Can a man specialize in gynaecology and obstetrics?
Question I am a student in the faculty of medicine, in my final year, and I am seriously thinking of the possibility of specializing in gynaecology and obstetrics. What is the Islamic view on this matter?. Praise be to Allah. A question similar to yours was put to the Standing Committee for Issuing Fatwas, headed…
Question
Praise be to Allah.
A question similar to yours was put to the Standing Committee
for Issuing Fatwas, headed by Shaykh Ibn Baaz (may Allaah have mercy on
him). It reads as follows:
I am a student in the faculty of medicine and next year we
will be covering the subject of gynaecology and obstetrics. I want to ask
the following:
(a)Is it permissible for me to
attend the practical classes in which women’s bodies may be uncovered?
(b)Is it permissible for a male
doctor to specialize in gynaecology and obstetrics, or is this only for
female doctors?
They replied: If there is a sufficient number of female
specialists in gynaecology and obstetrics, then it should be limited to them
and it is not permissible for you to study it, or to look at the ‘awrahs of
women when training, whether that is examining them or doing surgery on
them. But if there are not enough women specializing in gynaecology to do
what is essential in this field, and there is a need for Muslims to
specialize in it, then it is permissible for you to study it and you have a
concession allowing you to see whatever you need to see to examine women and
do operations. End quote.
Fataawa al-Lajnah al-Daa’imah
(12/175)
And Allaah knows best.
