How can one reconcile the Islamic encouragement to use the right hand with what medicine has proven, that the use of the right or left hand is linked to genes and heredity?
The rule of favors the right in all matters of honoring and dignifying, such as eating, drinking, wearing clothes, and entering the mosque, and the left for what is its opposite, such as entering the lavatory. It has been reported from the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, that he used to prefer using his right side in all his affairs. The Hadiths explained the prohibition of eating and drinking with the left hand by stating that Satan eats and drinks with it. Whoever is accustomed to using the left hand should train himself to use the right, following the Sharia. If he cannot do so in all matters, he should suffice with using the right in matters where there is an explicit command, such as eating, drinking, and purification, as it is possible to overcome one's nature in these. As for other matters, there is leeway if there is an excuse. Using the left hand for eating and drinking with an excuse is permissible, but without an excuse, it is unlawful.
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Reviewed by El Fatwa's sharia committee.
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