Ramadan: Question about Medication- Halal or Haram?

Question

With so many new medications coming out we see many ads that say medicine will cure the effects of certain symptoms, however very serious side effects canoccure, some side effects are far worse than the original illness? We know that it is Halal to see a doctor but what happens when the doctor prescribes a medication that can cause a more serious illness?

Has medical practice gone too far in relying on pharmaceuticals?

When natural cures are available it it haram for a doctor to prescribe a medication?( if he/she is Muslim)

Answer 1

'Almighty cures, honest efforts needed' That's our slogan. Both the Cure and disease is from Allah. For every disease, Allah also has sent its cure. Taking medicine is one of the means of getting cure. Those medicines having instant effects may also have side effects. Any rightful medication is basically Halal. But some things which are halal that brings harm to ourselves may turn to Haram. For this issue of Halal and Haram you must seek the guidance from a good scholar in these fields. Which of course can be told after detailed study of a particular medicines and of persons etc.

Answer 2

Hi sister...There are very, very, very few medications out there that do not have side effects for someone. That is why it is a requirement to list all possible side effects. But also they state should you start to have any of these side effects stop taking the medication immediately and consult your GP.

The majority of the time its a very small amount of people who have any reactions to medications that are either Prescription or General Sale medications.

As a Pharmacy technician myself in the UK we have a list of questions we have to ask a customer first before handing over the simplest of medications ie Paracetamol or Ibuprofen.

People get frustrated thinking they have to give there life story just to buy some Paracetamol but trust me some people do not realize that they can have serious side effects if given to the wrong person.

Example we have to ask ''Is the person taking any other medication? Are the pregnant? Are they an adult or child? Are they asthmatic or diabetic?

Peoples faces can be priceless sometimes they are like will you just give me the tablets and let me pay, but if the person was on another medication that contained Paracetamol without them knowing it, many dont realize that you can overdose on Paracetamol very quickly and cannot take two medication containing the same ingredients etc...

So your GP, and your Pharamsist or Pharmacy Technician should they be doing there jobs correctly are there to minimize the risks of anything more serious happening to you.

If a more natural way for the person can be found I agree that is the best course of action but sometimes Prescribed or General Sales Medications are the best ones for the Job.

Answer 3

Good question.



The side effect is kind of a high risk, but if it is a serous matter or a life/death matter then sometimes you do have to take the risk but keep your trust in Allah, and know that he alone can only cure you. Medicine is just a tool we use but in the end it is in the hand of Allah.



I do believe we are relying to much on medicine. Doctors are getting lazy just giving us prescriptions and walking away.



Medications do come from natural resources, I mean we don't Invent a cure it is just a bunch of chemicals which Allah created just like he created the plants. In the end it is Allah that cures us, we just do our part and leave it to Allah.

Answer 4

I don't really think so. Everything in life has a risk....



The risks of the medicines haven't really changed....everyone's body is different...can't really predict what will happen......just in the modern age of suing for any reason (coffee was too hot and i burnt my tongue)....the pharm companies have to cover their ###es.



So all possible side effects...however unlikely they are....get thrown into the commercials.



Natural medicines also have the same risks.......in the end...natural vs synthetic.....its all the same....just atoms aligned in a certain order to create a certain shape that has certain chemical properties.

Answer 5

Can I ask you, why are you asking this question on a website such as Yahoo Answers? This likewise goes for other people. If you are sincerely interested in knowing the truth of the matter, why not ask a Scholar of Islaam, not post it on a website such as this?