Assignment 1 – 30%

“Bayan Linnas” project (Guided assignment)

(Step 4)

Group 1

Muslims in Malaysia were shocked when it was reported that a large network had been bringing in
non-certified meat from countries like Brazil, Bolivia, Canada, Colombia, Spain and Mexico to a
warehouse in Senai, Johor, where the products would be repacked with a halal logo. It was alleged
that the meat was not beef but it may be kangaroo, horse and even pork. Due to this, the Islamic
Development Department of Malaysia (JAKIM) was badly criticised and be held accountable as they
are the authority in charge of issuing halal certification for food products. The Malay Consultative
Council (MPM) had accused the JAKIM of dereliction of duty in the issuance of halal certification to
meat imports. The Advisory Board member, Tun Hanif Omar, also called for the immediate
suspension of JAKIM’s halal certification and for the department to relinquish this responsibility as
the sole authority to regulate halal products. He also suggested that the government reinstate the
Malaysia Halal Council to act in JAKIM’s place to avoid a recurrence of the scandal.

Apart from the above issue, mixing halal meat and non-halal meat during consignment is another
critical issue to be discussed. However, some people misunderstand the concept of halal. They
wrongly believe that as long as the animal is slaughtered according to the Sharia Law, the meat will
always be halal and safe for Muslim consumption. However, the scope of halal management is
wider.

In light of the above issue, discuss on the aspect of halal management from the perspective of
Syariah Law and Maqasid Syariah

Group 2

Ameenah was born with a congenital heart defect and had a surgery when she was a baby. Later it
was discovered that she would need a transplant when her heart started to slow down and did not
function properly. Her mum, Jameelah, proved to be a perfect match but she was too weak to go
through the transplant process. Although Ameenah already made a research on the successful story
about organ donation and organ transplantation but she was still sceptical with regards to certain
issues.

Firstly, she keeps on thinking about distinction between transplanting organs from a dead person
versus transplanting organs from a living person. She is wondering if she accepts organ from a dead
person, will that amount to torturing the dead person. She is also unsure as to whether she can
accept organs form a non-Muslim. Other than that, she is also worried if she would receive an organ
sold by a donor who is in need of money or organ obtained through illegal means such as human
organ trafficking. Another issue which has made Ameenah to feel anxious is related to organ and
cells being harvested on animals like pig and baboon. She is aware that the availability of organs and
cells for transplantation is not meeting the demand. Thus, Xenotransplantation, specifically the
transplantation of organs and cells from genetically-engineered pigs, can resolve this problem. She
has come across an article about a farm in Virginia, a company called Revivicor, is breeding pigs that
have some genetic similarities to humans. The scientists call them “GalSafe pigs”, and they have
added five human genes to the pigs' livers, kidneys and hearts. The hope is that the organs can be
harvested and used for transplants, and that human bodies will not reject them. Ameenah’s health is
deteriorating. Thus, she needs to undergo the heart transplantation as soon as possible.

Advise Ameenah on the aspect of organ donation and organ transplantation from the perspective of
Syariah Law and Maqasid Syariah.

Group 3 & 4

Sharifah is a housemen serving Hospital Kuala Lumpur (HKL). When she went for her usual ward-
round routine she and her team will attend to patients. The first case that she attended this week
involved a mother who had just delivered her baby using a natural home birth. She was assisted by a
doula (servant woman in Greek). Sadly her baby died and she suffered several complications namely
bleeding, ruptured uterus and infections. As far as Sharifah is concerned, the doula’s purpose is to
make the prenatal and postnatal process more comfortable for mothers. During active delivery, their
role is on the side to offer physical and emotional support. They cannot take on the roles of doctors
and midwives.

Another case that caught Sharifah’s attention was the case of 3 years old boy who had just been
transferred to ICU in HKL. According to her mother, last week while on a family vacation, Ayyash
became very ill. He started vomiting profusely and had trouble keeping down any liquids. Extremely
concerned, the parents took him to the nearest emergency room where he was diagnosed with
rotavirus diarrhea. It is a highly contagious virus that is usually transferred by fecal-oral contact and
can live for days on hard surfaces. Rotavirus is a preventable disease. There are currently vaccines
available in every hospital which proven to be safe and effective. The mother had a flash back where
she was one of the supporters of anti-vaccination group. Other than the issue of money, she
believed that the vaccines contain trace of porcine DNA.

