Is it obligatory for a female nurse or doctor to wear gloves when treating a man, and likewise for a male doctor or nurse when treating a woman? And is a male doctor sinful if he does not treat men when there are female nurses available, and is a female doctor sinful if she does not treat women when there are male nurses available?

We have previously outlined the regulations concerning a man treating a woman and vice-versa, including the necessity of wearing gloves and avoiding direct contact. While a male doctor injecting men or drawing blood from them is not typically required by medical practice, considering the religious aspect raises a question about its obligation as a good deed and a means of preventing prohibited mixing.

It must be noted that the ruling varies according to circumstances. If the doctor is free and not busy, and there is no great difficulty in him performing this, it might be ruled as obligatory to prevent the harm of a woman seeing a man's awrah, and this is more evident in the case of a female doctor. However, if the doctor is occupied with his medical work, he is not obligated to abandon his work. This resembles the situation of women who treated the wounded during the Muslims' battles when men were engaged in fighting, as indicated by Hadiths from the Prophet's biography. Imam Al-Bukhari dedicated chapters in his Sahih to this matter.

Ibn Hajar and others affirmed the permissibility of a foreign woman treating a foreign man when necessary, and this necessity is estimated according to its measure concerning looking and touching. As for an elderly woman (al-mutajallatu), it is permissible for her to treat the wounded, even if they are not her mahrams, by using a barrier or by instructing others to apply the medicine.