ImanWire Podcast
ImanWire Podcast
Al-Madina
Ep. 95: Medicine and the Maqasid al-Shariah - Aasim Padela
1 hour 5 minutes Posted Dec 22, 2025 at 3:14 pm.
Introduction
The Problem Space of Modern Medicine
The Maqasid and Classical Fiqh
A Calibrative Mechanism to Preserve Human Interests
The Five Essential Human Interests
What's More Important? Religion or Life?
Implications For a Health Care Framework
Preserving Life Vs Preserving Health
Caution in Expanding the Maqasid
Case Study: The Brain-Dead Pregnant Woman
The Potential of Maqasid
Prioritizing Religion in Health Care
Where Is the Patient's Voice in This?
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Show notes
Modern health care presents a number of dilemmas that Islamic jurisprudence must address. Can an approach rooted in the Maqasid, the objectives of Shariah, provide solutions in ways that classical fiqh cannot? If so, how are these objectives met in cases where the human interests conflict? Is the preservation of life more important than the preservation of religion? Dr. Aasim Padela, author of "Maqasid Al-Shariah and Biomedicine: Bridging Moral, Ethical and Policy Discourses", joins the ImanWire podcast to discuss the challenges in applying Islamic law to modern medicine.
Dr. Aasim Padela is an emergency medicine physician and academic scholar, currently the Vice Chair for Research and Scholarship in the Department of Emergency Medicine at the Medical College of Wisconsin (MCW). He is founder of the Initiative on Islam and Medicine, and author of many articles and books, with research interests in bioethics, public health and religion.
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