Islam prioritises health, allows various different treatments

Former Council of Islamic Ideology chief says ijtihad important to seek solutions to contemporary issues

ISLAMABAD: Protecting health is the essence of Islamic teachings and justifies adoption of various methods of treatment which that otherwise are not permissible in an Islamic society.

This was stated by Dr Khalid Masood, a former chairman of the Council of Islamic Ideology (CII) while addressing a seminar on the solution of contemporary health-related issues in light of Quran and Sunnah at the Allama Iqbal Open University (AIOU) on Thursday.



The seminar was part of a series of ‘Khutbat-e-Islamabad’ arranged by the university’s Islamic Thoughts, Culture and History department. It was largely attended by the Muslim scholars as well as students of MPhil and PhD.



Dr Masood in his detailed presentation deliberated upon the matters relating to ethics and norms of treating health issues including transplantation of human organs, blood transfusion and the artificial birth of children. He added that since caring for one’s health was the essence of Islamic teachings; they justify various treatment methodologies which otherwise are not permissible in an Islamic society.

The former CII chief cited various quotations and sayings of Islamic leaders and scholars on dealing with contemporary issues. He also spoke about the importance of `Ijtihad’, an intellectual endeavour to seek the solutions to day-to-day matters.

“Ijtihad has been much emphasised in Islam,” he said. “It is a rational and analytical approach, based on the Holy Quran and on the teachings of the Sunnah, for interpreting religious matters.”

Published in The Express Tribune, July 28^th, 2017.