All of us as human beings desire a peaceful and easy death; some people consider euthanasia as a way to achieve this end. The word Euthanasia comes from Greek origin (eu: well, good- Thanatos: death) and is commonly known as the practice of intentionally ending a life to relieve pain and suffering. It is classified into three types: voluntary (with the consent of the patient), non-voluntary (the approval of the patient is unavailable) and involuntary (against the will of the patient). Voluntary euthanasia has been legalized in some countries such as Netherlands, Belgium and some states of America. It seems that proponents of euthanasia developed a strictly materialistic view of life and death; in other words, the existence of God and the value of human life are ignored. Moreover, the patient’s condition when consenting for euthanasia is not considered at all.  

Euthanasia Yes or No?

The first issue that can be argued against euthanasia is that being terminally ill does not seem to have a precise definition. There is no way to determine the life expectancy of a person even if he/she is diagnosed as terminally ill. There are cases in which the patient healed miraculously and without any explanation; the proponents of it seem to ignore the God’s will in the human’s life and death.

What's more, the consent that a patient who is suffering severely gives to end his/her life is not really of much validity. Obviously, due to the health condition of the patient, he/she is in a depressed mood and cannot think clearly. In some cases, such as an older adult who has lost his common sense, the consent given by him/her is apparently not valid. On the other hand, in non-voluntary in which a patient’s relative gives permission, the patient’s will is not included; it seems more like murdering rather than helping that patient.

Euthanasia activists ignore the value and importance of human life and the fact that the more you fight for life, the more precious your soul becomes. People who support this, often say that it is already considered permissible to take human’s life under some circumstances such as self-defense -e.g., in the case of wars- while, they miss this point that when one kills for self-defense, they are saving innocent lives either their own or someone else's. With euthanasia no one's life is being saved; life is only taken [3]. Human beings have the instinct for survival and immortality; euthanasia is clearly against the nature of human being. Somehow, it overlooks the spiritual side of human beings. Besides, it is an absolute act of suicide which many religions including Islam do not approve of [1].

Finally, the decision to take someone’s life is not for anybody even that person to make; God has given life to us, and He will take it as He wishes [2].  The proponents of Euthanasia have ignored moral issues and the spiritual side of human beings. Even in the hardest situations still, we can find hope if we have faith. By committing it, we lose the opportunity to see our unpredictable future; there may be a chance to embrace a beautiful life!  

References:

1. Euthanasia
2. 5:32, 6:151, 4:29.
3. what is Euthanasia

After Prophet Muhammad’s (PBUH & HP) death, Abu-Bakr and Umar ibn Khattab took over the caliphate (the kingdom of the Muslims). One of their most important yet harmful decisions was that they ordered all the Muslims to stop narrating or writing hadiths of the Prophet (PBUH & HP). They argued that if people narrate the hadiths of the Prophet (PBUH & HP), they may confuse verses of the Quran with them or they may forget about memorizing and learning the verses of the Quran. Once Abu-Bakr gathered all people and told them,

[Today] you narrate hadiths from the Prophet while you narrate different and paradoxical hadiths and indeed people after you will do worse. Therefore, do not narrate hadiths from the Prophet anymore and if someone wanted you to narrate, tell them that “we have the Holy Quran. So, follow its rules.” (1)

Qurzah ibn Ka’b (one of the companions of the Prophet) said, 

When we were going to Iraq, Umar accompanied us [until we left the city]. He said, “do you know why did I accompany you?” we said, “because you wanted to respect us”. He said, “in addition to that, I wanted to tell you that you are going to a place where its people recite the Quran like the bee buzz; hence do not occupy their minds with hadiths. Teach them the Quran and tell them a few hadiths of the Prophet (not too many) and I will do just like you. (2)

What they said is actually against the verses of the Holy Quran,

[We sent them] with clear proofs and written ordinances. And We revealed to you the message that you may make clear to the people what was sent down to them and that they might give thought. (16:44)

As you see, Allah almighty says that the Holy Quran needs to be interpreted by the Prophet (PBUH & HP), and without his hadiths, the Holy Quran cannot be completely useful. Writing the hadiths of the Prophet was forbidden for 100 years because of Abu-Bakr and Umar’s orders. Due to their decision, many hypocrites seized this opportunity to make fake hadiths and many people forgot about the Prophet’s (PBUH & HP) lessons.

Imam Baqer (AS)

Imam Baqer (AS) is the fifth Shiite Imam and Imam Sajjad’s (AS) son. His given name was Muhammad, but he was called Baqir al-Olum (shortened to Baqir), because he was a knowledgeable person. The word “baqir” means “splitter” and it means that Imam Baqir (AS) had split the knowledge and started a knowledge revolution as he was a very knowledgeable person. It is said that the Prophet (PBUH & HP) named him Baqir so many years before his birth. (3)

Imam Baqir (AS) lived when the Umayyad dynasty had gotten so weak due to the wars they had, and because of this, Imam Baqir (AS) had the chance to tell people about the teachings of the Prophet (PBUH & HP) after they were forgotten or distorted. He said,

Watch these people who are like the scribes and the monks who hide the teachings of the Quran and distort it… watch them they saved the words of the Quran but distorted its meaning and they are always with the kings and royalties. When the greedy kings and leaders are overthrown, they are with the ones who have more wealth and power and this is the only thing they know. (4) 

Due to the political circumstances, Imam Baqir (AS) was able to have classes and teach people what he had learned from his ancestors in various fields including laws, doctrine, tawhid (monotheism), imamate, interpretation of the Quran, ethics and the like. Accordingly, most Shiite hadiths belong to Imam Baqir (AS) and his son, Imam Sadiq (AS). 

About his father, Imam Sadiq (AS) says,

Before Imam Baqir (AS) Shias didn’t completely know how to perform hajj, what is halal, and what is haram until the time Imam Baqir (AS) performed hajj for them, taught them how to do it, and what is halal and what is haram. Then the Shias didn’t need the Sunnis anymore and the Sunnis started to learn from them instead. (5)

As we said before, during the first three caliphates, the laws of Islam and the teachings of the Prophet (PBUH & HP) were mostly distorted or forgotten by people, and due to this fact, Imam Baqir (AS) had to repeat the lessons for people, especially the Shias. 

Imam Baqer (AS) in the view of the Sunni scholars 

The Sunni scholars all respect Imam Baqir (AS) and believe that he was among the most knowledgeable scholars in Islamic history. They have narrated the hadiths of the Prophet (PBUH & HP) from him and some of their scholars were his pupils.

Abdullah ibn Ata’, one of the Sunni scholars who lived during the same time as Imam Baqir (AS) says,
I haven’t seen anyone like Abu-Jafar (Imam Baqir) whose knowledge of the Sunni scholars seemed so little compared to him. Indeed, I saw Hakam ibn Utaibah (one of the greatest Sunni scholars of those times) with him and Hakam was like a pupil to him. (6)

Resources 

1.  Tadhkirah al-Huffaz, az-Zahabi, vol.1, pg.9
2.  Tadhkirah al-Huffaz, az-Zahabi, vol.1, pg.12
3.   Al-Kafi, Sheikh Koleini, vol.1, pg.469
4.   Al-Kafi, Sheikh Koleini, vol.8, pg.54
5.  Tafsir, al-Ayyashi, vol.1, pg.252 & 253
6. Tarikh Damashq, ibn Asakir, vol.54, pg.278