The Islamic legal rulings that doctors and their assistants must know
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Fatwa No. ( 18589 )
Praise be to Allah alone, and blessings and peace be upon the one after whom there is no prophet. And after: The Permanent Committee for Scholarly Research and Ifta has reviewed
what was sent to His Eminence the Grand Mufti from His Excellency the Director General of Medical Services in the Armed Forces, and referred to the Committee by the General Secretariat of the Council of Senior Scholars, with number (2930) and date 20 \ 6 \ 1416 AH. His Excellency asked a question, the text of which is as follows: It is not hidden from Your Eminence that the General Administration of Medical Services for the Armed Forces has many Armed Forces hospitals in various regions of the Kingdom, and these hospitals include many workers, whether doctors or nursing staff, and all of them have daily direct dealings with patients. And without a doubt, there are Islamic legal rulings concerning both parties: the patients during their period of illness, and the doctors and nursing staff during their dealings with this patient, and these rulings may be unknown to some. Therefore, we hope Your Eminence will graciously direct those concerned to provide us with the fatwas issued by Your Eminence and by the Permanent Ifta Committee on these two topics, so that we can circulate them among our hospitals, so that the workers there are aware and knowledgeable of those rulings, to refer to them when needed. May Allah reward you with good and bless your efforts, and peace be upon you and the mercy of Allah and His blessings.
After the Committee’s study of the inquiry, it answered as follows:
It is obligatory for doctors and their assistants, such as nurses and others, to perform the Islamic obligations in all their circumstances, and not to be lax in them. Among these is the greatest pillar of Islam after the testimonies of faith, which is: the ritual prayer. It is not permissible to be negligent in it, nor to delay it beyond its time, especially when there is something that may occupy and distract, for the caller of evil may whisper to a person weak excuses and defective arguments to justify his negligence. And the ritual prayer does not drop from the Muslim as long as his mind is with him, and it is not permissible to delay it beyond its time. And there are other Islamic legal rulings that doctors and their assistants must know, among them: 1 - It is not permissible for free mixing between male and female workers, for the evil of free mixing is great, and its danger is severe for the individual and society. 2 - It is not permissible for female workers in hospitals, whether doctors, nurses, or others, to adorn themselves, whether in clothing or perfumes, for a woman’s perfuming and adorning herself before non-mahram men brings about evils that are not hidden. 3 - It is not permissible for female workers in hospitals to submit their speech in a soft manner when they need to speak with men who are not their mahrams, and it is not permissible for them to speak with them except from behind a screen, and without free mixing. It is not hidden that establishing special wings for women, into which men do not enter
is easy, and praise be to Allah. 4 - It is not permissible for female workers to display their adornment, and they must adhere to the Islamic covering, by covering the entire body, including the face and hands. 5 - It is forbidden for doctors, female doctors, and their assistants to look at the private parts except out of necessity, and if necessity calls for it, it is estimated according to its extent, so one does not look except at the place of need. It is obligatory that a man is not examined except by a man, and a woman is not examined except by a woman, except if that is not possible and necessity calls for it, then there is no blame in one of them examining the other, with the performance of the obligation of Islamic trust, so one does not look except at the place of the illness, provided that it is in the presence of someone with whom seclusion is not possible, and as for the sick woman, the presence of her guardian is necessary if that is possible. 6 - It is obligatory for all workers in hospitals not to disclose the secrets of patients, and to adhere to secrecy in these matters, for disclosing them - although it is a betrayal of trust and a violation of secrets - brings about evils that are not hidden. 7 - It is obligatory for all workers not to imitate the disbelievers, and the prohibition of that has come explicitly, and the Muslim must take pride in his religion and his belonging
to it, so he does not weaken or retreat. And success is from Allah, and may Allah send blessings and peace upon our Prophet Muhammad and his family and his companions.
Praise be to Allah alone, and blessings and peace be upon the one after whom there is no prophet. And after: The Permanent Committee for Scholarly Research and Ifta has reviewed
what was sent to His Eminence the Grand Mufti from His Excellency the Director General of Medical Services in the Armed Forces, and referred to the Committee by the General Secretariat of the Council of Senior Scholars, with number (2930) and date 20 \ 6 \ 1416 AH. His Excellency asked a question, the text of which is as follows: It is not hidden from Your Eminence that the General Administration of Medical Services for the Armed Forces has many Armed Forces hospitals in various regions of the Kingdom, and these hospitals include many workers, whether doctors or nursing staff, and all of them have daily direct dealings with patients. And without a doubt, there are Islamic legal rulings concerning both parties: the patients during their period of illness, and the doctors and nursing staff during their dealings with this patient, and these rulings may be unknown to some. Therefore, we hope Your Eminence will graciously direct those concerned to provide us with the fatwas issued by Your Eminence and by the Permanent Ifta Committee on these two topics, so that we can circulate them among our hospitals, so that the workers there are aware and knowledgeable of those rulings, to refer to them when needed. May Allah reward you with good and bless your efforts, and peace be upon you and the mercy of Allah and His blessings.
After the Committee’s study of the inquiry, it answered as follows:
It is obligatory for doctors and their assistants, such as nurses and others, to perform the Islamic obligations in all their circumstances, and not to be lax in them. Among these is the greatest pillar of Islam after the testimonies of faith, which is: the ritual prayer. It is not permissible to be negligent in it, nor to delay it beyond its time, especially when there is something that may occupy and distract, for the caller of evil may whisper to a person weak excuses and defective arguments to justify his negligence. And the ritual prayer does not drop from the Muslim as long as his mind is with him, and it is not permissible to delay it beyond its time. And there are other Islamic legal rulings that doctors and their assistants must know, among them: 1 - It is not permissible for free mixing between male and female workers, for the evil of free mixing is great, and its danger is severe for the individual and society. 2 - It is not permissible for female workers in hospitals, whether doctors, nurses, or others, to adorn themselves, whether in clothing or perfumes, for a woman’s perfuming and adorning herself before non-mahram men brings about evils that are not hidden. 3 - It is not permissible for female workers in hospitals to submit their speech in a soft manner when they need to speak with men who are not their mahrams, and it is not permissible for them to speak with them except from behind a screen, and without free mixing. It is not hidden that establishing special wings for women, into which men do not enter
is easy, and praise be to Allah. 4 - It is not permissible for female workers to display their adornment, and they must adhere to the Islamic covering, by covering the entire body, including the face and hands. 5 - It is forbidden for doctors, female doctors, and their assistants to look at the private parts except out of necessity, and if necessity calls for it, it is estimated according to its extent, so one does not look except at the place of need. It is obligatory that a man is not examined except by a man, and a woman is not examined except by a woman, except if that is not possible and necessity calls for it, then there is no blame in one of them examining the other, with the performance of the obligation of Islamic trust, so one does not look except at the place of the illness, provided that it is in the presence of someone with whom seclusion is not possible, and as for the sick woman, the presence of her guardian is necessary if that is possible. 6 - It is obligatory for all workers in hospitals not to disclose the secrets of patients, and to adhere to secrecy in these matters, for disclosing them - although it is a betrayal of trust and a violation of secrets - brings about evils that are not hidden. 7 - It is obligatory for all workers not to imitate the disbelievers, and the prohibition of that has come explicitly, and the Muslim must take pride in his religion and his belonging
to it, so he does not weaken or retreat. And success is from Allah, and may Allah send blessings and peace upon our Prophet Muhammad and his family and his companions.
Source
www.alifta.gov.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.