and biologicallydead.

The exact number of people on whom cryosurgery has beenperformed through a process of cryopreservation is closely guarded.However, it is believed that the total number of people frozenworldwide is up to 500,000 as at 2008.11 This cryonic-hibernation ofthe patient has been widely debated among medical and legalexperts from ethical, professional, cultural, religious and legalperspectives. The countries with largest membership in the CryonicsInstitute are United States (569 members), United Kingdom (60members), Australia (35 members), and Canada (31 members). Thechart below shows a pictorial illustration of the members of theCryonics Institute in four leading countries as at 1 March 2009.

The data mining in relation to the members of the CI was derivedfrom the Member Statistics Details on the CI webpage. However,we only selected four leading countries and presented them in a chartto show the current trend in cryonics. Since United States is thedomicile of the CI, the number of members of the CI is increasing ina skyrocketing manner compared to other countries as presented inthe chart.

Polemics Over the Definition of Death

What constitutes death has generated series of controversies in thewake of technological advancement in the biomedical field.12 We

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shall analyse the definition of death from the legal, medical, andIslamic perspectives. This wil l reveal the different dimensions of deathin the modern world. It is important to immediately indicate herethat though there are various definitions of death based on the dif ferentunderstanding of the concept, there are two major definitions to beappraised. The first is the traditional definition of death which isdescribed as the irreversible cessation of the integrated functioningof the organism as a whole .13 This is the widely known form of

death which is simply determined by cardio-respiratory failure.However, this definition of death has changed in modern times withthe issue of brain-death. Whether brain-death or brain-stem deathconstitutes death has generated a lot of controversy. The UniformDetermination Act (UDDA) of the United States has furthercomplicated this issue as observed:

The issue of determining death becomes fur ther confused by the UniformDetermination of Death Act (UDDA), which, ironically, was draftedwith the intent to clarify the issue. The UDDA guidelines declare thateither ir reversible cessation of circulatory functions or ir reversiblecessation of t he entir e brai n, includi ng brain stem constitutes death.The guidelines do not elucidate how these two standards reflect thesame phenomenon; the wording suggests that there are two kinds of

death: br ain and cardiac.14

Two different definitions were given in this Act, the first being thetraditional definition of death which is the same as the cardio-

Members of the Cryonics Insti tute on March 1, 2009 by Country

Source: Cryonics Institute (CI) Member Statistics Details available at http://www.cryonics.org/statistics_details.html

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Islamic Perspective of Cryonics: ACritical Appraisal / 51

respiratory failure. The second definition focuses on the irreversiblecessation of the entire brain including the brain stem. It is clear thatthere is no controversy regarding the first definition but a lot ofpolemics have been raised over the validity or otherwise of the seconddefinition. Patients who have been declared brain-dead could berevived or sustained by life-support systems. However, those whohave total cardio-respiratory failure cannot be supported by anyresuscitative technology. According to Abdulaziz Sachedina:

Traditional ly Islamic jurisprudence defines death as completecessation of the heart or r espir ation. H owever, a fur ther dimension

has been added to this formulation of death in view of the modernmedical technology that can intervene to prolong life through thelife-support system in the case where all functions of the brain haveceased.15

Admittedly, there are various themes of death in the Quran and thedescription of the nature of death in Sunnah but there is no actualdefinition of death. The Qur an and Sunnah are more concerned wi ththe description of the nature of death which gives a glimpse to thetraditional definition:16

Everyone is going t o taste death, and we shall make a tr ial of You wi thevil and with good, and to us You will be returned.17

According to Islam, death occurs when the respiratory and circulatorysystems permanently cease. This is the traditional definition whichis considered as pragmatic even in the modern times. Based on this,Muslim jurists consider cessation of heartbeat as a suff icient cri terionto determine a person to be legally dead in Islamic law.

