Can Muslims Sign a Declaration for Cremation?| About Islam

12 February, 2020

Q As-salamu `alaykum. I work as a doctor in a British hospital. I am often asked to sign a declaration stating the absence of any radio-active matters in the bodies of deceased so that their families may cremate (burn) them. I am paid for such an endorsement, but I can live without this extra money which I gain, by the grace of Allah Almighty. It is also easy for me to transfer this task to any other doctor who would be more than happy to make this declaration for some extra money. Does Islam prohibit me from signing this declaration for cremation?

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- It is allowed for you, and any Muslim doctor, to sign a declaration for cremation as long as you are stating the truth after examining the deceased body.

2- Also, the money you are taking for that is permissible and you are not taken accountable for what the family of the deceased will do with the body.

In response to your question about singing a declaration for cremation, the European Council for Fatwa and Research (ECFR) issued the following fatwa:

If the Muslim doctor realized, after examining the body, that it contains no radio-active matters, he or she may sign such a declaration. This is because it is merely a statement to a true fact. Also because one should not refrain from making a testimony if he or she were invited to do so. This is even more emphasized due to the fact that other doctors may race to make such declarations for financial gain even without making due investigations.

We do not see any sin being born by the Muslim doctor in such case, because it is not his or her responsibility what the family of the deceased will do with this declaration, nor are they responsible for the actions or beliefs of others.

Indeed, Muslims ruled India for a long time, but we do not hear that they prevented the Hindus from burning the bodies of their deceased. This is similar to the status of Jews and Christians who lived within the Islamic state and practiced their religion in their places of worship without the Muslims forcing them to abandon their rituals, despite being very much able to do so.

Therefore, a Muslim doctor is not responsible for the manner in which this declaration is used, as is the Muslim fruit vendor who sells grapes to a Christian who may go on to make wine from them.

In addition, being paid for doing so is also permissible, because the action itself is permissible.

Almighty Allah knows best.

Editor’s note: This fatwa is from Ask the Scholar’s archive and was originally published at an earlier date.