Is it permissible to strike an epileptic person?
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The questioner : Some of these young people who read have argued, saying, for example, it is established that some of the Imams used to strike, and we struck and this striking was beneficial, so why do we prohibit it as long as it is beneficial or a specific treatment that brings benefit and expels the jinn?
The Shaykh : My brother, it is similar to them. I ask: Did they restrict themselves to striking, or was the striking attached to the recitation?
The questioner : It was attached to the recitation!
The Shaykh : So why is it not said that the benefit came from the recitation and not from the striking? Because if the striking were what brought the benefit, their claim would be consistent. But we say to them: Try it. Whether you succeed or not, you will be among the losers. Try restricting yourselves only to the recitation of the Qur'an. If this recitation brings benefit, that is what we hope for. If the recitation does not bring benefit, and the benefit is from the striking, is this striking the treatment in the Shari'ah? The answer is no. And here I must mention something that came to my mind when I directed the previous question, and then I continued speaking and asking, and from here and there, what was in my mind went away. Now it has returned to me what had been absent from me, so I say:
It is not permissible for a Muslim to consider a means from which he sees some benefit and claim that this means is prescribed because it results in tangible benefit. It is not necessary that the means be prescribed, meaning that its permissibility is known to us in our religion. As for obtaining benefit through a means, here comes the disbeliever's rule: "The end justifies the means." We say: The end does not justify the means. That is, we want to obtain healing, by what? By intoxicants. We tried, my brother; we gave people suffering from a certain type of disease intoxicants, and it was beneficial, but not every beneficial thing is permissible! Therefore, Allah the Exalted said:[Al-Baqarah 2:219] Therefore, some of the precise scholars say that there is nothing in this world that is one hundred percent beneficial; it must be accompanied by some harm. Likewise, there is nothing in this world that is one hundred percent harmful; it must contain some benefit. And this is the text of the Qur'an: [Al-Baqarah 2:219] So it is not befitting for us to get entangled and say, "Since benefit was obtained from this means, this means is prescribed." It is not necessary that we take the permissibility of the means from the rules and evidence of the Shari'ah. This is what I wanted to mention earlier.
The questioner : To confirm your words, our Shaykh, the scholars who prepare medicines put on the leaflets, our Shaykh, a warning to the user that the healing medicine, in their view, contains such and such harm. This is just something I wanted to add, our Shaykh.
The Shaykh : That is correct.
The Shaykh : My brother, it is similar to them. I ask: Did they restrict themselves to striking, or was the striking attached to the recitation?
The questioner : It was attached to the recitation!
The Shaykh : So why is it not said that the benefit came from the recitation and not from the striking? Because if the striking were what brought the benefit, their claim would be consistent. But we say to them: Try it. Whether you succeed or not, you will be among the losers. Try restricting yourselves only to the recitation of the Qur'an. If this recitation brings benefit, that is what we hope for. If the recitation does not bring benefit, and the benefit is from the striking, is this striking the treatment in the Shari'ah? The answer is no. And here I must mention something that came to my mind when I directed the previous question, and then I continued speaking and asking, and from here and there, what was in my mind went away. Now it has returned to me what had been absent from me, so I say:
It is not permissible for a Muslim to consider a means from which he sees some benefit and claim that this means is prescribed because it results in tangible benefit. It is not necessary that the means be prescribed, meaning that its permissibility is known to us in our religion. As for obtaining benefit through a means, here comes the disbeliever's rule: "The end justifies the means." We say: The end does not justify the means. That is, we want to obtain healing, by what? By intoxicants. We tried, my brother; we gave people suffering from a certain type of disease intoxicants, and it was beneficial, but not every beneficial thing is permissible! Therefore, Allah the Exalted said:
They ask you about wine and gambling. Say, "In them is great sin and [yet, some] benefit for people. But their sin is greater than their benefit."
ويسألونك عن الخمر والميسر قل فيهما إثم كبير ومنافع للناس وإثمهما أكبر من نفعهماBut their sin is greater than their benefit.
وإثمهما أكبر من نفعهماThe questioner : To confirm your words, our Shaykh, the scholars who prepare medicines put on the leaflets, our Shaykh, a warning to the user that the healing medicine, in their view, contains such and such harm. This is just something I wanted to add, our Shaykh.
The Shaykh : That is correct.
Source
www.al-albany.com
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.