The advocates of cryonics differentiate between clinical deathand terminal death. They consider the normal clinical death whichmay be cardio-respiratory failure as mere temporary death that maybe reversed by future medical advances. So they claim that cryonicsdoes not involve denial of death or resurrection. This accounts forthe reason why they refer to a clinically dead person as patientwho can still undergo some medical procedures for an eventualresuscitation. This li ne of thinking has been faulted by Muslim juristswho maintain that the whole concept of cryonics is an utter denial ofdeath (nafyu al-mawt) and nafyu al-ba ath) which automatically takessomeone out of the fold of Islam.18
http://www.cryonics.org/statistics_details.htmlIslamichttp://www.cryonics.org/statistics_details.htmlIslamic

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Cryonics in Islamic Medical Jurisprudence

The Islamic medical jurisprudence is basically governed by themasdir al- shar ah (sources of law) which are properly expoundedin themaqsid al-shar ah (purposes of the law) andqaw id fiqhiyyat(general principles of the law). In determining any novel issue, theMuslim jurists will normally have recourse to these concepts whichare fundamentally premised on the legislative texts of the Qur anand Sunnah. Hence, the discussion on cryonics in Islamic

jurisprudence will be fundamentally based on the methodology laiddown and adopted by the Muslim jurists when faced with novel issues

particularly those relating to medical issues.Against the above backdrop, the Islamic law position on the

respective issues involved in cryonics and cryopreservation will bediscussed in line with established legal principles as well as maximsin Islamic jurisprudence. In other words, this section fundamentallydilates on the procedure adopted by jurists in deducing the applicablelaw (hukm) on cryonics in Islamic medical jurisprudence. Thoughwe shall not go into the details involved in the objectives of law andthe general principles of law in Islamic jurisprudence, efforts shallbe made to discuss only the relevant axiomatic principles.

Analytical Paradigm of Cryonics in Islamic Jurisprudence

A critical study of the mas

dir al-shar

ah19

clearly shows thatthere is no direct precedent on the practice and consequent rulingon cryonics and other incidental practices like cryopreservation.The whole concept of cryonics is novel; this is the reason whythere are no direct legal precedents in the Quran and Sunnah. As aresult of this, it i s necessary for Muslim jurists to come out wi th therelevant ruling on novel issues as they come up. This accounts forthe ever-green and dynamic nature of Islamic law and its principalsources.20

A new approach to the deduction of the applicable rules oncryonics in Islamic medical jurisprudence is germane in the wake ofmedical advances in the modern world. As earlier said, we shall adopt

the two major approaches in Islamic jurisprudence with a view toreaching an acceptable conclusion on the actual position of Islamiclaw on the plethora of issues surrounding the concept of cryonics.

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Application of the General Theories in Islamic Jurisprudence

The general theories of law in Islamic jurisprudence are:

1. Purposes of Law (maqsid al-shar ah)

2. Principles of Law (qawid fiqhiyyat)

Purposes of Law (maqsid al-sharah)

The purposes of law in Islamic jurisprudence otherwise known asmaqsid al-shar ah are the ultimate goals of the law. They arereligion (di n), life (nafs), intellect (aql), progeny (nasl), and wealth(mal ).21 The Shar ah establishes and ultimately preserves thesenecessities (darurat) for the benefit of mankind as a whole. They are

jealously preserved by the law for the individual and collectivewelfare of mankind in his spiri tual and temporal affairs. The Sharahprotects these necessities in two ways: first, by ensuring theirestablishment (ibq ), and second, by preserving (hifz) them. Thisdual thrust of the maqsid al-shar ah, as discussed by Al-Ghazali,is the hallmark of Islamic law.22

Flowing from our earlier discussion on the concept of cryonics,each of the five purposes of the law will be examined to establish adecisive nexus which will ultimately lead to a legal ruling based ontextual evidences from the Qur an and Sunnah.

