In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.

All praise and thanks are due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon His Messenger.

Dear brother in Islam, thanks a lot for your question which reflects your care to have a clear view of the teachings of Islam. Allah commands Muslims to refer to people of knowledge to get themselves well-acquainted with the teachings of Islam as well as all aspects of life.

As far as Islamic Shari`ah is concerned, it is permissible to resort to skin grafting in case of burn or injuries, or to remove some defects or to improve the skin.

In his response to your question, Sheikh Ahmad Kutty, a senior lecturer and Islamic scholar at the Islamic Institute of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, states:

You are allowed to resort to skin grafting in case of burn or injuries to correct deformity or restore it to wholeness. It is allowed to use animal parts for this so long as the animal is considered halal and pure. According to many scholars, dogs and pigs are not considered clean or pure. In sha’ Allah, there will always be halal alternatives if we try to find them.

To elaborate more on this issue, we cite for you the following:

Yes, skin grafting is permissible subject to the fulfillment of certain conditions as follows:

1. The skin transplantation is the only effective method of treatment.

2. The harm, if any, caused to the donor, in case of donation, by the process of removal is within the standard acceptable limits.

3. The operation is promising; that is, the likelihood of success is far greater than that of failure.

4. The skin is not acquired by sale, intimidation, or deception. However, if no volunteer is available then there is no objection to obtaining necessary skin in exchange for a price.

As for the issue of skin grafts from an animal, if the animal is lawful to eat and is slaughtered according to Islamic specifications, then such skin grafts are lawful in Shari`ah. However, skin grafts taken from a non-slaughtered animal carcass or from a living animal are unclean according to Shari`ah, so, their use is impermissible except in the case of necessity.