Keeping a skeleton in the room of a medical student

1-11-2004 | IslamWeb

Question:

I am a medical student. Is it permissible to keep a bone set in my room? Or should I place it in a cupboard?

---

Answer:

All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad is His slave and Messenger. We ask Allaah to exalt his mention as well as that of his family and all his companions.

 

If the skeleton is of a deceased human being or animal, then there is no harm in using it for educational purposes. It is the necessity of education that makes the human skeleton permissible to be used for this purpose, and the necessity is weighed according to its importance.

However, when the student finishes his study, he has to cover the skeleton as a sign of respect for the human being. Leaving it uncovered is contrary to its honour as the dead should be respected like a live person is. If it is an artificial skeleton, then there is no harm in leaving it uncovered. The statues that are forbidden to keep are those which are kept in their original form, as regards the ruling of these skeletons, it is like the ruling of a statue without a head, and if the head is cut, or one of its limbs is cut without which it could not stay alive, then it is no longer considered as a statue and there is no harm therefore to be taken for the purpose of experiment. It is reported in Al-Musnad and As-Sunnan that Abu Hurayrah narrated that the Prophet said: ''Jibreel came to me, and said: ''I came to see you yesterday but could not enter because of the statue which was on the door. So order for its head to be cut, and it will become like a tree." 

Allaah knows best.