Lab-Grown Breast Milk: The Intersection of Science, Ethics, and Islamic Jurisprudence

The great theologian Imam Al-Haramayn Al-Juwayni narrated a story from his father in what is a profound lesson in rizq:
Upon receiving the news that his wife was expecting, Imam Al-Haramayn’s father took great care to ensure the money he provided his wife with was only directly earned from halal means. After Imam Al-Haramayn was born, his father continued his diligence in monitoring what the baby consumed. One day, as was typical at that time, his mother was unable to breastfeed him and engaged the services of a wet nurse. This woman was from a family that was not scrupulous in their earnings. When his father found out, he immediately made Imam Al-Haramayn expel the milk. Continue reading Lab-Grown Breast Milk: The Intersection of Science, Ethics, and Islamic Jurisprudence

Religion and Pork: Issues With Alternative Meats

In a previous article, I outlined some issues ‘ulema have discussed with cultured (also known as lab-grown) meat. One is the impossibility of a blanket replacement of meat with lab-grown meat in light of religious obligations and recommendations of slaughter on certain occasions. The American Fiqh Academy’s fatwa (ruling) from Mufti Abdullah Nana, Abrar Mirza, and Sohail Bengali also note the current procedure’s use of impermissible animal products (mainly Fetal Bovine Serum [FBS]) and the source cells (derived from living animals), which constitutes maytah (carrion) and is haram for consumption. Continue reading Religion and Pork: Issues With Alternative Meats

Towards Implementing an Islamic Framework in Medicine

A transcript of Shaykh Amin Kholwadia’s lecture delivered in Amman, Jordan in 2017 regarding the impact of Maturidi kalam on bioethics was published this month.[1] Earlier this summer, I released an article on challenges and opportunities for Muslims to become live players in American healthcare. For the theoretical frameworks of scholars and researchers to manifest, Muslims must focus on practical applications and initiatives that reflect … Continue reading Towards Implementing an Islamic Framework in Medicine

Shaykh Amin Kholwadia on Maturidi Kalam and Bioethics

When a Muslim physician or scientist is going to work and engaging with his duties in life, he’s energetic, motivated, and he’s contributing to the beneficence of the world, then he will be much clearer in his intention and he will be much more sincere. We have a plethora of doctors in the US, but very few ask the question: how do I serve the patients in an Islamic way, the Muslim way? Continue reading Shaykh Amin Kholwadia on Maturidi Kalam and Bioethics

A Brief on Islamic Bioethics and Intersex Persons

There was a paper published in August 2020 by Dr. Nasir Malim and Dr. Aasim Padela, the Director of the Initiative on Islam and Medicine at University of Chicago, titled Islamic Bioethical Perspectives on Gender Identity for Intersex Patients. The paper introduces how intersex individuals and their medical needs can be approached in contemporary medicine by giving primacy to an Islamic lens, instead of a secular-liberal one. Continue reading A Brief on Islamic Bioethics and Intersex Persons