(a) Hifz al-Din: A cardinal purpose of law in Islamic jurisprudenceis the preservation of religion.23 To be a Muslim, one mustbelieve in Allah as the Giver of life and Cause of death wi thinthe broad scope of unity of God, His prophets, angles of Allahwho carry out His commands with utmost complaisance, booksof Allah which contain the message on the ephemeral natureof mans sojourn on earth and the inevitabil ity of death, andlife after death.24 Every Muslim must believe that life of thisworld will come at end on an appointed day since death isinescapable as already preordained. Therefore, the idea thatfuture medical advances will bring about the revival of ahuman being contradicts the fundamentals of Islam. Death inIslam is considered a final return of the human soul to its

Creator, as worldly life is regarded as a temporal period oftrial to determine ones final destination in the hereafter. Theconcept of death is derived in the Quran:

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Everyone is going t o taste death, and we shall make a tr ial of You wi thevil and with good, and to us You will be returned.25

Though there is no general definition of death in Islam, the traditionaldefinition, which is cardio-respiratory failure of a human being, isgenerally accepted in Islam. This is the widely accepted determinationof death.26 Any further step to refer to a dead person as being aliveand called patient for the purpose of future revival contradicts theIslamic religious beliefs. The practice of cryonics violates theprerogative of Allah of taking and giving life. Consequently, thisimportant purpose of preserving the reli gious beliefs makes cryonics

illegal in the eyes of the law.(b) Hifz al-nafs: The preservation of life is a sacred duty of allhuman beings. However, an important aspect of maqsidal-shar ah is the establishment (ibq ) and preservation(hifz) of human life.27 The relevant aspect here is theestablishment of human life. Al lah is considered as the Solelife giver and taker, and He has the prerogative at any time.He has the ability of bringing man to life again after deathand no one has such power. Therefore, the idea that futuremedical advances will bring about the revival of dead bodies,which have been in the cryobanks for years, is antitheticalto the rule of establishment (ibq ) of life which is the soleprerogative of Allah. No medical advances in the future canrevive a clinically dead person because death is the beginningof another sojourn.

(c) Hifz al- aql: The purpose of preservation of ones intellectfrom fictitious beliefs of modern science is an importantobjective of Islamic law.28 The idea that the brain containsimportant information, and that i t is important to protect thedata contained in it through cryopreservation is a fallacy.This illogical error in the argument of the proponents ofcryonics needs to be corrected by Muslim jurists by comingout with reasoned legal verdicts to guide people. This willprotect the intellect of the people and stimulate their mentalalertness in issues like this. In essence, the general idea ofcryonics may classically condition the minds of many whowill prefer to be cryo-preserved after death as a result of thenegative stereotype of the cryonics advocates.

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(d) Hif z al-nasl: The practice of cryonics may lead to theindirect violation of preservation of ones progeny. TheLawgiver has established this purpose of law throughmarriage and preserved it with strict punishment foradultery and fornication.29 Ecological balance is arecognised principle in Islam, and Allah has created waysof effecting such balance through the eschatological facetof human l ife. The Lawgiver has created li fe and death andmade rules to regulate the entire existence of man on earthin preparation for the next. The purpose of preservation ofprogeny is to ensure continuation of life. Life cannot becontinued through artificial means like cryopreservation.The concept of cryonics tends to advocate for the immortalnature of human beings. The preservation of progeny orfamily lineage cannot be guaranteed by cryopreservationbut through marriage.

(e) Hifz al-ml: The need for the preservation of wealth isparamount considering the vital position of the economicsystem in an Islamic state.30 The enormous cost involvedin cryopreservation is startling when one juxtaposes thegesture with the need to take care of the widow, orphansand other family dependants left behind by the deceased.

As an illustration, there are two types of membership incryopreservation provided by the Cryonics Institute (CI).One can choose from the two options which consist ofLifetime CI Membership and Yearly CI Membership.According to the current rates, the cost of cryopreservationfor Lifetime Membership is $28,000 while that of YearlyMembership is $35,000. This is different from themembership fees which is $1,250 paid once, and $120 paidyearly for Lifetime and Yearly Memberships respectively.31

Wasting such exorbitant amount of money for non-beneficial purposes wil l amount to waste of resources whichwould have been channelled towards poverty alleviationin the community. Hence, the colossal resources beingwasted on cryopreservation violates the objective of Islamiclaw which tends to preserve both the individual andcommunal wealth.

