Blood Donation and Testing

Question:
(a) People donate blood to blood banks for free, for reasons that are well known. The blood
banks carry out checks on this blood and if it is found to be safe, it is then used on other patients.
But if the blood is found to be contaminated or if it has any type of virus such as Hepatitis or
AIDS for instance, then the blood is disposed off. Now we require this contaminated blood for
our laboratory to carry out investigations. Is it permissible for us to obtain this blood from
blood banks free of charge and carry out tests on it, and then safely dispose of the remaining
quantity of blood without causing any harm to anyone or the environment?
(b) In some cases, we purify the virus-contaminated blood of the virus during the investigation
process which is complex and expensive and we are able to isolate the virus which is then used
in our laboratory to develop scientific research and manufacture reagents. We then sell the
other portions to different laboratories, and if we are unable to isolate viruses, we purchase
such viruses from other laboratories.
Is it permissible to buy and sell viruses for such a purpose?

Answer:
Before we reply, we would like to clarify the following:

1. Blood is unclean and forbidden

As for the evidence of human blood being unclean, there is a hadith narrated in Bukhari and
Muslim on the authority of Asma (ra), where she says: "A woman came to the Prophet and
said: What do we do when one of us soils (gqjv Kiv) her dress with the blood of menstruation?
The Prophet told her: she must take hold of the blood spot, rub it and wash it with water
and then pray with it." 1
1 Sahih

al-Bukhari: Hadith No. 307 & Sahih Muslim: Hadith No. 293; islamweb.net: http://bit.ly/1erQ5z6
& http://bit.ly/1erQf9J

1|Page

The very fact that the dress was ordered to be washed before one could pray in it points to
blood being impure and unclean.
As for the evidence of it being prohibited to eat and drink etc., Allah says:

"Haram for you are carrion (al-Maitah), blood and pork." [al-Maaida, 5:3]

"Say: I do not find, in what has been revealed to me, any food it is haram to eat except for
carrion, flowing blood, and pork - for that is unclean - or some deviance consecrated to other
than Allah. But if anyone is forced to eat it, without desiring to or going to excess in it, your
Lord is Ever-Forgiving, Most Merciful.'" [al-An'aam, 6:145]

2. Extracting benefit from unclean and prohibited things is forbidden, and among the
evidences for it are:
Bukhari has narrated on the authority of Jabir ibn Abdullah (r.a) that he heard the Prophet
said while in Makkah:
I heard the Messenger of Allah, in the year of the Conquest of Makkah, saying, "Allah and
His Messenger made illegal the trade of alcohol, dead animals, pigs and idols." The people
asked, "O Messenger of Allah! What about the fat of dead animals, for it was used for greasing
the boats and the hides (Pvgov); and people use it for lights?" He said, "No, it is illegal." The
Messenger of Allah further said, "May Allah curse the Jews, for Allah made the fat (of
animals) illegal for them, yet they melted the fat and sold it and ate its price." 2
In Tahdheeb al Aathaar of Tabari, there is a narration by Jaber (ra) who says that the Prophet
said:

"Do not utilise or take advantage of the dead at all." 3
The skin of the dead is an exception to the above as has been narrated in Abu Dawood on the
authority of Ibn Abbas and Wahb from Maymoonah, who says that a sheep was given to her
servant as charity and it died. The Prophet passed by it and said: "Have you tanned its skin
or used it?" They said, "O Messenger of Allah it is dead. He said: "Indeed its eating is
2
3

Sahih al-Bukhari: Hadith No. 2236; SUNNAH.COM: http://sunnah.com/bukhari/34/182

Tahdheeb al Aathaar by Al-Tabari: Hadith No. 1220; islamweb.net: http://bit.ly/1IQwoe5

2|Page

forbidden." 4
Bukhari has a narration on the authority of Jabir ibn Abdullah (r.a) that he heard the Prophet
say in the year of Conquest of Makkah whilst he was in Makkah:

"Indeed Allah and His Messenger have forbidden the sale of intoxicants." 5
Bukhari has another narration on the authority of Anas (r.a). He says that on that day, I was at
the house of Abu Talha (r.a) and al-Fadikh wine was being served when the Prophet ordered
his man to announce "Beware! Wine has been forbidden". So Abu Talha asked me to spill the
wine so I came out and spilled the wine. The streets of Madinah were flowing with wine. 6
Abu Dawood has a narration on the authority of Abu Hurairah (r.a) that the Prophet said:

"Allah has forbidden wine and its price; forbidden carrion and its price; and forbidden
pork and its price." 7

