Posted by Abu Iyaad
Resource Date:
January 2021
Filed under Miscellaneous
Shaykh ʿAllāmah Ṣāliḥ al-Luḥaydān (رحمه الله) was asked about working out times of prayers for a person who wishes to travel to America with a long journey (presumably by plane). The Shaykh asks why would anyone want to go America, and then explains some exceptions to the prohibition of travelling to the lands of the non-Muslims. He then speaks about medical treatment as that is one of the major reasons people travel to those lands, and likewise for education in medicine and other fields.
This questioner asks, may Allāh be benevolent to you, he says: “I am travelling tomorrow to America after Fajr prayer, the length of the journey is fourteen hours. How can I know of the times of prayer, or the times in any city I go to in order to fulfil my prayer.”
Shaykh al-Luḥaydān's answer (abridged):
[Laughing] Why are you going to America [audience laughs]...
There is no doubt that it is not permissible for a Muslim to leave the lands of Islām for the lands of disbelief except when he goes there, either for the important [affair of] daʿwah to Allāh (جل وعلا) or to fulfil a duty for the country that he is a member of, or for treatment of a disease that is not found in any Islāmic land, but only with those [non-Muslim lands].
Yet, this is alongside [the fact] that treatment is not obligatory.
One who is ill, it is not obligatory for him to treat his illness. Nor is it upon his family to treat him, as a matter of obligation...
The Shaykh then quotes the ḥadīth of Ibn ʿAbbās (رضي الله عنه) regarding the seventy thousand who will enter Paradise without reckoning and punishment, and they are the ones who do not cauterize, nor seek ruqyah, nor have belief in omens, but instead, rely upon their Lord.
The Shaykh then explains:
My intent from this is that those [mentioned in the ḥadīth] they do not seek treatments, those who surpass [others] with this distinctive quality, they do not pursue treatment, neither cauterization nor any other treatment, they rely upon Allāh.
They know that what was going to afflict them was going to afflict them, absolutely [without fail]. The Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) said to Ibn ʿAbbās: “Know what afflicted you was never going to pass you by.”
If an ant bites you, do not say if I had took precaution against the ants, this would not have happened. No, if you were bitten, you must have certainty, that this affair is an affair that would never have failed [to occur].
However, it is permitted for people [to take treatment], the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) said; “Treat yourselves [for your ailments] O slaves of Allāh, but do not treat yourselves with the unlawful [substances, means].”
They used to have incantations (ruqā)... he said: “Present your incancations to me. There is no harm in incantations, so long as they do not contain shirk.” Shirk is not permitted.
This questioner... if he leaves [the country] for an important matter, I advise any person, that he should not respond [positively] to being dispatched [by the state to go abroad]. Then those who are dispatched to study abroad, are they going to make nuclear bombs for us so that we can counter the bombs of the Jewish state or the bombs of nations, the bombs of Iran? One [of them] goes to learn English, or some other knowledge, or medicine.
Sadly, the source of medicine in all of Europe which includes America, their source was the Islamic countries. However, the people have pursued the world and wasted both religion and the world [in the process].
Note
The Shaykh (رحمه الله) discouraged people in the land from going abroad, even if dispatched [for education], explaining that it is harmful, and he laments the fact that Muslims are sent to these lands to learn medicine, the major source of which at one time in history, was the Islamic nation itself.
This lamentation over Muslims being dominated in the field of medicine has appeared throughout history, because Muslim scholars recognized the inherent dangers that lie in this affair. This is especially so given that medicine is a highly strategic asset and can be weaponised both in terms of its theoretical aspects, as well as its physical and practical aspects.
As for the point of leaving off medical treatment, refer to the following articles where the ḥadīth of the 70,000 is also mentioned and where a good tafṣīl (detail) and very beneficial points are extracted from it in relation to the affairs of Tawḥīd, reliance and taking the means:
- Shaykh al-Albānī on an Important Detail Regarding Reliance and Taking the Means That Muslims are in Need of
- Ḥāfiḍh Ibn Ḥajar, Shaykh al-Albānī and Shaykh al-Luḥaydān: Prayer, Remembrance and Pure Reliance in Preservation of Health and Repelling Illness
- Shaykh Muqbil bin Hādī on Contagion, Vaccination and Prevention of 'Transmission'
