Since we did not create ourselves we do not own our bodies. We are entrusted with them for care, nurture and safe keeping. God is the owner and giver of life and His rights in giving and in taking are not to be violated. Attempting to kill oneself is a crime in Islam as well as a grave sin.
The Shari'a (Islamic Law) listed and specified the indications for taking life (i.e. the exceptions to the general rule of sanctity of human life), and they do not include mercy killing or make allowance for it. Human life is a value to be respected unconditionally, irrespective of other circumstances. The concept of a life not worthy of living does not exist in Islam. Justification of taking life to escape suffering is not acceptable in Islam.
Prophet Mohammad said: "There was a man in older times that had an infliction that taxed his patience, so he took a knife, cut his wrist and bled to death. Upon this God said: My subject hastened his end, I deny him paradise."
Also during one of the military campaigns one of the Muslims was killed and the companions of the Prophet kept praising his gallantry and efficiency in fighting, but, to their surprise, the Prophet commented, "His lot is hell." Upon inquiry, the companions found out that the man had been seriously injured so he supported the handle of his sword on the ground and plunged his chest onto its tip, committing suicide.
There is still another dimension to the question of pain and suffering. Patience and endurance are highly regarded and highly rewarded values in Islam.
"Those who patiently preserve will truly receive a reward without measure"
(Qur'an 39:10)
When means of preventing or alleviating pain fall short, the spiritual dimension can be very effectively called upon to support the patient who believes that accepting and standing unavoidable pain will be to his/her credit in the hereafter, the real and enduring life. To a person who does not believe in a hereafter this might sound like nonsense, but to one who does, euthanasia is certainly nonsense.
There is no disagreement that the financial cost of maintaining the incurably ill and the senile is a growing concern, so much so that some groups have gone beyond the concept of the "right to die" to that of the "duty to die". They claim that when the human machine has outlived its productive span its maintenance is an unacceptable burden on society, and it should be disposed of, and rather abruptly than allowing it to deteriorate gradually.
This logic is completely alien to Islam. Values take priority overprices. The care for the week, old and helpless is a value in itself for which people are willing to sacrifice time, effort and money, and this starts, naturally with one's own parents
"Your Lord decreed that you worship none but Him, and that you be kind to your parents. Whether one or both of them attain old age in your life, say not to them a word of contempt but address them in terms of honor. And lower to them the wing of humility out of compassion, and say: my Lord, bestow on them Your mercy even as they cherished me in childhood"
(Qur'an 17:25- 25)
Because such caring is a virtue ordained and rewarded by God in this world and in the hereafter, the believers don't take it as a debit but as an investment.
When individual means cannot cover the needed care, it becomes, according to Islam, the collective responsibility of society, and financial priorities are reshuffled so that values take priority over pleasures, and people derive more pleasure from heeding values than from pursuing other pleasantries. A prerequisite of course is a complete moral and spiritual re-orientation of a society that does not hold to these premises.
In an Islamic setting the question of euthanasia usually does not arise, and if it does, it is dismissed as religiously unlawful. The patient should receive every possible psychological support and compassion from family and friends, including the patient's spiritual (religious) resources. The doctor also participates in this, as well, and provides the therapeutic measures for the relief of pain.
The seeking of medical treatment from illness is mandatory in Islam, according to two sayings of the Prophet:
"Seek treatment, subjects of God, for to every illness God has made a cure",
"Your body has a right on you."
But when the treatment holds no promise it ceases to be mandatory. This applies both to surgical and/or pharmaceutical measures, and, according to a majority of scholars, to artificial animation equipment. Ordinary life needs which are the right of every living person and which are not categorized as "treatment" are regarded differently.
These include food and drink and ordinary nursing care, and they are not to be withheld as long as the patient lives.
Now I will talk about the Jewish views on euthanasia.
