In this pioneering work, Abdulaziz Sachedina relates classic Muslim religious values to the new ethical challenges that arise from medical research and practice. He depends on Muslim legal theory, but moves beyond juridical practice to search for the underlying reasons that determine the rightness or wrongness of a particular action. Drawing on the work of diverse Muslim theologians he outlines a form of moral reasoning that can derive decisions that underscore the spirit of the Shari'a and yet leave room to revisit earlier decisions and formulate new ones that in turn need not be understood as absolute or final. After laying out this methodology, he applies it to a series of ethical questions surrounding the human life cycle from birth to death, including such issues as abortion, euthanasia, and organ donation. Sachedina's work is unique in that it aims at conversing with Jewish and Christian ethics, moving beyond the Islamic fatwa literature to search for a common language of moral justification and legitimization among the followers of Abrahamic traditions.

About the Author
Abdulaziz Sachedina is a Professor of Religious Studies at the University of Virginia

Reviews
while clearly directed to an academic audience, nonetheless raises substantive challenges for seular bioethics discourse, health policy, and espeicially for ethical reflection within the Islamic faith community ... Sachedina's is a courageous book. He does not back away from critique of Muslim religious scholarship, which he finds has failed to provide religous and moral empowerment to Muslims in general, and in the health-care context in particular. * Courtney S. Campbell, Journal of the American Academy of Religion *



Book Information
ISBN 9780195378504
Author Abdulaziz Sachedina
Format Hardback
Page Count 296
Imprint Oxford University Press Inc
Publisher Oxford University Press Inc
Weight(grams) 578g
Dimensions(mm) 241mm * 165mm * 20mm