Women Treating Men and the Vice Versa
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Q: We female dentists suffer greatly from the various pressures imposed on us to treat male patients. We endure what we endure, as the position of a female dentist is extremely difficult during treatment, requiring the patient to lie down while the dentist is above his chest for the procedure, and she is necessarily very close to him to the point of embarrassment. This is
a situation that exists only in dentistry, not in other types of human medicine. Many justify this by citing urgent necessity! What is urgent necessity? There is no danger to a person’s life if his treatment is delayed, and consequently, the dentist in this field does not work night shifts; this is because the work can be postponed until the morning, and the first opportunity for treatment is given to those in urgent condition. Your Eminence: We have struggled greatly in our studies and endured many hardships to fulfill our duty of treating women, not to have it imposed on us under the pretext of necessity to force us to mix with men without any necessity that we actually find. We have been very pleased by the absence of mixing and the treatment of women in independent clinics. It is well known that the number of women in the Kingdom, if it does not equal the number of men, exceeds them, in addition to the number of children we treat, and in addition to the fact that the number of male medical graduates is greater than that of female graduates. The matter only requires some organization. Your Eminence the Mufti: After all this, who protects us from a domineering department head or an official who does not fear Allah the Exalted, who forces us by force to treat men under the pretext of necessity and permits it for us religiously, while he knows what I previously clarified to your Excellency, which rejects treating men due to the severe embarrassment and modesty that a female dentist, in particular, faces, unlike others? She becomes a warning to others by being transferred from her job, and she may be transferred to remote, non-educational places or to another country. Consequently, the one who does not treat men is exposed to the worst outcomes. In fact, she is told: Why are you a doctor? Are these not methods that call for mixing and push the educated woman, especially the doctor, to strip the veil of modesty from her face and her blood under the pretext that she is a doctor or something else, driven by the necessity that the department head or official issues a fatwa for? Who protects her from such people? I ask you by Allah, what are the circumstances that call for a woman to approach a man to this extent and for a long duration in a single visit, and to touch him to treat his teeth, in a position described as her embracing him, when there is no necessity for it or danger to his life, and we are told: It is permissible because you are a doctor and he is a patient?! Let every person who says that treating men is permissible and that necessity does not mean the benefit of the department head or the fear of punishment fear Allah. We address you because we have worked in this field for a long time, so beware and fear Allah, and help our daughters to fear Allah and fulfill their duties under the auspices of our noble country, which constantly strives to apply the Islamic Shari'ah in all fields. Just as this country has striven to separate education between the sexes in the study of medicine, which is a limited number of years, it is even more appropriate that this be the case during work and actual practice; because that is a lifetime. What is the ruling on those who are reckless in forcing a woman to treat men without any right?
...distant, non-educational, or in another country, and consequently, the one who does not treat men is exposed to the worst outcomes, and it is even said to her: Why are you a doctor? Are these not methods that call for free mixing of men and women and push the educated woman, especially the doctor, to remove the veil of modesty from her face and her blood under the pretext that she is a doctor or something else, driven by a necessity that the head of the department or the official issues a ruling on? Who protects her from such people? I ask you by Allah, what are the circumstances that call for a woman to approach a man to this extent and for a long duration in a single visit, and to touch him to treat his teeth, while she is in a position described as embracing him, and there is no necessity for that or danger to his life, and we tell her: It is permissible because you are a doctor and he is a patient?! Let every person who says that treating men is permissible and that necessity means the benefit of the head of the department or the fear of punishment fear Allah. We address you because our work in this field has been for a long time, so beware and fear Allah, and help our daughters to fear Allah and fulfill their duties under the shadow of our noble country, which constantly strives to apply the Islamic Shari'ah in all fields. Just as this country strove to separate education between the sexes in the study of medicine, which is a limited number of years, it is even more appropriate that this be the case during work and actual practice, because that is a lifetime. What is the ruling on those who are reckless and impose on the woman that she treat men without any right?
Who protects us in the face of such people if their word is: necessity and no objection? What is the meaning of the word necessity and to what extent is its scope? It does not mean that everyone who studies medicine loses her modesty and it is said to her: Why do you choose medicine, but this treatment elevates the status of the Muslim doctor who wears the hijab with her modesty and what Allah commanded her, and places her in the best positions, and in that is a great share. So, turning to Allah first, and then to you, to help her overcome this great matter, which is increasing in badness, recklessness, and negligence, and Allah is the Guide to the straight path.
