Fulfilling the Spiritual Request of a Non-Muslim Whose Time Is Nearing, from the Hospital
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All praise is due to Allah alone, and peace and blessings be upon the one after whom there is no prophet. After that: The Permanent Committee for Scholarly Research and Ifta has reviewed what was sent to His Eminence the Grand Mufti from His Excellency, the General Director of Health Affairs in the Eastern Province , in his letter number (68627/42/41) dated 6/7/1430 AH, which was referred to the Committee by the General Secretariat of the Council of Senior Scholars, number (1075) and dated 19/7/1430 AH. His Excellency asked a question, the text of which is as follows:
I ask Allah to grant Your Eminence assistance, correctness, and success. I present to Your Eminence the desire of the General Directorate of Health Affairs in the Eastern Region , represented by the Saud al-Babtain Center for Cardiology and Cardiac Surgery, to obtain international accreditation for health facilities. The conditions for obtaining this accreditation include meeting its requirements, one of whose chapters states: "Rights and Obligations of Patients and Their Families." Among the items in this chapter is the following text: "The Center must follow specific policies and procedures regarding the fulfillment of the patient's and their family's requests; spiritual and religious matters in the late stages of illness." The text of the aforementioned article is as follows: "Every patient has specific beliefs and values related to health care, which are usually, in their origin, either cultural or religious. The Center should encourage the patient to express their beliefs in a way that respects the beliefs of others, especially Islamic beliefs, which are the cornerstone of this nation. These beliefs contribute to improving the patient's health condition. The Center is required to fulfill the spiritual and religious desires of the (sick patient) by providing religious assistants if the patient requests assistance. This is done by forming a religious committee composed of individuals from different beliefs and religions, to whom the patient refers in case they need religious assistance, and by seeking local sources that may contribute to this process."
However, the matter becomes more complex if the health organization or the policy of the country in which it is located rejects or does not approve a specific belief or religion. Measurement factors for the item: 1- The organization must determine specific policies and procedures related to meeting the patient's spiritual and religious needs. 2- The organization must facilitate the means to seek to meet the patient's need for religious, doctrinal, and spiritual support. I hope that after reviewing this, Your Eminence will issue a fatwa on the permissibility of such an action for non-Muslims or People of the Book, and whether this action is contrary to our noble Shari'ah and opposed to Islamic principles. May Allah preserve you, care for you, and guide your steps on the path of good, and may you receive the best reward.
After the Committee studied the inquiry, it answered: It is not permissible to enable non-Muslims, whether People of the Book or others, to display their religion or any of its rituals in the lands of Islam, nor to allow their religious guides to do so; because this leads to the spread of falsehood and harm to Muslims, and contradicts the rituals of Islam.
I ask Allah to grant Your Eminence assistance, correctness, and success. I present to Your Eminence the desire of the General Directorate of Health Affairs in the Eastern Region , represented by the Saud al-Babtain Center for Cardiology and Cardiac Surgery, to obtain international accreditation for health facilities. The conditions for obtaining this accreditation include meeting its requirements, one of whose chapters states: "Rights and Obligations of Patients and Their Families." Among the items in this chapter is the following text: "The Center must follow specific policies and procedures regarding the fulfillment of the patient's and their family's requests; spiritual and religious matters in the late stages of illness." The text of the aforementioned article is as follows: "Every patient has specific beliefs and values related to health care, which are usually, in their origin, either cultural or religious. The Center should encourage the patient to express their beliefs in a way that respects the beliefs of others, especially Islamic beliefs, which are the cornerstone of this nation. These beliefs contribute to improving the patient's health condition. The Center is required to fulfill the spiritual and religious desires of the (sick patient) by providing religious assistants if the patient requests assistance. This is done by forming a religious committee composed of individuals from different beliefs and religions, to whom the patient refers in case they need religious assistance, and by seeking local sources that may contribute to this process."
However, the matter becomes more complex if the health organization or the policy of the country in which it is located rejects or does not approve a specific belief or religion. Measurement factors for the item: 1- The organization must determine specific policies and procedures related to meeting the patient's spiritual and religious needs. 2- The organization must facilitate the means to seek to meet the patient's need for religious, doctrinal, and spiritual support. I hope that after reviewing this, Your Eminence will issue a fatwa on the permissibility of such an action for non-Muslims or People of the Book, and whether this action is contrary to our noble Shari'ah and opposed to Islamic principles. May Allah preserve you, care for you, and guide your steps on the path of good, and may you receive the best reward.
After the Committee studied the inquiry, it answered: It is not permissible to enable non-Muslims, whether People of the Book or others, to display their religion or any of its rituals in the lands of Islam, nor to allow their religious guides to do so; because this leads to the spread of falsehood and harm to Muslims, and contradicts the rituals of Islam.
Source
www.alifta.gov.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.