Answer
Wa `alaykum As-Salamu wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh
In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.
All praise and thanks are due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon His Messenger.
In this fatwa:
1- Every Muslim, especially those living in majority non-Muslim countries are highly encouraged to become more proactive in their communities.
2- Part of being proactive is to donate blood and to help grant people the gift of life for which they will receive great reward from Allah the Almighty.
Responding to the question, Sheikh Ahmad Kutty, a senior lecturer and an Islamic scholar at the Islamic Institute of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, states:
Blood donation is considered an extremely meritorious and rewarding act of charity in Islam; since Islam exhorts us to be charitable to all of Allah’s creation, we cannot think of any charity greater than the gift of life.
It is a matter of common knowledge that in many cases persons injured in accidents, and so on, can only be saved from imminent death if they are given sufficient blood to replace what they have lost.
So by giving blood, which is in short supply today, Muslims are helping people to live. By doing this they are, indeed, carrying out the order of Allah: {Whoever saves the life of a single person, it is as if he has saved the life of all (of humanity)} (Al-Ma’idah 5:32)
Based on the above and similar considerations, scholars and jurists have agreed that Muslims should have no inhibitions whatsoever in donating blood to the communities they are living in. They should consider such activities as a most rewarding act of charity.
There is no distinction to be made between Muslims and non-Muslims in donating and receiving blood, as all of our bodies and faculties are, in a way, Muslim (obedient to the laws of Allah).
Just as Islam encourages us to be charitable to all creatures regardless of differences of religion or race, there is no distinction to be made in giving or receiving blood, for there can be no greater gift of charity than blood, as it amounts to saving a life.
The Quranic order for Muslims is to foster life and be engaged in activities that strengthen and maintain it in all forms. The opposite of this is destruction which includes all activities that diminish or destroy life in various ways.
The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) exhorted the faithful to be engaged in charitable deeds every single day. He is reported to have said, “Every day that the sun shines each one of you ought to do some charitable deeds.” He then mentioned numerous examples of charity, all of which are intended to enhance the quality of life. He also said, “There is reward for you in acts of compassion rendered to every creature with a throbbing heart (or liver).”
In other words, fostering and maintaining life in all forms, human and otherwise, is indeed one of the most meritorious acts entailing the greatest of rewards in the sight of Allah. How can it be otherwise, when humans are the trustees of the earth, and, as such, we are to enhance Allah’s work?
In conclusion: Blood donation undoubtedly tops the list of charitable deeds; therefore every Muslim should not only participate in it but also take the initiative in their communities to organize blood banks. May Allah give us the honor of saving lives and thus receive rewards both here and in the Hereafter.
Almighty Allah knows best.
Editor’s note: This fatwa is from Ask the Scholar’s archive and was originally published at an earlier date.