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Principles of Law (qawi d fiqhiyyat)

In Islamic jurisprudence, five axiomatic principles are generallyrecognized by Muslim jurists. The five principles deal with qasd(motive), yaqin (certainty), darar (injury), mashaqqah (hardship),and adat (custom). The maqsid al-shar ah relates directly to theseprinciples. Each of these principles has a group of maxims in formof legal rulings that share a common derivation from qiys. We shallonly apply the relevant axiomatic principles to consider the legalityor otherwise of cryonics.

The first principle is qasd which can be invoked thus: the

intention behind cryopreservation gives the idea that man is immortalsince future medical advances may be able to bring him back to life.Since actions are judged by the accompanying intention, al- umur bimaqasidiha, the practice of cryonics violates the religious belief ofmortality of man. The law does not permit a person or a medicalscientist to either engage in cryopreservation nor allows a person toseek for it since according to another relevant maxim, whatever isdeclared illegal to do is invariably forbidden to seek, ma harumafiiluhu haruma talabuhu. Since cryonics is carried out through aprocess of cryopreservation, one may be lured to believe that it is aform of preservation which may benefit man. Whatever name theadvocates of cryonics call it, i t does not matter. The fact remains that

it is believed that future medical advances will be able to revive thepatient . So, the law wil l only consider the intention behind thepractice and ignores terminology used in describing the act, al- ibratfi al-mawasid wa al-maani wa laisa li al-alfaz wa al-mabaani.

Second, the principle of certainty (yaqin) may also be invokedin certain situations when analysing the concept of cryonics in Islamic

jurisprudence. The maxim stipulates that a certainty cannot be voided,changed or modified by an uncertainty. This maxim runs throughthe whole fabric of Islamic law. I t forms the basis of the legal rulingin most issues in Islamic jurisprudence.32 The Muslim juristsunanimously agree on this maxim but they differ on its actualapplication in issues. Ibn al-Qayyim made the following observation

on this legal maxim:Definitely, doubt cannot overturn an established known basis. Andcertai nty cannot be overruled except by a stronger certai nty or a similarone.33

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Hence, conjectures about future medical advances cannot overturnthe generally acceptable extent of medical treatment and care in themodern world. In addition, of all the known definitions of death, theonly generally acceptable one is that of cardio-respiratory failurewhich is known to be irreversible. This is certain and there is noother unanimously acceptable definition of death apart from thistraditional one. In essence, this traditional definition subsists untilanother unanimous one is adopted. This is justified by the maximthat validates existing assertions which should continue to be in forceuntil there is compelling evidence to change them, al-asal baqau makaan ala ma kaana. Therefore, cryonics is diametrically opposed tothis principle of certainty because it is tainted with elements ofspeculative conjectures. So, the practice of cryonics is illegal in theeyes of the law.

Third, the need to remove injury (darar) is a cardinal principle inIslamic jurisprudence. The family of a deceased person who are legalheirs should not be deprived of their legal entitlements through theexorbitant, outrageous and extortionate cost of cryopreservation. Thiswill definitely cause injury to the legal heirs and other family dependantsof the deceased if all his estate is wasted on cryopreservation. Theprovision of the law is that injury must be mitigated by all means in allsituations, al-darar yudfau qadira al imkaan.

Fourth, the principle of hardship (mashaqqah) is related to that

of injury earl ier explained in relation to the cost of cryopreservation.The hardship to be occasioned by cryopreservation on the part of thefamily will be very devastating. However, the principle of hardshipindicates that al-mashaqqa taj l ibu al -taysir , that is, hardshipnecessitates relaxing the law. A dead body does not face a hardshipthat requires cryopreservation. The hardship it will create will be inform of harm to other living beings if the corpse is not buried ontime following the religious burial rites (janazah). So, in this case,one has to be careful to invoke this legal maxim because there is nonecessity that warranties the relaxation of the law.

