Types of Treatment

Q: I had a pain in my stomach about two months ago, checked with the doctor and doctor directed me to do the C.T scan, upon getting the result
found that I had hernia in my stomach on the left side but I was feeling pain in the upper abdomen and dragging to the right side I told the doctor about this and doctor asked me to do the endoscopy of the abdomen, I checked on the internet about the Endoscopy of the abdomen and when I read the Risks, it says  that it has some risks of of making the hole in the Esophagus and some risks of getting the food particles in the lungs due to the instrument they put through mouth in the abdomen, but it is Rare, but I was scared when I read this,Please suggest me what to do, should I do it or just ignore it, and also should I go for surgery for the hernia or just wait for some time and do some exercises in order to control it . Please Advice me.

The following is the answer to a query received from an individual regarding a fatwa of permissibility that was earlier issued regarding several psychological healing processes for trauma cases etc. with some similarity to Body Talk and Reiki etc.

Q: A person in hospital is on a respirator and the Doctors advise the family to have the respirator removed.

1. Does the Shariah permit the use of a respirator?
2. If it is correct to use a respirator, can the doctors/family decide when to remove the respirator?
3. If again it is permissible, after what period of time should the doctors/family make the decision?
4. Is it best to make Istikarah?

Q: For years I suffered an inability to hold attention and concentrate on a task, like academia, work, social conversation etc. until I found a website called www.neuro -sculpting.com, which is helping me to build a stronger brain capacity for better productivity and concentration. Good diet and exercise help with cognitive development too. There are a range of techniques taught from intellectual, sensory and intuition, & their main purpose is to eliminate the overactive or chaotic mind, & help it to direct stronger signals of attention, mental focus & concentration on any activity. One exercise to help intellectually is a visualisation skill, where you hold a mental image in your mind like a square or your hand for as long as you can without it changing shape. This builds mental endurance. But there is a breathing exercise, which simply involves deep, slow, calm and rhythmical breathing, & holding your attention on your breathing. That’s it, it’s just breathing. It’s done to help eliminate procrastination & redress mental focus by slowing the mind down & paying attention better. I do know that this sort of thing is done in spiritual practices like Zen Buddhism, but the author of the website only applies it to help one build better cognitive control. All this has really helped my cognitive abilities, but is this breathing exercise allowed dear brother of Islam?

Q: Is it permissible in Islam to use stem cells and if the stem cells are from unknown source who is not known to you. Is this allowed and what is the fatwa regarding this?

Q: I would like to know whether stem cells are allowed in Islam. In this case I would be storing it for my heirs only. Furthermore I would like to know whether a medical aid scheme is allowed. The medical aid portion is only a hospital plan. No insurance. Please advise whether the above is allowed and if not please comment in detail why not.

Q: I have a terrible rash on my private part and its very itchy and I loose a lot of sleep because at night it stings and burns. My question is the doctor asked me to pour my urine over my private part it will help heal the rash. Am I allowed to do this because it is umpure and it is najasat unclean so am I allowed to do this and afterwards should I do ghusl?

Q: I have breast cancer and will undergo a full mastectomy. The surgeon suggested the use of pig skin in the reconstruction process. Is this permissable?

Q: Is it good or bad to cut one of the fingers through surgery if your daughter had six fingers?

Q: I'm not sure if you are aware of the recent epidemic of christian healers that's infecting our community like the plague. Christians seem to use the possibility of their mislead leaders healing people, claiming to be annointed by god(though they haven't a clue about who or what god is), as a defence to our statements about the authenticity of Islam and the quran. My question is what should our answer be when they challenge us boasting the capability of their leaders? How is it possible that their leaders do such things? What does the Quran say about this?