3. Medical treatment is an exception to this prohibition and use of prohibited and

unclean things is allowed for medical purposes.
The evidence that medical treatment is an exception and not haram is substantiated in a
narration by Muslim on the authority of Anas (ra), where he says that "the Prophet granted
concession to Abd al-Rahman b. Auf and Zubair b. 'Awwam for the wearing of a silk shirt
during the journey and because of an itch which they both had or any other disease from which
both of them had been suffering." 8 Wearing of silk is forbidden for men, but is allowed for
medical reasons.
Similarly, there are narrations in Sunan an Nasai, Abu Dawood, and Tirmidhi: Abdur Rahman
bin Turfah reports from his grandfather Arfajah bin As'ad who says that "he had his nose cut
off at the battle of al-Kilab and got a silver nose, but it developed a stench, so the Prophet
ordered him to get a gold nose." 9 Gold is forbidden for men, but its use is allowed for medical
purposes.
As for the use of unclean things not being haram for medical purposes, it is narrated in Bukhari
Sunan Abi Dawud: Hadith No. 4120; SUNNAH.COM: http://sunnah.com/abudawud/34/101
Sahih al-Bukhari: Hadith No. 4296; SUNNAH.COM: http://sunnah.com/bukhari/64/329
6 Sahih al-Bukhari: Hadith No. 2464; SUNNAH.COM: http://sunnah.com/bukhari/46/25
7 Sunan Abi Dawud: Hadith No. 3485; islamweb.net: http://bit.ly/1K1cMFN
8 Sahih Muslim: Hadith No. 2077; islamweb.net: http://bit.ly/1FpPjYo
9 Sunan Abi Dawud: Hadith No. 4232; Jami` at-Tirmidhi: Hadith No. 1770; Sunan an-Nasa'i: Hadith No.
5161 & 5162. SUNNAH.COM: http://sunnah.com/abudawud/36/19; http://sunnah.com/tirmidhi/24/54;
http://sunnah.com/nasai/48/122 & http://sunnah.com/nasai/48/123
4
5

3|Page

on the authority of Anas (ra): "Some people came to Madinah and (they became ill, so) the
Prophet ordered them to go to the herd of (Milch) she-camels and told them to go out and drink
the camels' urine and milk (as a medicine). So they went and drank it..." 10
When the people became ill, the Prophet permitted them to use urine which is unclean.
Bukhari has narrated on the authority of Abu Hurairah (ra), he says: A Bedouin stood up and
started urinating in the mosque. The people caught him but the Prophet ordered them to leave
him and to pour a bucket or a tumbler of water over the place where he had passed the urine.
The Prophet then said, "You have been sent to make things easy and not to make them
difficult." 11

4. In origin, things are permitted unless there is evidence to the contrary, the evidence
for this are the Words of Allah :

"Do you not see that Allah has subjected to you everything in the heavens and earth."
[Luqmaan, 31:20]

"Do you not see that Allah has made everything on the earth subservient to you."
[al-Hajj, 22:65]

"And He has made everything in the heavens and everything on the earth subservient to you.
It is all from Him. There are certainly Signs in that for people who reflect."
[al-Jaathiya, 45:13]
From these texts, it becomes clear that the Legislator has permitted all things, which means
that they are allowed, i.e. the opposite of haram. Hence, the prohibition of certain things
requires a text that makes an exception to it being permissible in origin. Thus, the original rule
for things is permissibility unless there is a text providing evidence for it being prohibited.
This rule is different to actions which in origin are subject to the Shara'i commands which
makes actions as either: Obligatory, recommended, etc. and this requires a reason, condition
etc. as is known in the science of the principles (Usool).
Hence, the answer to the two questions would be as follows:
Firstly: If the investigations on the contaminated blood are medical/pathological
10
11

Sahih al-Bukhari: Hadith No. 6805; SUNNAH.COM: http://sunnah.com/bukhari/86/35

Sahih al-Bukhari: Hadith No. 6128; SUNNAH.COM: http://sunnah.com/bukhari/78/155

4|Page

investigations, i.e. they are meant to diagnose a disease and treat it with appropriate medication
etc. Then these are permitted. But if the investigations on the contaminated blood are not related
to any medical/pathological investigation or finding a medicine to cure such a disease etc., then
these are not be permitted.
This is because blood is unclean and forbidden and as such it is permitted only for medical
purposes.
Secondly: If the isolation of the virus from the blood is for carrying out investigations and
medical research, then it is permitted, i.e. if the contaminated blood is subjected to laboratory
tests in order to isolate the virus from it and this is done with the objective of carrying out
medical tests on the virus so that appropriate medicine could be developed, then it is permitted.
However, if the process of isolating the virus from the blood was meant for non-medical
purposes, then it is not permitted because the contaminated blood is impure and forbidden, and
as such taking any advantage from it is not permitted.
Thirdly: The viruses are clean since there is no evidence reported on their prohibition, thus it
is clean in accordance with the above-mentioned Shara'i rule. Thus, if the virus was found
alone/isolated i.e. not contaminated with the blood, then its sale, purchase as well carrying out
any investigation will be permitted. As a matter of fact the scientific tests must be meant for
the benefit of human beings and not to cause harm because the Prophet said: "Do no harm
and do not be harmed."
22nd Safar 1432 A.H
26th January 2011 C.E
Source: Hizb ut Tahrir Media Office; http://www.hizb-ut-tahrir.info/info/english.php/contents_en/entry_11676

5|Page