Therefore it is haram for Muslim. She also believed in some wild speculation which suggests that
vaccines are ploys intended to transmit diseases to non-Western communities. She is now regretted
for her foolish decision in refusing to vaccinate her son. Being a medical practitioner, Sharifah is well
versed and understand the negative effect of natural home birth and anti-vaccination movement.
However, she wants to know what is the position of both of these practices from the syariah
perspective. She asked you for an explanation pertaining to this matter.

Discuss what is the hukum pertaining to natural home birth and anti-vaccination movement and its
maqasid al-syariah.

Group 5

Last Saturday Night, Pineapple Company held a Halloween party at a hotel in Bukit Bintang. Latiff,
who works as an accountant at the company, attended the party dressed as a female ghost hunter.
There was a surprise drag queen performance by “Miss Understood” at the end of the party. Drag
queens are people, usually male, who dress in women’s clothing and often act with exaggerated
femininity and in feminine gender roles for the purpose of entertainment. Often, they exaggerate
characteristics like make-up and eyelashes for dramatic, comedic or satirical effect. However, many
transgender people also love drag and some perform it regularly.

Being drunk, Latiff and his co-worker, Sazali, decided to spend their night in the hotel room. After a
few minutes, there was a knock on the door. When Latiff opened the door, he was surprised to find
officers from the Federal Territories Islamic Religious Department (JAWI). The officers suspected that
the couple was involved with immoral activities. They wanted to charge both of them for khalwat
(close proximity) under section 27 of the Syariah Criminal Offences (Federal Territories) Act 1997.
However,they were taken aback on discovering Latif’s gender as a man. They decided to prosecute
him under section 28 Syariah Criminal Offences (Federal Territories) Act 1997. The officers also
charged “Miss Understood”, the drag queen under the same provision.

Upon investigation, “Miss Understood” confessed that he was born a male. “Miss Understood” real
name is Arif Shakri Khan Bin Salman Khan. When he became aware of his physical self, he felt that he
is a woman but was born in a man’s body. Since then he considered himself a female and lived like
one. He underwent a gender reassignment surgery in a hospital in Thailand.

Unlike “Miss Understood”, Latiff dressed up as a woman just for the purpose of enjoying the
Halloween party. With reference to one of the objectives of Syariah which is Daruriyyat, discuss the
position of a Muslim who choose to go through a gender re-assignment surgery.

Group 6

Shamim is a surgeon. Her 35-year-old patient Zul, had been diagnosed with a latestage tumour in the
parotid gland. The diagnosis was a long time coming, as his complaints of ear and jaw pain at first did
not lead to any imaging results that showed the tumor. At the time of the diagnosis, he was told that
he had a high-risk tumour that was quite advanced. Zul had a surgery and radiation therapy but the
pain did not go away; instead, it changed in character to a neuropathic-type pain. Radiotherapy and
surgery left him with a very dry mouth and the pain was ongoing despite trials of multiple
medications. Even when he was started on very low doses, Zul experienced multiple side effects
from opioids and antidepressants, often discontinuing them after only a short trial. None of the pain
medications gave him any relief. Shamim tried everything she could, but it did not help Zul. Zul
frequently talks to Shamim and his nurses about wanting to die. Zul's mother asks Shamim to
euthanize her son as she has no courage to watch his son suffers.

On the other hand, Zul's wife, Amisha, disagrees to that request. She said that the pain is like a
punishment from Allah as she knows about her husband's dark secret. She informs Shamim that her
husband had raped a girl and the girl was pregnant with his baby. He refused to be responsible to
what he did. After the girl delivered the baby,

Zul buried the baby alive at a nearby forest reserve. Outraged by what Zul had done, Shamim carries
out Zul's wish to hasten his death. But Amisha decides to sue Shamim as it is clear that a doctor who
aids a patient in this act will be in breach of his unequivocal duty as a doctor and considered to have
committed a criminal offence.

With reference to the aspect of Maqasid al-Shariah, discuss the legality of euthanasia from Islamic
perspective.