JURIDICAL AND BIOETHICAL OF HUMAN GENOME EDITING THROUGH THE LENS OF MAQASID SHARI’A

Abstract

Advances in genome-editing technologies, especially CRISPR-Cas systems, have made it feasible to modify human genes for decades, sparking intense ethical, theological, and legal debate. Through the prism of Maqāṣid al-Sharīʿah, the higher goals of Islamic law, this study analyzes the legal and ethical administration of human genome editing at the international level and investigates its permissibility and normative constraints. This study aims to promote responsible scientific innovation while protecting human dignity and maintaining divine confidence (amānah) in the stewardship of creation by connecting international regulatory standards with Maqāṣid-based ethical reasoning (World Health Organization). The study suggests an integrated regulatory approach that balances the Maqāṣid imperatives of ḥifz an-nafs (preservation of life), ḥifz an-nasl (protection of lineage), ḥifz al-ʻaql (preservation of intellect), ḥif al-māl (protection of property), and ḥifz ad-dīn (preservation of faith) with universal bioethical principles of human dignity, non-maleficence, and emerging Islamic bioethical scholarship. To ensure safety, transparency, and moral accountability, the analysis contends that genome-editing research and uses should be governed by a plural, cautious framework. Maintaining a worldwide moratorium on clinical germline editing until safety and oversight standards are clearly established, allowing somatic interventions only in cases where there is a clear therapeutic benefit and no viable alternatives are available, incorporating maslahah (public benefit) and avoiding mafsadah (harm) into ethical review procedures, and creating inclusive, multi-stakeholder governance structures involving Muslim juristic and bioethical authorities are some of the main recommendations