Treating Asthma with the Gall of the Vulture
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner:
Some people use the gall of the vulture to treat asthma, and it has been established for some of them that it is beneficial, and some have been cured by the permission of Allah. Is that permissible?
The Shaykh:
No. It is not permissible to treat oneself with what is forbidden, nor with what is ritually impure. The ritually impure is forbidden. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: In what is lawful, one is free from what is forbidden.
The questioner:
Yes.
The Shaykh:
Even if it is found to be beneficial, this benefit is counteracted by the impurity, and it is counteracted by the prohibition. Prohibition may sometimes contain things that have benefit, but if the harm is greater than the benefit, and the aspect of harm prevails, it occurs.[Al-Baqarah 2:219], or any thing that has benefit, if one says this is lawful, one must look at this benefit: is it the stronger position or the weaker position?
If the benefit is the stronger position, this is lawful. If the opposite is the case and the harm is the stronger position, this is forbidden. Likewise, if the harm and the benefit are equal, it is also forbidden. So what remains for us is only if the benefit is the stronger position, in which case it is lawful. Yes.
Some people use the gall of the vulture to treat asthma, and it has been established for some of them that it is beneficial, and some have been cured by the permission of Allah. Is that permissible?
The Shaykh:
No. It is not permissible to treat oneself with what is forbidden, nor with what is ritually impure. The ritually impure is forbidden. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
Do not treat yourselves with what is forbidden,
لا تداووا بحرام،The questioner:
Yes.
The Shaykh:
Even if it is found to be beneficial, this benefit is counteracted by the impurity, and it is counteracted by the prohibition. Prohibition may sometimes contain things that have benefit, but if the harm is greater than the benefit, and the aspect of harm prevails, it occurs.
But their sin is greater than their benefit.
وَإِثْمُهُمَا أَكْبَرُ مِن نَّفْعِهِمَاIf the benefit is the stronger position, this is lawful. If the opposite is the case and the harm is the stronger position, this is forbidden. Likewise, if the harm and the benefit are equal, it is also forbidden. So what remains for us is only if the benefit is the stronger position, in which case it is lawful. Yes.
Source
قناة «العلامة الدكتور صالح الفوزان»، 141/17 شرح زاد المستقنع/ صالح الفوزان — youtube.com (1:04:19)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.