The on-duty doctor may leave the Friday prayer
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Fatwa No. ( 2630 )
All praise is due to Allah alone, and may blessings and peace be upon His Messenger Muhammad, his family, and his Companions. And after that: The Permanent Committee for Scholarly Research and Ifta has reviewed the inquiry submitted to His Eminence the General President from His Excellency the Minister of Labor and Social Affairs, referred by His Eminence the General President, with number 2699/2 dated 23/8/99 AH, which reads:
A letter was received by the Ministry from the Al-Muwasat Clinic in Dammam stating that regulations require the clinic to operate continuously for (24) hours, which necessitated the establishment of a shift schedule for the doctors. The clinic inquires whether the on-duty doctor on Friday is permitted to leave the clinic to perform the Friday prayer. Given that the on-duty doctor is solely responsible for the clinic's operations, and his presence in the clinic is obligatory and he must not leave it, as this absence may lead to serious consequences from a humanitarian perspective, it may cause a delay in treating a patient or providing emergency aid to a wounded person in urgent need of such aid or treatment. This may lead—God forbid—to severe health consequences that may be impossible to remedy. It is also worth noting that the shift system requires doctors to take turns working throughout the days of the week, such that work on Fridays is not limited to a specific doctor. Given the importance of the matter, we have decided to seek your Eminence's opinion on whether this is considered a necessity that requires the doctor to remain at his post and perform the Dhuhr prayer during his shift if it falls on a Friday, or not.
And it responded as follows: The doctor mentioned in the question is engaged in a great matter that benefits the Muslims, and his going to the Friday prayer entails a great danger, so there is no blame on him for leaving
the Friday prayer, and he must perform the Dhuhr prayer at its time, and if it is possible to perform it in congregation, that is obligatory; for Allah the Exalted said:[At-Taghabun 64:16] If there are employees who take turns with him, they must perform the Dhuhr prayer in congregation. And success is from Allah, and may Allah send blessings and peace upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family, and his Companions.
All praise is due to Allah alone, and may blessings and peace be upon His Messenger Muhammad, his family, and his Companions. And after that: The Permanent Committee for Scholarly Research and Ifta has reviewed the inquiry submitted to His Eminence the General President from His Excellency the Minister of Labor and Social Affairs, referred by His Eminence the General President, with number 2699/2 dated 23/8/99 AH, which reads:
A letter was received by the Ministry from the Al-Muwasat Clinic in Dammam stating that regulations require the clinic to operate continuously for (24) hours, which necessitated the establishment of a shift schedule for the doctors. The clinic inquires whether the on-duty doctor on Friday is permitted to leave the clinic to perform the Friday prayer. Given that the on-duty doctor is solely responsible for the clinic's operations, and his presence in the clinic is obligatory and he must not leave it, as this absence may lead to serious consequences from a humanitarian perspective, it may cause a delay in treating a patient or providing emergency aid to a wounded person in urgent need of such aid or treatment. This may lead—God forbid—to severe health consequences that may be impossible to remedy. It is also worth noting that the shift system requires doctors to take turns working throughout the days of the week, such that work on Fridays is not limited to a specific doctor. Given the importance of the matter, we have decided to seek your Eminence's opinion on whether this is considered a necessity that requires the doctor to remain at his post and perform the Dhuhr prayer during his shift if it falls on a Friday, or not.
And it responded as follows: The doctor mentioned in the question is engaged in a great matter that benefits the Muslims, and his going to the Friday prayer entails a great danger, so there is no blame on him for leaving
the Friday prayer, and he must perform the Dhuhr prayer at its time, and if it is possible to perform it in congregation, that is obligatory; for Allah the Exalted said:
So fear Allah as much as you are able
فَاتَّقُوا اللَّهَ مَا اسْتَطَعْتُمْ
Source
www.alifta.gov.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.