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Background and purpose: Diagnosis of death due to old age or accidents, in which the heart and brain stop working, is not often so difficult. Sometimes, despite signs of death, diagnosis of death is not that easy. Brain death is an example of this type of dubious death which has been the subject of interest among jurists and physicians since the second half of the nineteenth century. This issue is of great importance in many cases such as allowing or not allowing euthanasia of the patient, organ transplant, burial, etc. The aim of this paper was to investigate brain death in Islamic law and comparing the Islamic scholars'(faqihs) opinion with that of the physicians. Material and methods: This review article included many Islamic sources such as holy Qur'an and hadith and some (electronic) references published until 2013. Results: Physicians believe that brain death is the complete and irreversible loss of brain function, and consider that as the end of life. But Faqihs, looking to the patient's future, say that - according to Quran-"Tavffi" is the complete separation of soul from the body. Conclusion: Faqihs and physicians' opinions are not the same on this issue and faqihs believe that brain-dead should not be considered completely dead, so ending their life should not be permitted.

Keywords: brain death, euthanasia, dubious death

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