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ABSTRACT
The trend in most part of the western world today is the agitations for a person to have the right to take his own life, when such life, becomes unbearable due to pain, being the result of a severe or terminal illness. This is the position of proponents of the concept of euthanasia and assisted suicide. Opponents of the concept on the other hand are of the view that no matter the circumstances, a person should not take his own life because he has contributed nothing to its creation. They therefore uphold the sanctity of life as against its quality. This paper seeks to examine the relative arguments and will address the position of Islamic law governing the euthanasia debate.
Keywords: quality of life, sanctity of life, euthanasia, position of Islamic law
ABSTRAK
Trend di kebanyakan tempat di dunia Barat hari ini adalah desakan agar seseorang mempunyai hak untuk mengambil nyawanya sendiri, apabila jiwa tersebut, menjadi tidak tertahan disebabkan kesakitan, akibat penyakit yang teruk atau yang boleh membawa maut. Inilah pendirian penyokong konsep eutanasia dan bunuh diri ketolongan. Penentang konsep tersebut, di pihak yang lain, berpandangan bahawa walau apa pun keadaan, seseorang tidak sepatutnya mengambil nyawanya sendiri kerana dia telah tidak menyumbangkan apaapa dalam penciptaannya. Oleh yang demikian mereka mendukung kekudusan nyawa berbanding kualiti kehidupan. Makalah ini meneliti alasan kedua-dua pihak dan akan memberi perhatian kepada pendirian undang-undang Islam dalam perdebatan tentang eutanasia.
Kata kunci: kualiti kehidupan, kekudusan nyawa, eutanasia, pendirian undang-undang Islam
INTRODUCTION
The euthanasia debate, all over the world, particularly in the west, is centred on the quality of life.1 Generally speaking, the term, 'quality of life,' as noted in this article, has multifarious meanings. It depends on the context in which it is used. Thus, in the context of the advocates of euthanasia and assisted suicide, which is the focus of this write-up, the term has been employed to drive home support for the right to die. According to advocates of this concept, a person should be allowed to kill himself, when he feels that his quality of life is poor.2 In other words, when a person is suffering from a protracted, severe or terminal illness and he is in pain, it will be better, according to the advocates...