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Is the questioner considered a murderer, and what type of murder is it, and what should he do if his actions led to the deterioration of the patient's condition and perhaps his death?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

Whoever practices medicine without being qualified for it must guarantee what is damaged to the patient. This is indicated by the Hadith: "Whoever practices medicine and is not known to have been a physician is a guarantor." So, whoever engages in knowledge or an act that they are not familiar with is an aggressor, and if their action results in damage, they are liable for blood money (Diyyah).

If a physician makes a mistake and causes the patient's death by error, they are obligated to offer expiation for accidental killing (fasting for two consecutive months) and blood money to be handed over to the patient's family. This blood money is borne by the physician's 'Aqilah (male relatives on the father's side), and if none exist, then by the physician themselves. If the physician cannot afford it, then it is to be paid from the public treasury (Bayt al-Mal).

However, if you do not know what happened to the patient after your mistake, you are not obligated to do anything, as the original principle is innocence from liability. This should be taken as a lesson not to monopolize diagnosis and treatment until medicine is mastered.

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

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