Is human medical experimentation permissible, and what are its limits?

A Muslim is to be respected, both alive and dead. Therefore, it is impermissible to tamper with their body after death by cutting, mutilating, or dissecting it, unless a significant benefit or necessity arises from the dissection of the corpse. In such cases, it is permissible only to the extent of that benefit or necessity, without exceeding it.

Examples of this include:

The permissibility of incising the abdomen of a deceased pregnant woman to extract the fetus if its life is hoped for. This is the view of the Hanafis, some Malikis, the Shafi'is, and the chosen opinion of Al-Shawkani and Ibn Hazm. If a person dies in a well and their extraction is impossible except by dismembering the body, it is permissible to dismember it if there is a need for the well. This is to ensure the rights of passage for pedestrians and villagers, and to allow for the deceased's ritual washing and burial.

Dissecting a corpse for educational purposes is permissible due to the immense and general benefits it entails, such as saving lives and preserving people's health. Therefore, a Muslim is permitted to donate their body for this purpose. This aligns with the general Islamic principles based on prioritizing prevalent benefits and enduring the lesser harm to achieve a greater good, the loss of which would be more severe than this harm. This is the prevailing fatwa in contemporary scientific institutions.