A Critique of Enhancement and Transhumanism Based on Islamic Law and Sufism
Muhammed Volkan Stodolsky, PhD, Dean of Faculty and Chair, Department of Theology, Darul Qasim College
This paper will discuss the related questions of how the distinction in medicine between therapy and enhancement accords with Islam and whether transhumanism is compatible with Islam according to fiqh (understanding of revelation) and tasawwuf (Islamic mysticism). The investigation in fiqh will be conducted according to the methodology of Sunni Islamic jurisprudence (uṣūl al-fiqh) in which statements of revelation from the Noble Qurˀān and the Sunnah are understood according to their literal meaning unless there is conclusive proof to the contrary. As regards tasawwuf, the critique will be based upon the writing of two prominent Sunni Sufi ulama, al-Ghazālī (d. 505/1111) and Ibn ˁArabī (d. 638/1240), who see divine disclosure (kashf) as a source of knowledge.
The Prophet Muhammad, may blessings and peace be upon him, allowed therapeutic medical treatments to restore the human constitution. However, the Noble Qurˀān emphasizes that Allah is the original creator of human beings and that His original creation of humanity must not be changed either spiritually or physically: “There is no change to the creation of Allah. That is the straight religion, but most people know not (Q 30:30).” Moreover, the Noble Qurˀān describes the alteration of the human body as a satanic insinuation (Q 4:119). In accordance with revelation, the Prophet forbid the non-therapeutic alteration of the human body both for the one who alters the body and the one who seeks its alteration. This is significant for Islamic bioethics because the hadiths state that the doer of non-therapeutic alterations, such as a physician, would also be committing a sin. Hence the Noble Qurˀān and the Sunnah clearly prohibit the non-therapeutic alteration of the human body, a core aim of transhumanism.
As for the critique based on Islamic mysticism, the Sufis see the purpose of human life as spiritual enhancement through increasing one’s awareness of Allah, not physical enhancement. Hence for them devoting one’s life to anything other than spiritual enhancement is a waste of time. In this regard, Ghazālī quotes the Prophet Īsā (Jesus) saying, “Who is the one who builds a house upon the wave of the ocean? That is the world, so do not take it as a place of stay.” While transhumanists seek to achieve immortality in this world, Ghazālī perceives the world as a bridge that one needs to cross to reach the eternal hereafter. In Ibn ˁArabī’s metaphysics the cosmos consists of the manifestations of Allah’s divine attributes. Each being is like a mirror that reflects the divine attributes according to its own capacity. Just as a mirror will reflect light most if light comes to it directly rather than if it is reflected from other mirrors, everything in its original creation is most pure and beneficial. The more processed and artificial something is, the less it will reflect the divine light which no longer comes directly but is reflected from other mirrors. According to Ibn ˁArabī’s metaphysics transhumanist attempts to enhance and transform the human body will only make human life worse.
The Prophet Muhammad, may blessings and peace be upon him, allowed therapeutic medical treatments to restore the human constitution. However, the Noble Qurˀān emphasizes that Allah is the original creator of human beings and that His original creation of humanity must not be changed either spiritually or physically: “There is no change to the creation of Allah. That is the straight religion, but most people know not (Q 30:30).” Moreover, the Noble Qurˀān describes the alteration of the human body as a satanic insinuation (Q 4:119). In accordance with revelation, the Prophet forbid the non-therapeutic alteration of the human body both for the one who alters the body and the one who seeks its alteration. This is significant for Islamic bioethics because the hadiths state that the doer of non-therapeutic alterations, such as a physician, would also be committing a sin. Hence the Noble Qurˀān and the Sunnah clearly prohibit the non-therapeutic alteration of the human body, a core aim of transhumanism.
As for the critique based on Islamic mysticism, the Sufis see the purpose of human life as spiritual enhancement through increasing one’s awareness of Allah, not physical enhancement. Hence for them devoting one’s life to anything other than spiritual enhancement is a waste of time. In this regard, Ghazālī quotes the Prophet Īsā (Jesus) saying, “Who is the one who builds a house upon the wave of the ocean? That is the world, so do not take it as a place of stay.” While transhumanists seek to achieve immortality in this world, Ghazālī perceives the world as a bridge that one needs to cross to reach the eternal hereafter. In Ibn ˁArabī’s metaphysics the cosmos consists of the manifestations of Allah’s divine attributes. Each being is like a mirror that reflects the divine attributes according to its own capacity. Just as a mirror will reflect light most if light comes to it directly rather than if it is reflected from other mirrors, everything in its original creation is most pure and beneficial. The more processed and artificial something is, the less it will reflect the divine light which no longer comes directly but is reflected from other mirrors. According to Ibn ˁArabī’s metaphysics transhumanist attempts to enhance and transform the human body will only make human life worse.