Document Type : Research Article
Author
PhD Student in Penal Jurisprudence, Razavi University of Islamic Sciences, Mashhad, Iran.
Abstract
The spread of contagious diseases poses serious jurisprudential-legal challenges to the health system and the life of human societies. Human testing and the mass administration of emerging vaccines, due to their potential side effects versus the necessity of combating the disease, represent a clear instance of conflict between two interests (preserving individual health from vaccine side effects and preserving public health from the disease). This research aims to analyze the ruling on this issue, employing an analytical-descriptive method and a comparative approach to examine the foundations and evidences of Imamiyyah and Sunni jurisprudence. The main question is: what is the jurisprudential ruling on vaccine testing and administration in Islamic schools of thought? The research findings indicate that both schools, relying on common principles such as the obligation to preserve life/soul (as one of the primary objectives of Sharia, Maqāṣid al-Sharīʿah), the rule of no harm (Qāʿidat Lā Ḍarar), the rule of necessity, and the necessity of prioritizing the more important interest, concur on the permissibility (Jawāz) of human vaccine testing under conditions such as informed consent and minimal risk. Furthermore, in situations where vaccination is the only effective way to control the disease, the Islamic ruler (Ḥākim al-Sharʿ) (based on the Wilāyat al-Faqīh in Imami jurisprudence and public interest (Maṣlaḥah ʿĀmmah) in Sunni jurisprudence) can make it mandatory. Minor differences primarily emerge in the foundations of reasoning and some subsidiary issues, such as the use of forbidden (Ḥarām) ingredients in vaccines, which, under conditions of necessity, also leads to permissibility
Keywords
- Vaccine
- Jurisprudence of the Two Major Denominations
- Human Testing
- Preservation of Life
- Objectives of Sharia (Maqāṣid al-Sharīʿah)
- The Rule of No Harm (Qāʿidat Lā Ḍarar)
- Authority of the Ruler (Wilāyat al-Ḥākim)
Main Subjects
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