The Permanent Committee has studied what was included in a letter from some female dentists, containing their question about the ruling on their treating men, and it answered: It is not permissible for women to treat men, nor the reverse, except in a case of necessity; such as when it is difficult to find a treaters of the same sex and the patient is in a state of danger, and the prohibition is more severe regarding dental treatment; because of the touching of the body of the treaters by the treated, and the female doctor sins if she treats men in compliance with the order of her head; for there is no obedience to a created being in disobedience to the Creator, as the person who ordered her to do so also sins, and it is incumbent upon every official who knows of the occurrence of this matter to work to prevent it as long as he is able to do so, and if he does not do this, he is a partner in the sin.
a situation that exists only in dentistry, not in other types of human medicine. Many justify this by citing urgent necessity! What is urgent necessity? There is no danger to a person’s life if his treatment is delayed, and consequently, the dentist in this field does not work night shifts; this is because the work can be postponed until the morning, and the first opportunity for treatment is given to those in urgent condition. Your Eminence: We have struggled greatly in our studies and endured many hardships to fulfill our duty of treating women, not to have it imposed on us under the pretext of necessity to force us to mix with men without any necessity that we actually find. We have been very pleased by the absence of mixing and the treatment of women in independent clinics. It is well known that the number of women in the Kingdom, if it does not equal the number of men, exceeds them, in addition to the number of children we treat, and in addition to the fact that the number of male medical graduates is greater than that of female graduates. The matter only requires some organization. Your Eminence the Mufti: After all this, who protects us from a domineering department head or an official who does not fear Allah the Exalted, who forces us by force to treat men under the pretext of necessity and permits it for us religiously, while he knows what I previously clarified to your Excellency, which rejects treating men due to the severe embarrassment and modesty that a female dentist, in particular, faces, unlike others? She becomes a warning to others by being transferred from her job, and she may be transferred to remote, non-educational places or to another country. Consequently, the one who does not treat men is exposed to the worst outcomes. In fact, she is told: Why are you a doctor? Are these not methods that call for mixing and push the educated woman, especially the doctor, to strip the veil of modesty from her face and her blood under the pretext that she is a doctor or something else, driven by the necessity that the department head or official issues a fatwa for? Who protects her from such people? I ask you by Allah, what are the circumstances that call for a woman to approach a man to this extent and for a long duration in a single visit, and to touch him to treat his teeth, in a position described as her embracing him, when there is no necessity for it or danger to his life, and we are told: It is permissible because you are a doctor and he is a patient?! Let every person who says that treating men is permissible and that necessity does not mean the benefit of the department head or the fear of punishment fear Allah. We address you because we have worked in this field for a long time, so beware and fear Allah, and help our daughters to fear Allah and fulfill their duties under the auspices of our noble country, which constantly strives to apply the Islamic Shari'ah in all fields. Just as this country has striven to separate education between the sexes in the study of medicine, which is a limited number of years, it is even more appropriate that this be the case during work and actual practice; because that is a lifetime. What is the ruling on those who are reckless in forcing a woman to treat men without any right?
...distant, non-educational, or in another country, and consequently, the one who does not treat men is exposed to the worst outcomes, and it is even said to her: Why are you a doctor? Are these not methods that call for free mixing of men and women and push the educated woman, especially the doctor, to remove the veil of modesty from her face and her blood under the pretext that she is a doctor or something else, driven by a necessity that the head of the department or the official issues a ruling on? Who protects her from such people? I ask you by Allah, what are the circumstances that call for a woman to approach a man to this extent and for a long duration in a single visit, and to touch him to treat his teeth, while she is in a position described as embracing him, and there is no necessity for that or danger to his life, and we tell her: It is permissible because you are a doctor and he is a patient?! Let every person who says that treating men is permissible and that necessity means the benefit of the head of the department or the fear of punishment fear Allah. We address you because our work in this field has been for a long time, so beware and fear Allah, and help our daughters to fear Allah and fulfill their duties under the shadow of our noble country, which constantly strives to apply the Islamic Shari'ah in all fields. Just as this country strove to separate education between the sexes in the study of medicine, which is a limited number of years, it is even more appropriate that this be the case during work and actual practice, because that is a lifetime. What is the ruling on those who are reckless and impose on the woman that she treat men without any right?
Who protects us in the face of such people if their word is: necessity and no objection? What is the meaning of the word necessity and to what extent is its scope? It does not mean that everyone who studies medicine loses her modesty and it is said to her: Why do you choose medicine, but this treatment elevates the status of the Muslim doctor who wears the hijab with her modesty and what Allah commanded her, and places her in the best positions, and in that is a great share. So, turning to Allah first, and then to you, to help her overcome this great matter, which is increasing in badness, recklessness, and negligence, and Allah is the Guide to the straight path.
The Permanent Committee has studied what was included in a letter from some female dentists, containing their question about the ruling on their treating men, and it answered: It is not permissible for women to treat men, nor the reverse, except in a case of necessity; such as when it is difficult to find a treaters of the same sex and the patient is in a state of danger, and the prohibition is more severe regarding dental treatment; because of the touching of the body of the treaters by the treated, and the female doctor sins if she treats men in compliance with the order of her head; for there is no obedience to a created being in disobedience to the Creator, as the person who ordered her to do so also sins, and it is incumbent upon every official who knows of the occurrence of this matter to work to prevent it as long as he is able to do so, and if he does not do this, he is a partner in the sin.
Source
www.alifta.gov.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.