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Are forbidden acts permissible for the sick person if they do not seek treatment?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

If the Lawgiver permits a Muslim to commit a prohibited act due to a legitimate excuse, such as a sick person who is allowed to break their fast in Ramadan or perform tayammum, then it is prescribed for them to avail themselves of the concession, even if they do not seek treatment. This is because Allah the Almighty did not restrict the permission to seeking treatment, but rather made it absolute by His saying: (And whoever is ill or on a journey - then an equal number of other days) [Al-Baqarah 2:185], and by His saying regarding tayammum: (And if you are ill or on a journey or one of you comes from the place of relieving himself or you have touched women and find no water, then perform tayammum with clean earth and wipe over your faces and hands [with it]. Indeed, Allah is ever Pardoning and Forgiving) [An-Nisa 4:43]. If the concession were conditioned on attempting treatment, then treatment would be obligatory, which is not the case. Ibn al-Arabi mentioned that seeking medical treatment is not originally obligatory.

Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026

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