Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-8bhkd Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-08T21:32:32.023Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Islamic theology and the principles of palliative care

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  25 April 2016

Mohammad Zafir Al-Shahri
Mohammad Zafir Al-Shahri*
Affiliation:
College of Medicine, Alfaisal University, and King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
*
Address correspondence and reprint requests to: Mohammad Zafir Al-Shahri, King Faisal Specialist Hospital & Research Center, P.O. Box 365636, Riyadh 11393, Saudi Arabia. E-mail: [email protected].
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

It is well established that provision of palliative care is a human right for the patients and their families going through the suffering associated with a life-threatening illness. The holistic nature of palliative care, dictated by the multifaceted suffering experienced by patients, calls for giving due consideration to the cultural and spiritual background of the target population. Similarly, the paramount impact of Islamic wholeness on Muslims' perceptions, beliefs, and way of living makes it necessary for non-Muslim palliative care professionals who are caring for Muslim patients to increase their awareness about the parts of Islamic theology pertinent to the principles of palliative care. This would include a basic knowledge of the Islamic faith and how Muslims view and cope with the calamity of a life-threatening condition along with the suffering associated with it. Equally important are issues related to the management of symptoms using agents that are normally strictly prohibited by Islamic teachings, including opioids, brain stimulants, and cannabinoids. The current review briefly discusses the Islamic perspectives pertinent to a Muslim patient's journey throughout the palliative care experience, onward to a safe passing, and beyond.

Keywords

IslamMuslimPalliative care
Type
Original Articles
Information
Palliative & Supportive Care , Volume 14 , Issue 6 , December 2016 , pp. 635 - 640
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2016 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Albar, M.A. (2007). Seeking remedy, abstaining from therapy and resuscitation: An Islamic perspective. Saudi Journal of Kidney Diseases and Transplantation, 18, 629–637.Google ScholarPubMed
Al-Jahdali, H., Baharoon, S., Al Sayyari, A., et al. (2013). Advance medical directives: A proposed new approach and terminology from an Islamic perspective. Medicine, Health Care, and Philosophy, 16, 163–169.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Al-Jauziyah, I. (1999). Healing with the medicine of the Prophet. Abdul Rab, J. (trans.). Riyadh: Dar-us-Salam.Google Scholar
Al-Jibaly, M.M. (1998). The inevitable journey. Part 1: Sickness: Regulations and exhortations. Part 3: Funerals: Regulations and exhortations. Arlington, TX: Al-Kitaab & As-Sunnah Publishing.Google Scholar
Al-Mundhiri, A.Z. (trans.) (2000). Summarized Sahih Muslim, 2 vols. Riyadh: Dar-us-Salam.Google Scholar
Al-Shahri, M. (2002). The future of palliative care in the Islamic world. The Western Journal of Medicine, 176, 60–61.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Al-Shahri, M.Z., Fadul, N. & Elsayem, A. (2007). Death, dying and burial rites in Islam. European Journal of Palliative Care, 14, 164–167.Google Scholar
Athar, S. (2011). Advance directives and living wills for Muslims. Journal of the Islamic Medical Association of North America, 43, 144–146.Google ScholarPubMed
Caplan, A.L. (1997). Will assisted suicide kill hospice? The Hospice Journal, 12, 17–24.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Central Intelligence Agency (2015). The world factbook. Available at https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/resources/the-world-factbook/geos/xx.html.Google Scholar
Erdek, M. (2015). Pain medicine and palliative care as an alternative to euthanasia in end-of-life cancer care. The Linacre Quarterly, 82, 128–134.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Frankl, V. (1984). Man's search for meaning. New York: Simon & Schuster.Google Scholar
Hrynkow, C. (2014). Ecology and Islam. In Muhammad in history, thought, and culture: An encyclopedia of the Prophet of God. Fitzpatrick, C. & Walker, A.H. (eds.), pp. 157–161. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC–CLIO.Google Scholar
Islam Question and Answer (2015). Fatwa no. 192321. Available at http://islamqa.info/en/192321.Google Scholar
Islam Question and Answer (2015). Fatwa no. 176623. Available at http://islamqa.info/ar/176623.Google Scholar
Islamweb (2006). Fatwa no. 91760. Available at http://www.islamweb.net/emainpage/index.php?page=showfatwa&Option=FatwaId&Id=91760.Google Scholar
Kaczorowski, J.M. (1989). Spiritual well-being and anxiety in adults diagnosed with cancer. The Hospice Journal, 5, 105–116.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Khan, F.A. (2002). Religious teachings and reflections on advance directives: Religious values and legal dilemmas in bioethics. An Islamic perspective. Fordham Urban Law Journal, 30, 267–275.Google ScholarPubMed
Khan, M.M. (trans.) (1994). Summarized Sahih al-Bukhari. Riyadh: Dar-us-Salam.Google Scholar
Muslim Population Worldwide (2015), Available at http://www.islamicpopulation.com.Google Scholar
Puchalski, C.M. (2002) Spirituality and end-of-life care: A time for listening and caring. Journal of Palliative Medicine, 5, 289–294.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Radbruch, L., Payne, S., de Lima, L., et al. (2013). The Lisbon Challenge: Acknowledging palliative care as a human right. Journal of Palliative Medicine, 16, 301–304.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Reed, P.G. (1987). Spirituality and well-being in terminally ill hospitalized adults. Research in Nursing & Health, 10, 335–344.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Saiyad, S. (2009). Do not resuscitate: A case study from the Islamic viewpoint. Journal of the Islamic Medical Association of North America, 41, 109–113.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zhi, W.I. & Smith, T.J. (2015). Early integration of palliative care into oncology: Evidence, challenges and barriers. Annals of Palliative Medicine, 4, 122–131.Google ScholarPubMed