Fif th, the principle of custom (adat) is one of the most importantand relevant principles when discussing the legality of cryonics.34

The maxim indicates that custom has the force of law, al-adatmuhakkamat.35 The first thing to be considered here is the definitionof adat. As a juristic term, adat is described as al- i brat l i al ghaalib

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al-shaiu la al-naadir which connotes what is uniform, wide-spreadand predominant in a society which is not rare.36 Adat or custom isrecognized as a valid source of law on which legal rul ings are basedwithin the ambit of recognized and generally acceptable practice. Inrelation to the subject matter of our discourse, the traditional definitionof death which is recognized by all customs predominant in oursocieties is cardio-respiratory failure. This has been the generallyaccepted definition.

According to Al-Sarkhasi in Al-Mabsut , whatever has beenvalidly established by ur f (custom) is like a legal ruling in the legaltext (nass).37 Any recent definition to the contrary which has no validbasis even within the field of medical sciences cannot overturn theage-long definition of death. Therefore, the widely accepted definitionof death remains based on custom and precedent. Another dimensionof cryonics in relation to custom as a source of law is the age-longtradition of burying a corpse immediately after all the religious riteshave been performed. This has been the practice from timeimmemorial in most communities all over the world even before theadvent of Islam. Islam came to prescribe ways of handling a deadbody with the prescription of specific rites that must be performedwhen a person dies. The final ri te is burying the corpse which is botha religious duty on the Muslims and an age-long tradition of manycommunities across the world.

The combined effect of both themaqsid al- shar ah andqaw idfiqhiyyat brings us to the conclusion that the practice of cryonics isillegal in Islamic medical jurisprudence as it violates fundamentalobjectives of the law. Such practices must be outlawed in both Muslimand non-Muslim countries across the world because it violates theprinciple of sanctity of a corpse. The Creator has placed human beingsin a very high pedestal among all other creations:

And indeed we have honoured the Children of Adam, and we havecarr ied them on land and sea, and have provided them with At-Tai yibt(Lawful good things), and have preferred them above many of thosewhom we have created with a marked preference.38

ConclusionFrom the foregoing discussion, the ethico-legal analysis of cryonicsin Islamic jurisprudence has unraveled the latest advancement in

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medical and biological sciences. The practice of cryonics is graduallytaking a very comfortable position in the global medical practice asit is being recognized in some developed countries. Muslims shouldnever be brainwashed. They must classically-condition our mindstowards the provisions of the Qur an, Sunnah and processesrecognized in Islamic jurisprudence in deducing the applicable rulingon any novel issue rather than being carried away by the so-calledmedical advances.

As we have clearly indicated, the whole concept of cryonicsviolates the fundamentals of Islam. It is a total denial of death andresurrection. It also violates the purposes or objectives of Islamic

law because it is shrouded in speculative conjectures. It is importantfor Muslim researchers to constantly carry out research works onsome of these contemporary issues to guide the Muslim communitiesparticularly those in the developed world. This research is notexhaustive as it is intended to serve as a springboard for other researchworks in the field of Islamic medical jurisprudence.

Notes

1. For more on a comparative perspective on Euthanasia and the attendantcontroversies, see Umar A. Oseni, Euthanasia: The Medico-legal andIslamic Viewpoints, in At-Tabib, a Medical Journal of the Associationof Muslim Health Science Students, College of Medicine, Universityof I lorin. (2004), vol. 1, No. 8.

