During our last Thursday session the question was brought up about whether or not organ donation is permissible in Islam. And we were told it was not. I was wondering if we could chat about it a little more. Being an ER nurse the topic actually comes up a lot. As part of our training we do yearly education on organ donation. It was my understanding that all the major religion (including Christianity, Islam & Judaism) both are allowed to accept both organs or blood. Cultures and/or religions that are allowed to accept are generally allowed to also donate as well. We are also taught about sect of Christianity (the Jehovas Witness) neither accept nor donate blood or body organs, in these instances blood alternatives could be an option. I have run into this issue in my career that even in serious condition the individual would not accept blood. I have never known a Muslim to decline blood (which is considered an organ). Then it got me think about ‘living organs’ such as kidneys that can be donated from a living person to a living person. And if a living donation be permissible? I started to look up if any majority Islamic countries limit or ban organ donation or organ acceptance. I couldn’t find any, except the Taliban in Afghanistan. Most of the resources I found stated it was allowed. On Organ Donation and Transplantation - Fiqh Council of North America A Human receiving the Organs of another Human, Dead or Alive (Organ Transplantation) – International Islamic Fiqh Academy Iftaa' Department - Is it religiously permissible to donate the organs of the deceased without a will to that end? ...

We discussed more in depth during the open book session.

Monet & I started some Ramadan food prep today & we’re rolling our triangles while listening to the class today. The menu was Spanakopita, butternut squash soup & puff pastry chicken bakes.I only got a pic of our uncooked Spanakopita 🥹. I like to freeze the uncooked & can just air fry when I want them fresh.

These are the chicken bakes made from puff pastry. I’m freezing them uncooked and will bake when I’m ready to eat.

Thank you so much for this 2nd lesson. I loved how the first 2 lessons really gave us a nice solid explanation of the basics of Islam, because many of us may have taken our Shahada without really fully understanding these basic concepts. The 1st class did a great job of explaining the prophet Ibrahim (PBUH), the Kaaba 🕋, which helps understand Hajj the 5th pillar. The 2nd lesson did a great job explaining Hadith & the method for determining the strength of the Hadith. As a revert, being educated on the parts of the religion that you are supposed to believe in is so important because it’s impossible to believe in something if you don’t know about it. I appreciated mentioning how Islam journey within. It perfectly summarizes what many of us reverts realized about Islam without knowing all the details about the religion. Talking about how shortcomings does not equate to disbelief was so important to hear. Because the list of haram & halal things can definitely be intimidating & viewed as a significant barrier to some people who have been interested in Islam. Lynn

Salaam, I wanted to check when we are going to start doing the prayer classes? I signed up for today, clicked in the link but there was no class.

Salaam, I missed the in person class but just listened to it tonight. It was very insightful. I loved all the content and questions. I really love the idea of implementing small consistent positive changes. I feel like there sooooo much pressure to change everything as a revert that it can get extremely overwhelming. I loved what Mousa said about being approachable. I hope we remember to continue to be ourselves while learning & growing into Islam.

Is there a link to rewatch the videos?

I really enjoyed the class & it was definitely a great way to start my day. Jummah Mubarak to everyone. IA I’ll be at the next call on Thursday in person.