Iranian Journal of Medical Ethics and History of Medicine

Modern medical ethics, in particular the principle of Non-Maleficent, advises the medical staff to avoid any harm to the patient. Islamic jurists, using religious texts and sources, have introduced rules that are applicable in many areas of life. Among these rules, is the rule Non-Harm, that in this article to review this rule and its applications in medicine. In addition to discussions of the documents, a better understanding of the words "Darar" and "Dirar" and deny or forbid the word "La" at the beginning of the base document, is one of the major issues and disputes. Organ transplants, family planning and birth control, responsibility to protect the health, need to see a doctor for treatment, civil responsibility for doctors in the treatment, responsibility for custodians of society for the control of AIDS, are the problems affecting today's health systems that the rule of No Harm is flowing in them.

In its broad sense, health encompasses a wider area than simply physical health. It includes mental, social and spiritual health as well. There is evidence that a child inherits from his parents not only genetic traits but also morality and acquirable traits epigenetically. This means that the parents, especially the mother, have a double responsibility towards their children. In the Islamic literature there are general recommendations regarding choosing a spouse, as well as norms of fertilization, and time of conception; these could be explained today as epigenetic factors in shaping a child’s personality. Some specific recommendations are as follows: Refraining from marrying an ill-humored woman; remembering god at the time of fertilization; and avoiding intercourse at special places, times, states and situations, which would have negative influences on a person’s psyche. Although these cannot be explained on the basis of experimental criteria, their effect on the health of the fetus is worth studying using appropriate methodology. Influence of maternal health on child health in terms of environment, genetics, and epigenetics are the areas that will be explored more by research in Islamic and new scientific resources.