2. Rober t C.W. Ettinger, The Prospect of Immor tali ty, 1st Ed. Doubl eday,1962. http://www.cryonics.org/book1.html .

3. Fr anklin, Benjamin (1773). L etter to Jacques Duborg. Nanotechnology,Molecular Manufactur ing, and Pr oductive Nanosystems. http://www.e-drexler.com/d/06/00/EOC/EOC_Chapter_9.html. Retrieved on 2009-06-1. The following is an excerpt from the letter written by BenjaminFr anklin in Apr il 1773 to Jacques Dubourg: Your obser vations onthe causes of death, and the exper iments which you pr opose for recall ingto l ife those who appear to be kil led by li ghtning, demonstr ate equall yyour sagacity and your humanity. It appears that the doctrine of lifeand death in general i s yet but l ittl e understood...I wish it were possible... to invent a method of embalming drowned

persons, in such a manner that they might be recalled to life at anyperiod, however distant; for having a very ardent desire to see andobserve the state of America a hundred years hence, I should prefer toan ordinary death, being immersed with a few friends in a cask of
http://www.cryonics.org/book1.htmlhttp://www.e-/http://www.e-/http://www.cryonics.org/book1.html

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Madeira, until that time, then to be recalled to li fe by the solar warmthof my dear country! But... in all probability, we live in a century toolittle advanced, and too near the infancy of science, to see such an artbrought in our time to its perfection...

4. Cryonics, Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia, available at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cryonics.

5. Omar Hasan Kasule, Medical Ethico-Legal-Fiqhi Issues: An IslamicPerspective , paper presented at a Seminar at the Faculty of MedicineUniversitas Muhammadiyah Makassar, February 2009, p. 19.

6. Brian Wright, Book Review: The Prospect of Immortality, by RobertC.W. Ettinger. Retrieved from ht tp : / /www.br ianrwr ight .com/

C o f f e e_ C o a s t er / 0 3 _ B o o k _ R ev i e w s/ 2 0 0 7 / B o o k s _P D F / 070926_ProspectImmortality.pdf

7. The definition of death in line with current trends wil l be given a closeconsideration below.

8. Leslie Whetstine, et al ., Pro/con ethics debate: When is dead reallydead?, Critical Care 2005, 9: 538.

9. Mark Hunting, Cryonics: Public Debate Gone Cold? The Tri ple Heli xMichaelmas 2008, p. 26.

10. Benjamin P. Best, Scienti fi c Justi fi cation of Cryonics Practice ,Rejuvenation Research, vol. 11, No. 2, 2008, available at http://www.ncbi .nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18321197 and ht tp : / / www.liebertonline.com/doi/abs/10.1089/rej.2008.0661

11. Ibid.12. See generally, Thomas Brante and Margareta Hallberg, Brain or Heart?

The Controversy over the concept of death , Social Studi es of Science,Vol. 21, No. 3, 389-413 (1991). Also see, Douglas N. Walton, OnDefining Death. An Analytic Study of the Concept of Death in

Philosophy and Medical Ethics, McGiU-Queens University Press,Montreal, 1979.

13. Bernay J. L., Culver C. M., Gert B., On the Definition Criteria ofDeath , 94 Ann Intern M ed (1981), pp. 389-394.

14. Bernat JL, DAlessandro AM, Port FK, Bleck TP, Heard SO, MedinaJ, Rosenbaum SH, DeVita MA, Gaston RS, Merion RM, et al .: Reportof a national conference on donation after car diac death. Am JTransplant 2006, 6: 281-91.

15. Abdulaziz Sachedina, Brain Death in Islamic Jurisprudence, availableat http://www.people.virginia.edu/~aas/article/article6.htm Retrieved8th July 2009.
http://www.brianrwright.com/http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18321197http://www.liebertonline.com/doi/abs/10.1089/http://www.people.virginia.edu/~aas/article/article6.htmhttp://www.people.virginia.edu/~aas/article/article6.htmhttp://www.liebertonline.com/doi/abs/10.1089/http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18321197http://www.brianrwright.com/

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16. The nature of death (mawt) has been described in different Quran in anumber of verses.

