Dear FIMA members,
Assalaamu alaykum
Bismillah al-Rahman al-Rahim
All praise is to Allah (SWT) the most Merciful, the most Beneficient. May
Allah’s blessings and peace be upon Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) and upon
his family and companions.
I begin by thanking FIMA Executive Council for honoring me with the
responsibility to be the Editor-in-Chief again for the FIMA Year Book. I thank
Allah (SWT) that He gave me this opportunity and enabled me to accomplish
this task. I pray to Allah (SWT) to accept this effort in His way and to give a
reward for all who participated in this endeavor.
This issue of the FIMA Year Book is devoted to the ethical issues related
to aging and end of life issues from an Islamic perspective. It is a very
important topic, especially that modern medical care resulted in prolonging
life and at the same time introduced technology that can keep a dying
person technically alive for a prolonged period making the definition of death
and specifically its timing a difficult and controversial matter. While it is true
that in Muslim countries, at present, some deaths still occur at home, but
with the gradual increase in the utilization of hospitals and specifically the
intensive care units with life support technology, an increasing number of
deaths are occuring in the hospital setting where these dilemmas are more
commonplace. So it behooves physicians practicing in Muslim countries,
especially Muslim physicians treating Muslim patients to be aware of all
these issues
