The Ruling on Attending Medical Conferences at the Expense of Companies
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner:
The questioner asks: What is the ruling on attending medical conferences at the expense of medical companies or pharmaceutical companies that pay for the tickets, lodging, and food, whether inside the Kingdom or outside? Is this a bribe?
The Shaykh:
It is hospitality, not a bribe. All conferences, whether medical or otherwise, involve hospitality, covering the ticket, lodging, and hospitality for the invitee. This is not a bribe; rather, it is among the necessities of work. Yes.
The questioner:
If this, Honorable Shaykh, means that this hospitality causes the doctor, or the person in charge of medication insurance in the hospital or the directorate, to prefer the products of this company over another, does this have an effect or change the ruling?
The Shaykh:
If the goal of the hospitality and honoring the guest is to promote one drug over another, or one company over another, this is considered a bribe. However, if the intention behind the hospitality is work only, for the sake of work, attending the conference, and providing information, there is nothing wrong with it.
The questioner:
If this, Shaykh, requires that he wear some clothing that advertises or indicates this company, and this doctor may have his position or affiliation with a certain entity, for example, putting the name of this company on it, considering this person’s affiliation, it would result in more promotion than if such a situation did not exist.
The Shaykh:
No, this is not permissible. He should not carry their advertisement. He does not wear his ordinary clothes, nor does he wear special clothes for them, because that means he becomes their agent and spreads their advertisement. He did not go for that; he went to benefit from expertise and to provide expertise. He did not go for advertising. If he goes for advertising, it is not permissible. Yes.
The questioner asks: What is the ruling on attending medical conferences at the expense of medical companies or pharmaceutical companies that pay for the tickets, lodging, and food, whether inside the Kingdom or outside? Is this a bribe?
The Shaykh:
It is hospitality, not a bribe. All conferences, whether medical or otherwise, involve hospitality, covering the ticket, lodging, and hospitality for the invitee. This is not a bribe; rather, it is among the necessities of work. Yes.
The questioner:
If this, Honorable Shaykh, means that this hospitality causes the doctor, or the person in charge of medication insurance in the hospital or the directorate, to prefer the products of this company over another, does this have an effect or change the ruling?
The Shaykh:
If the goal of the hospitality and honoring the guest is to promote one drug over another, or one company over another, this is considered a bribe. However, if the intention behind the hospitality is work only, for the sake of work, attending the conference, and providing information, there is nothing wrong with it.
The questioner:
If this, Shaykh, requires that he wear some clothing that advertises or indicates this company, and this doctor may have his position or affiliation with a certain entity, for example, putting the name of this company on it, considering this person’s affiliation, it would result in more promotion than if such a situation did not exist.
The Shaykh:
No, this is not permissible. He should not carry their advertisement. He does not wear his ordinary clothes, nor does he wear special clothes for them, because that means he becomes their agent and spreads their advertisement. He did not go for that; he went to benefit from expertise and to provide expertise. He did not go for advertising. If he goes for advertising, it is not permissible. Yes.
Source
الفتاوى الفقهية في المسائل الطبية الرمضانية، الفتاوي الفقهية في المسائل الطبية الرمضانية — islamhouse.com (48:59)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.