17. Quran 21: 35.

18. Omar Hasan Kasule, n. 5 at p. 19.

19. See generally, Hasanayn Mahmud Hasanayn, Masadir al-Tashri al-Islami , Kuwait: Dar al-Qalam, 1407/1987.

20. Nothing has been left uncovered in the sources of Islamic law as clearlystated by Allah in Quran 6: 38: We have neglected nothing In theBook, The Quran is the ru s al-ahkm, which contains the generallaw and religion. Its content requires a great deal of elaboration whichis always provided by the Sunnah, Ijma and Qiys. See MuhammadAb Zahra, Usl al-Fiqh. Cairo: Dr al-Fikr al-Arab, 1377/1958, p.70. Also see, Mohammad Hashim Kamali, Principles of IslamicJurisprudence. United Kingdom: The Islamic Texts Society, 2003, p.38.

21. Imrn A.H. Nyazee, Islamic Jurisprudence. (New Delhi-2: AdamPublishers & Distributors, 2006), 202.

22. See Al -Ghazali , Abu Hamid, Jawahir al-Qurn, (Beirut: Dar Ihya al-Ulum, 1985), 3235.

23. See Yusuf Hamid Al im, Al-Maqasid al-Ammah li al-Shariah al-Islamiyyah, Virginia: I IIT, 1412/1991, pp. 203-226.

24. See generally, S. Abul A la Maududi, Fundamentals of Islam, 6th Ed.Lahore, Pakistan: Islamic Publi cations Limited, 1982.

25. Quran 21: 35.

26. We may not delve into the arena of controversy on the issue whetherbrain-death constitute death in Islamic jurisprudence. There has beena lot of arguments on this particularly among modern Muslim juristswhile discussing Euthanasia and the use of life support system when apatient is placed under a Persistent Vegetative State (PVS). It sufficeshere to adopt the traditional medical definition of death which has beenthe criterion to determine whether a person is dead or not, i.e. cardio-respiratory failure.

27. See Yusuf Hamid Al im, n. 23 at pp. 271-297.

28. Id, pp. 325-350.

29. Id, pp. 239-445.

30. Id, pp. 467-548.

31. See Becoming a Member: the FAQ, Cryonics Institute, at http://www.cr yonics.org/become.html Retr ieved 8th July 2009 .

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62 /Umar A. Oseni

32. Al -Jaza iri , Abu Abdur-Rahman Abdul-Majid Jumuah, Al-Qawaidal-Fiqhiyyah. (Saudi Arabia: Dar Ibn al-Qayyim, 1421 AH/2001 CE),272273.

33. Id. pp. 273.

34. Muhammad Uthman Shabir, Al-Qawaid al-Kuliyyah wa Dawabit al-Fiqhiyyah, Amman, Jordan: Dar al-Furqan, 1420/2000, p. 229.

35. See Muhammad Bakr Isma il , Al-Qawaid al-Fiqhiyyah Bayna Al-Asalah wa al-Tawji h, Cairo: Dar al-Manar, 1417/1997, p. 151.

36. Id. p. 230.

37. Muhammad Abu Zahra, Usul al-Fiqh, Cairo: Dar al-Fikr al- Arabi,

1417/1997, p. 231.38. Quran, 17:70.

References

Abdulaziz Sachedina, Brain Death i n Islamic Jurisprudence , available athttp://www.people.virginia.edu/~aas/article/article6.htm. (Retrieved8th July 2009).

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Becoming a Member: the FAQ , Cryonics Ins t i tu te, at h t tp : / /

www.cryonics.org/become.html. (Retrieved 8th July 2009).Benjamin Franklin (1773), Letter to Jacques Duborg. Nanotechnology,

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Bernat J. L., D Alessandro A. M., Port F. K., Bleck T. P., Heard S. O.,Medina J., Rosenbaum S. H., DeVita M. A., Gaston R. S., Merion R.M., et al .: Report of a National Conference on Donation after CardiacDeath , Am J. Transplant 2006, 6: 281-91.

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Robert C.W. Ettinger, The Prospect of Immortali ty, 1st Ed. Doubleday, 1962.http://www.cryonics.org/book1.html (Retrieved 1st July 2009).

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in At-Tabib,. (2004), vol. 1, No. 8.

Yusuf Hamid Al im, Al-M aqasid al- Ammah li al -Shari ah al-Islamiyyah,(Virginia: IIIT, 1412/1991).
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