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Is the young doctor accountable for his initial failure to diagnose an ectopic pregnancy, especially since he is aware of its danger and is currently unable to communicate with the patient?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

The skilled doctor who erred in prescribing medication to a patient, leading to organ damage or death, does not incur sin if he exerted his utmost effort within his specialization and did not intentionally cause harm. This is based on the Almighty's saying: "And there is no blame upon you for that in which you have erred, but [there is blame for] what your hearts intended" and the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said: "Indeed, Allah has overlooked for my Ummah [nation] their mistakes, their forgetfulness, and what they are forced to do." However, he is liable [responsible for compensation]; because error negates sin, but not financial liability. The blood money (diyah) would be borne by the public treasury (Bayt al-Mal) or by the doctor's 'aqilah (male relatives on the father's side). As for the case where the woman is unknown, and it is not ascertained whether anything happened to her, blood money is not obligatory.

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

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