Is a pharmaceutical company's support for a scientific meeting for doctors with a lunch considered a form of bribery, knowing that the company's medications are excellent and dispensed to patients free of charge?

It is not permissible for doctors to accept gifts from pharmaceutical companies, whether they are salaried employees or owners of private clinics. This is because these gifts are considered illicit gain (ghulul) and forbidden bribery, affecting the doctor's trustworthiness and making him prioritize the interests of the gifting company over the patient's welfare, which is a betrayal of trust. Prophetic hadiths and fatwas from the Permanent Committee have affirmed the prohibition of gifts to employees, as names do not change realities. Therefore, the imperative is to refrain from accepting any gift from pharmaceutical companies.