"Neither shall thou stand aside when mischief befalls thy neighbor" (Leviticus 19:16)
Judaism teaches us that the protection of the integrity of one's body and soul is based on the notion that human beings were created in God's image (Genesis 1:27). Consequently, there is no difference between the healthy and the sick, the able and the disabled, the sane and the insane, the elderly and the young - all are created in God's image and hurting them is strictly forbidden.
Human life is not subject to evaluation and measurement. Every moment of human life is equal in value to many years of life. Because of this principle, even a slight movement of a gosses, (a moribund person, who is in the throes of death, whose life is compared to a flickering candle which might be extinguished by a slight movement) is prohibited, and the killing of such a person is considered a capital crime. Likewise, the Sabbath may be desecrated to rescue a critically injured person even though survival is unlikely. On the other hand, it is permissible to put a patient's life in jeopardy by an operation or any other treatment if the patient may recover. In this case the value of human life requires that one prefer a possibility of a long life over a certainty of a short life
Because human beings were created in God's image, any injury to a human being, including self-inflicted harm, is considered an injury to God's image. Furthermore, because God owns the body and soul, self-inflicted injury is not permissible. (For the same reason it is not permissible to set aside the execution of a murderer when ransom is offered, even with the consent of the victim's next of kin, and one cannot be convicted based solely on one's confession)
The commandment to return a lost object to the owner (Deuteronomy 22:1-3) which includes the duty to save one's body even when expenses are involved Furthermore, even if an illness is not life-threatening, a physician is duty-bound to provide medical treatment based upon the biblical commandment,
“Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself" (Leviticus 19:18).
Also by refusing to receive medical treatment one violates the biblical commandments,
"Take therefore good heed to yourself" (Deuteronomy 4:15)
There are, however, some restrictions: (a) a duty to receive medical treatment applies only in life-threatening diseases with which the physician is familiar and where the medical treatment suggested by the physician has been tested and found effective; otherwise the patient cannot be forced to receive the medical treatment (b) if the pressure exerted on the patient might put the patient's life in jeopardy, it should be avoided and (c) if medical treatment will not cure the patient's disease, the patient should not be forced to receive the treatment even if it might prolong the patient's life
"And surely (your) [the] blood of your lives will I require" (Genesis 9:5).
According to one view, forcing a sick person to receive medical treatment requires ordained judges (mumchim). Since no such judges are available today, a patient cannot be forced to undergo medical treatment
Certain principles may be violated to avoid pain and suffering. For example, a person is permitted to undergo life threatening medical treatment for the purpose of alleviating pain and suffering.
In the case of a gosses, even one who suffers terribly, any act that might expedite the gosses' death, including any movement of the body, closing the eyes or removing a pillow from underneath the head, is prohibited. On the other hand, the removal of an impediment that prevents the natural course of death from taking place, such as the removal of salt from the patient's tongue is permissible.
As we have just seen, Islam and Judaism more or less share the same beliefs regarding euthanasia. Islam and Judaism do allow a non voluntary euthanasia. This is when a person is only living due to artificial means. Basically the patient would not be able to survive if the machine that was keeping them alive was switched off. This is mainly because the patient is already dead and there would be no point in keeping them alive. But in Judaism there are some scholars that don’t agree with this.
Euthanasia involves the taking of life, which man even with the advancements of science and technology still has absolutely no idea of how it comes into being. God has given us a great gift. We should make the most of it and repay his favor, and taking your life is limiting that. Our life is already short as it is. So why do we want to take our life early. Even if we cant talk, walk or even move, that should not mean that we still cant pray and ask god for forgiveness. After all God knows our inner most secrets. Islam teaches us that when someone falls ill, it is a sign of death, therefore we should ask god for forgiveness and it is when someone falls ill that God forgives most of their sins. As Prophet Mohammad said,
“When the believer is afflicted with pain, even that of a prick of a thorn or more, God forgives his sins, and his wrongdoings are discarded as a tree sheds off its leaves.”
Euthanasia is certainly not an option for a theist, but for an atheist it may well be an option!
“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you.”
(Jeremiah 1:5)
