RIGHT OF DEATH

Right of death means one can decide when, where he/she dies and the manner in which he-she would like to die. The right constitutes the legal ground of euthanasia and committing suicide. The idea of expanding the border of the liberties has again put this matter on the agenda. Having been debated largely with the concept of “euthana- sia” since the former half of the twentieth century, right of death, in fact, has been dis- cussed in the context of suicide beginning from archaic ages. Right of death means to prefer death rather than life. Islamic Jurisprudence has been approaching this matter on several points: Saving life is a primary value; life is given as a trust to its owner, so it must be cared; killing a person is forbidden, so everybody becomes untouchable; and fi- nally there is no unlimited freedom. From the view of Islamic Jurisprudence, it is relig- iously illegal that while surviving, one who has the right reasons to die in his/her mind prefers death when he/she likes, commits suicide or makes euthanasia