Denying the Whispers in Avoiding Contagion

The Shaykh : The reality is that we find today that most, or many, of the Muslim doctors are like the people of the pre-Islamic age of ignorance. They never pay attention to the fact that this contagion is not necessarily transmitted, but rather, by the will of Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He), it may occur or it may not. This is observed in all doctors, even among the Syrians. They examine a patient who shows no signs of being infected with a contagious disease, and consequently, they wash their hands and put a mask over their nose and mouth before that, then wash their hands with spirit. There is no justification for this, neither religiously nor medically, because there is nothing there that suggests such extreme caution. Undoubtedly, from a health perspective, my opinion is that this is a form of whispering (waswasah), and a whispering related to those in the field of medicine, who should be the furthest from such whispers, because they know the reality of diseases that are contagious and those that are not. From a religious perspective, the matter is clearer and more apparent, because it is clinging to illusions. The Shari'ah, when it prohibited taking omens and prohibited amulets, made all of that types of associating partners with Allah, as in His saying (peace be upon him): What is the following of the amulet?
The student : .

The Shaykh : This is before that. So all of these are forbidden by the Wise Lawgiver in order to cut off the root of whispering and to cut off the root of what brings about illusions. And lo, the doctors themselves fall into illusions. This type of thing is what a Muslim should rise above. All causes where the predominant opinion is not established that they are a natural cause, and this is taken from the hadith of the seventy thousand, in which the Messenger (peace be upon him) said in one of his gatherings in the mosque, saying to his companions one day: Therefore, this hadith is understood to mean that causes are divided into types regarding what we are discussing. A cause where it is predominant in the opinion that it is a successful cause is acted upon, implementing the many commands that came from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) encouraging seeking medical treatment, such as his saying (peace be upon him): In the hadith of Ibn Mas'ud: So if the cause, which is the medicine, is predominant, meaning: it is predominant in the opinion that it will benefit its owner, then it is better to go to it and take it. But if the cause is not predominant in the opinion, but rather certain, then at that time it is obligatory to take it. And conversely, if it is suspected with a weaker suspicion, then it is better to turn away from it. And this is taken from the hadith of the seventy thousand who do not seek ruqyah, meaning: they do not ask others for ruqyah. What does it mean they do not ask others for ruqyah? It means they do not say to the shaykh, "My head hurts, come and press on it, what is the cause?" Because the shaykh pressing on the head is not predominant in the opinion that it will cure the head.
The student: Yes.

The Shaykh : So the better option at that time is one of two things: either you take a pill, what is its name?
The student : ...

The Shaykh : No, aspirin or, for example, another medicine whose effect is certain... or if this is not available to you, you rely on Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He). If you do not know how to use some of the prescribed ruqyah, you recite it for yourself with your own self. As for asking others for that, this is not permissible; this is contrary to what is best, because it involves taking a cause that is most like what? Illusory causes. This means dividing causes in terms of the predominance of the opinion and the lack of predominance of the opinion. But the hadith includes another cause of a different type, which is: Even though cauterization is actually praised in the hadiths. He said (peace be upon him): And he mentioned what? But he followed that with his saying: And that is because of what in it? Torturing the body with fire. Therefore, we take from the hadith of the seventy thousand this high Islamic etiquette, which is that a person should not be affected by illusions and should not respond to them. And doctors today are the most responsive to such illusions, to the extent that they purify, they claim, their hands with the forbidden, which is spirit.