Cloning

From Bilal Philips' Contemporary Issues, 2002:

Cloning is defined in biology as the production of a genetically identical duplicate of an organism and in the world of scientific technology as the artificial production of organisms with the same genetic material. In simple terms, cloning is genetic duplication.

1) Humans have been cloning roses long before knowing what cloning is. In 1997, cloning made the headlines around the world when Dr. Wilmut announced that he had successfully cloned a sheep named "Dolly" from the mammary cell of an adult ewe. However, Wilmut had actually manipulated an egg rather than actual cloning. This process is referred to as cloning even in scientific circles.

2) The application of cloning techniques to agricultural and animal husbandry might be a clue for boosting food production the world over. Islam has no objection to gene-manipulation in the animal and vegetable kingdom as long as no harm to human life has been confirmed [and it does not cause undue harm or stress to the animals - blogger's note].

3) Cloning may be used to save a life by giving children who need organ transplants to have a clone born to donate organs. The need for bone-marrow transplants in children with leukemia has raised the ethical issues about parents having other children to provide the transplant. Cloning could also be a big advantage for people who have lost a loved one like the copy of a child for a couple whose child had died.

4) Scarcity of organs or human parts is putting tremendous pressure on scientists to come up with a way to generate organs and human parts in the laboratories. Without a parent body, the generation of organs and parts seems unlikely. Consequently, the demand will be for the cloning of an entire human. From the statements of a number of scientists, it appears that the main thrust of cloning a human being is the prolonging of human life with the ultimate goal of achieving eternal life. In the first stage, a human clone would be a source of original spare parts to replace worn out parts in a relatively healthy body. Ultimately, a brain transplant would eliminate multiple operations in an old or unhealthy body. The belief that the totality of a human being is the contents of the human brain offers the possibility of avoiding operations by simply attaching electrodes tot he human brain and downloading its contents into a computer. Once the process is complete, electrodes could be reattached to a cloned body and the stored contents of the computer could be uploaded into the new body. In that way human beings could afford such an operation could live forever.

5) Islam opposes such plans because, if they succeeded the clone would be another human being, having its own spirit and right to life. The clone would be like an identical twin who, though looking exactly the same as its brother/sister, is a unique individual.

6) Those believing that humans are the contents of their brains, since the '70s, have paid tens of thousands of dollars to have their heads severed at death and preserved in liquid nitrogen with the hope that they will be revived at some time in the future. However, their fate is no different from the pharaohs who mummified their bodies in the vain belief that they would continue to live after their deaths. Death is a one way street. There is no coming back. The near death experiences are hallucinations. Those who were revived did not die, but only appeared to die to observers or to less sensitive instruments.

7) Cloning has also been proposed as a possible solution for getting children if parents happen to be infertile. This would create ethical problems as a clone of the husband would be genealogically his brother and of the wife her sister.

[Islam is strict about maintaining genealogy, so the child of a couple should always be biologically theirs, meaning that the sperm and egg must belong to the couple themself. Adoption is another issue that will be discussed further at another time. - blogger's note]

Abortion

Many of the pro-life movement view abortion as murder because they believe that "life" begins at conception; when sperm meets egg.

Of course, when life begins is a vital piece of information when it comes to rulings about abortion.

The Islamic perspective is that life begins 120 days after conception. The Prophet (peace be upon him) said:

"Verily the creation of each one of you is brought together in his mother's womb for forty days in the form of a nutfah (a drop), then he becomes an 'alaqah (clot of blood) for a like period [forty days], then a mudghah (morsel of flesh) for a like period [forty days], then there is sent to him the angel who blows his soul into him and who is commanded with four matters: to write down his rizq (sustenance), his life span, his actions, and whether he will be happy or unhappy (i.e. whether or not he will enter Paradise)." Sahih Bukhari and Muslim.


The scholars differ on their views on abortion (since abortion was not around at the time of the Prophet, peace be upon him, and so he did not address it).

Some scholars still view that abortion is wrong, regardless of when it is done.

The majority of scholars, however, view that abortion is acceptable, if it is done during the first 120 days. The majority of the scholars also agree that the woman should first try taking the morning after pill, or the Plan B contraceptive.

Of those scholars, some say it is okay if the woman is experiencing health issues with the pregnancy, or if she was raped; basically dire circumstances.

Others view that abortion is fine if the pregnancy and raising a child would cause mental anguish to the woman (and her husband) or if she just can't handle a pregnancy at the moment.


A general rule in Islam is to take the opinion of the majority of scholars more seriously, since there is less room for individual error.


In conclusion, the majority of Muslims view that abortion, if done during the first 120 days, is allowed, and for a variety of reasons.





Source: Islam Q&A

Birth Control

Many people have been curious as to how Islam views Birth control. There are many methods of birth control, and the scholars have different opinions regarding each method.



'Azl, or coitus interruptus (withdrawing before ejaculation) and barrier methods:

"With regard to ‘azl (coitus interruptus), or withdrawing during intercourse, the correct scholarly view is that there is nothing wrong with it, because of the hadeeth of Jaabir (may Allah be pleased with him): “We used to practise ‘azl at the time when the Qur’an was being revealed” – i.e., at the time of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him). If that action had been haram [forbidden], the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) would have forbidden it. But the scholars say that one should not engage in ‘azl with a woman except with her permission, because she has the right to have children. Moreover, withdrawing without her permission diminishes her pleasure, so not asking her permission causes her to lose out on pleasure and on the possibility of having children. Hence we state the condition that this may only be done with her permission."

From Fataawa al-Shaykh Muhammad ibn ‘Uthaymeen.

Condoms and other barrier methods are viewed in the same light a the withdrawal method, but again, both partners must agree to using them.




Birth Control Pills:

A woman should not use birth control pills, unless the following conditions are met:

1- She should need to use them, for example if she is ill and cannot cope with a pregnancy every year, or she is physically unfit, or there is some other reason that getting pregnant every year may harm her.

2- Her husband should give his permission, because the husband has the right to have children. There must also be consultation with the doctor, to find out whether these pills are harmful or not.

If these two conditions are met, there is nothing wrong with taking these pills, but that should not be on a permanent basis, because that means preventing having children.

IUD, Mirena, and other coil methods:

Using the coil is permissible subject to two conditions:

The first condition is that it should not cause harm to the woman.

The second condition is that her husband should give his permission for that.

Permanent Birth Control (Vasectomy, Tubals, etc):

Shaykh ‘Abd al-‘Azeez ibn Baaz [A prominent scholar] (may Allah have mercy on him) was asked:

What is the ruling on removing the uterus in order to avoid having children for medical reasons which are either present, or may occur in the future and have been predicted by medical and scientific means?

He answered: if that is necessary, then it is OK, otherwise it should not be done, because the Lawgiver urges us to have children and promotes that in order to increase the size of the ummah [nation]. But if there is a necessary reason then it is OK, just as it is permissible to use means of contraception for a limited time for a legitimate shar’i reason. (9/434)





In conclusion, birth control is a personal decision for each couple, and as long as the method causes no harm to the individual, and they do have a legitimate reason for using it, they can. Permanent birth control is frowned upon, but is allowed if the mother's health is in danger during pregnancy.




Source: Islam Q&A