patient

Since the Terri Schiavo’s case, came in the news, there is a lot of discussion on the issue of life and death. Can you please answer these questions. What is the Islamic position on euthanasia? Is it permissible to prolong life artificially and at what point it is allowed for doctors to “pull the plug”? In case of a dispute, who makes the final decision—doctors, parents, spouse, children, patients, or government? When does death occur? How important is it for Muslims to prepare a living will explaining our position on these matters?

As-Salamu `alaykum! What is the legal ruling concerning a patient not fasting in Ramadan?

I would like to ask a religious question. I am a 26-year-old female. When I was 21 years old, I had problems controlling my bladder. Whenever I drank one glass of water, I would have to pass urine 3 times or maybe more. I thought this was not a problem until 6 months ago. I was hospitalized and diagnosed with amoeba cyst and campylobacter jejuni bacteria. This has nothing to do with my urinary tract. The specialist requested a CT-Scan to be performed on me. From the scan, the specialist found that I have a horseshoe kidney (two kidneys joined into one). This explains why I can't control my bladder. My urinary tract is very small. If I were to control it and refused to go to the toilet, I wouldn't be able to pass urine at all! I was hospitalized 3 times just to drain the urine out of me.My question is actually related to fasting. I had no problems fasting during Ramadan until this happened. I kept drinking lots of water during sahur. There was no problem passing urine but by noon, I was unable to pass urine anymore as I was dehydrated. I had to endure the pain till buka puasa (the time of breaking the fast). It was so painful that I was even counting down the time. When it was time for buka puasa, the first thing I did was to drink plenty of water. Later, I had problems urinating as there was a painful burning sensation after seven hours of dehydration.That's not all. I had to batal in the middle of Tarawih because I needed to go to the toilet. I consulted many doctors and even the urologist regarding my problem but all they can advise me is to drink plenty of water to flush the acidity in me.My question is, how do I go through fasting the month of Ramadan if I have this problem?All these years, I suffered through by forcing myself to fast. Most of my Muslim friends, relatives, and even my parents told me that Allah will understand if I don't fast. But I don't want to tanggung dosa (be responsible) because berpuasa is one of my rukun (pillars of) Islam. And furthermore, how am I going to repay my fasting if I don't fast during the fasting month?