The Rule of Mercy Killing in Islamic Law: An Analytical Study

Abstract

Murder is a major crime in Islam, and it has an eschatological and worldly punishment. In the West, in recent times, the so-called mercy killing is emerged. The aim of this, is to rid the patient of his or her pain and suffering, in incurable diseases such as cancer. Hence, the research sought to shed light on this contemporary issue, by reviewing the emergence of this type of killing, clarifying the legal conditioning for it, and clarifying the position of Islamic law on it. The research also highlighted the most prominent individual and group fatwas regarding this modern issue. Eventually, the research reached some results, the most prominent of which are: that Mercy killing is not permissible under Islamic law because preserving the human soul is one of the purposes of Sharia.