Is it considered suicide if a patient with a malignant disease refuses to amputate or remove an infected organ—if death is the inevitable result of inaction—and is he sinful for saying that death is better than living disfigured?
Source: FtawySummary from Ftawy's records · added here Sep 2, 2026
If an illness leads to death and can only be removed by amputating the affected limb, then its amputation is obligatory; otherwise, it would be a form of suicide. If an injured person allows their wound to bleed until they die, they are disobedient to Allah Almighty and a killer of themselves. The decaying or diseased limb must be amputated if its retention poses a danger to life; otherwise, not. As for medical treatment in general, its ruling varies between permissibility, recommendability, and obligation, and it may be obligatory if it preserves life from perishing.
Summary from Ftawy's records · added here
Reviewed by El Fatwa's sharia committee.
Read the full answer on Ftawyhttps://ftawy.com/en/questions/24603
Where this answer came from
- Source platform
- Ftawy
- Original fatwa ID
- 24603
- 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