When is it permissible to remove life support from patients who are clinically dead?
Source: FtawySummary from Ftawy's records · added here Sep 2, 2026
A person is considered legally dead, and the rulings pertaining to death apply to them, if their heart and breathing have completely and irreversibly stopped according to the judgment of physicians, or if all functions of their brain have permanently ceased and their brain has begun to decompose, and specialist physicians have determined that this cessation is irreversible. In this case, it is permissible to remove life support machines, even if some organs are still functioning automatically due to the machines.
Summary from Ftawy's records · added here
Reviewed by El Fatwa's sharia committee.
Read the full answer on Ftawyhttps://ftawy.com/en/questions/26190
Where this answer came from
- Source platform
- Ftawy
- Original fatwa ID
- 26190
- Added here
- . This is when the answer was added to El Fatwa, not the fatwa's date.
- Text
- Summary from Ftawy's records, reviewed by El Fatwa's sharia committee.
- Read the full ruling
- Read the full answer on Ftawy