Brief Comments on Riyaadh al-Saaliheen #23

The 2 conditions for consuming the Haraam

بـسـم الله والحـمـد لله والـصلاة والـسـلام عــلى رسـول الله، وبـعـد

[Sharh Riyaadh al-Saaliheen, pg. 2/273]

Shaikh al-`Uthaymeen رحمه الله said: 

If a person feels the need to use something which is Haraam, then this Haraam will become Halaal only when these two conditions are fulfilled:

The first condition: The need is not fulfilled except by it (i.e. there is no other option).

The second condition: The need is eliminated by it.

So with these two constraints we know that there is no need for Haraam medicine. Meaning: If there is a medicine, but (its content) is Haraam, then there is no need for it.

So if a person says: “I want to drink the blood to get cured by it”, as some people claim that drinking the blood of a wolf is a cure for some of the diseases.

We say: This is not allowed.

Firstly: Because a person can get cured - without using this Haraam - either by Allaah or by making Du`aa’ for him or by recitation (of the Qur’aan) or by some other permissible medicine.

Secondly: It is not guaranteed that using the medicine, a person will get cured (i.e. taking medication does not necessarily mean a person will get cured).

There are many people who use medications but still do not recover; unlike the one who is hungry and has nothing to eat except a dead animal (i.e. which is not slaughtered properly) or the flesh of a swine or the meat of a donkey; it is allowed for him to consume it in this case because we know for sure that the need (hunger) will be satisfied with it, unlike the medicine.