Medical ethics in the light of maqāṣid al-Sharīʿah: a case study of medical confidentiality

• Main Authors: Ghalia, Bouhedda, Amanullah, Muhammad, Zakariyah, Luqman, Muhsin, Syed Muhammad
• Format: Article
• Language: English; English; English
• Published: IIUM Press, International Islamic University Malaysia 2018
• Subjects: BP173.77 Islam and work; R Medicine (General)
• Online Access: http://irep.iium.edu.my/65269/1/65269_Medical%20Ethics%20in%20the%20Light.pdf; http://irep.iium.edu.my/65269/2/65269_Medical%20Ethics%20in%20the%20Light_SCOPUS.pdf; http://irep.iium.edu.my/65269/3/65269_Medical%20Ethics%20in%20the%20Light_WOS.pdf; http://irep.iium.edu.my/65269/; http://journals.iium.edu.my/intdiscourse/index.php/islam/article/view/1118

The Islamic jurists utilized the discipline of maqāṣid al-sharīʿah, in its capacity as the philosophy of Islamic law, in their legal and ethical interpretations, with added interest in addressing the issues of modern times. Aphoristically subsuming the major themes of the Sharīʿah, maqāṣid play a pivotal role in the domain of decision-making and deduction of rulings on unprecedented ethical discourses. Ethics represent the infrastructure of Islamic law and the whole science of Islamic jurisprudence operates in the light of maqāṣid to realize the ethics in people’s lives. Scrutinizing the key themes of maqāṣid-based ijtihād and scope of ethics in maqāṣid, this article delves into the discourse on the application of maqāṣid to medical ethics. As a case study, this research analyses the extent of medical confidentiality in the light of maqāṣid and arrives at the conclusion that limited confidentiality goes more in line with the maxims of maqāṣid. ************************************************ Ulama-ulama Islam telah menggunakan disiplin maqāṣid al-sharīʿah dalam keupayaannya bagi falsafah undang-undang Islam, termasuk undang-undang dan etika tafsiran meraka dengan minat untuk membuat tambahan dalam menangani isu-isu zaman moden ini. Secara khususnya, tema-tema utama Sharīʿah iaitu maqāṣid memainkan peranan yang penting dalam domain pembuatan yang mana keputusannya dibuat daripada rumusan wacana etika yang tidak pernah berlaku sebelum ini. Etika-etika ini mewakili dasar dan asas undang-undang Islam serta bagi seluruh sains perundangan Islam yang turut bertindak dalam ruang maqāṣid demi untuk merealiasikan etika dalam kehidupan orang ramai. Dengan meneliti tema utama ijtihad berasaskan maqāṣid, serta skop etika dalam maqāṣid, artikel ini mendalami wacana tentang penerapan maqāṣid bagi etika perubatan. Sebagai satu kajian kes, penyelidikan ini menganalisis sejauhmana maklumat kerahsiaan perubatan sejajar dengan maqāṣid dan seterusnya menentukan kesimpulannya bahawa kerahsiaan yang terhad banyak diselaraskan mengikut aliran maqāṣid.