Types of Treatment

Q: Is there any duration mentioned for which Ajwah dates should be taken for shifa?

Q: Is cupping considered as a sunnat or is it only when one has a health problem to treat when it would be considered as a sunnat?

Q: One of my relatives is suffering from heart valve disease and doctors have advised valve replacement surgery . But they have not cleared which type of valve will be used. As per my knowledge valves are of two types

1. Mechanical valve

2. Biological valves which are made from pig tissue

Is it permissible if pig tissue valves are used according to Islamic beliefs ?

Q: There is a treatment known as PRP (platelet rich plasma). In this treatment, blood is drawn from the patient and then inserted into a machine where it is spun for approximately 30 min until all the components of the blood separate.

It is then the plasma portion of the blood, which is rich in platelets and other proteins that promote healing and growth, that is re-injected into the affected site of the body e.g. an injured muscle, etc.

Generally, PRP is used to promote hair growth, assist with healing tendons and ligaments that are injured, assist with osteoarthritis, assist with healing brain damage, etc.

However, PRP is also used for cosmetic purposes. In this case, the PRP blood-mixture is applied to a person's face to stimulate the skin and make it look beautiful. This is referred to as a 'Vampire Facial'.

Is PRP permissible in Islam? If yes, then for which purposes is it permissible?

Q: Platelet rich plasma is a procedure whereby the doctor draws the patients own blood and puts it in a vial in a machine that spins it at a fast rate. This causes the blood to separate the red blood cells from the plasma (which contains growth factors and nutrients). The plasma part of the spun blood is then withdrawn and injected into the skin to assist with healing. It can be used in many applications such as to remove skin pigmentation, wrinkles, to promote wound healing and also to induce hair growth in patients with alopecia (falling hair/no hair).

The plasma can be used with microneedling as well. Microneedling is a procedure whereby multiple needles are superficially pierced into the skin after using a local anaesthetic, to initiation the body's own healing processes and this allows for more controlled healing thereby assisting with scars, stretchmarks, pigmentation as well as to assist with hair growth.

My question is:

1. Is the use of the platelet rich plasma permissable in hairgrowth in patients with alopecia or thinning hair? There are other modalities for hair growth such as minoxidil and finasteride but these are shown to only stop hair from falling and does not assist with new hair growth. Also some reports state that the results with these are more temporary and less effective than using platelet rich plasma.

2. Would platelet rich plasma be permissable in other applications such as for scars, stretchmarks, dark skin pigmentation, wrinkles? 

Q: I am undergoing my therapy for anxiety, fears and phobias, guilt and other issues here in Pakistan with a trained muslim psychotherapist. He recently prescribed Me doing EFT tapping to control my anxiety and issues. I did it for few days and felt better and more in control over anxiety and low mood that was disturbing me.

He has asked me to just form a short problem statement and a simple affirmation in which there is nothing unethical, unislamic or anything which could be shirk. And while repeating these statements you tap on 9 meridian points.

I wanted to ask you if it is okay for me to continue this self help technique to feel better and have focus on positive things.

Q: Is one allowed to get natural acids that are in one's body injected into the scars and pimples on one's face to get rid of them?

Q: I am looking to seek a ruling on whether scalp micro pigmentation (SMP) is permissible in Islam. SMP stands for scalp micro pigmentation.

It is a method of depositing pigment into the dermal layer of the skin on the scalp, which replicates hair follicles. When viewed from a few inches or further away, the pigment dots appear as hair follicles. Here are some facts provided by a number of SMP clinics I inquired with:

SMP will have no effect on the ability for the skin to absorb water (i.e. for wudhu) or release water as sweat. The pigment consists of Iron Oxide, which according to the clinics is readily present in the body naturally The main difference between a tattoo and SMP is that SMP is semi-permanent and uses a completely natural pigment. It uses specialist pigments created for the scalp only, not tattoo ink.

Q: There is a treatment called scalp micro pigmentation. It is like drawing a tattoo on the scalp to give an illusion like the head is full of hair. I have bald patches and this treatment seems very safe. Is it allowed in Islam?

Q: People hallucinate especially people with mental issues. They can be extremely happy compared to messianic visions. People even befriend characters that represent typical images for prophet Muhammad (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) or Isa (Alaihis Salaam). What is Islam's view on this?