Animals: Protective Rules and Exploitation Limits in Islam

With the introduction of legal-ethical approaches to the field of medical studies and research and the emergence of interdisciplinary field of bioethics, the idea was formed among physicians and jurists that although human being’s privileged position among other beings allows him to exploit animals for the benefit of advancing medical research, animals also have the right to live as part of the universe and they cannot be exploited without any restrictions. Such an approach to the field of animals led bioethics researchers to formulate the necessary rules and regulations for keeping and working with animals in laboratory settings, as well as the requirements and ethical principles of their use. In the present study, an attempt has been made to study the issue of animal use in three areas: theological, legal, and moral areas in Islam. The author hopes that the results obtained from the sum of these three areas can shed some light on the views of Islam and Muslim scholars on animals, their rights, and the requirements of human behavior with them.