What are the Pros and Cons of Studying Alimiyyah With Being a Doctor?
Answered by Mawlana Ilyas Patel
Question
I am a 3rd year Alim Course student in the US. Alhamdulillah, my teachers are renowned scholars. I am 27, and I decided to fulfill the path of benefitting the ummah by studying the preserved sacred sciences. During this time, I managed a job as a consultant.
Recently, I have been inclined to pursue a career in medicine. This would likely require medical school (~ ten years of training). I know that specialization in the Ulum is akin to medical specialties – many are according to humanity’s/Ummah’s needs.
What are the pros and cons of either path? Please inform me of both virtues in the Quran and Sunnah insha Allah.
Answer
In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful and Compassionate
I pray you are in good faith and health. Thank you for your question. I am elated to hear you are studying Alimiyyah along with being a Doctor. We need more people like you who have mastered and excelled in these two sciences. The only thing is to pray to Allah Most High and seek counsel and advice from others to balance the work between the two.
Learn Islamic and Worldly Sciences
Ibn Abi Hatim (Allah have mercy on him) reported that Imam Shafi’i (Allah have mercy on him) said, “Verily, knowledge is only two types: knowledge of the religion and knowledge of the world. The knowledge of religion is to achieve juristic understanding (fiqh), and the knowledge of the world is medicine. Do not settle in a land in which there is no scholar to inform you about your religion nor a doctor to inform you about your body.” [Ibn Abi Hatim al-Razi, Adab al-Shafi‘i wa Manaqibuh]
The Prophet Muhammad (Allah bless him and give him peace) said, “…the most beloved of people (to Allah) are the ones who are most beneficial to other people…”
[Tabarani, Al-Mu’jam al-Kabir]
Many doctors in the West use their free time to study and have become scholars; some are married and have children and continue to do so. They are doing great work and an asset in their community. Make this your goal and intention, and we pray that Allah Most High bless you in every step you take and that people benefit from you with spiritual and wholesome advice.
I would like you to go through the valuable answers and links below. You will receive guidance and direction in sha Allah.
Related
- Should I Study Medicine or Become a Scholar? – SeekersGuidance
- Study Islam Systematically – Seminar with Shaykh Faraz Rabbani – YouTube
- Would Becoming a Female Doctor be Sinful Despite the High Ratio of Female Doctors? (seekersguidance.org)
- Is It Permissible to Have a Strong Desire to Become a Doctor? (seekersguidance.org)
- Istikhara, The Prayer of Seeking Guidance: The Ultimate Guide – A Reader – SeekersGuidance
- How Does One Perform The Prayer Of Need (salat al-haja)? – SeekersGuidance
- Life as a Muslim Medic & Dentist | Mufti Muhammad ibn Adam al-Kawthari – YouTube
Why not begin your search for knowledge by signing up for a course on SeekersAcademy (seekersguidance.org)?
I pray this helps with your question.
[Mawlana] Ilyas Patel
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani
Mawlana Ilyas Patel is a traditionally-trained scholar who has studied within UK, India, Pakistan, Syria, Jordan and Turkey.
He started his early education in UK. He went onto complete hifz of Qur’an in India, then enrolled into an Islamic seminary in UK where he studied the secular and Alimiyyah sciences. He then travelled to Karachi, Pakistan.
He has been an Imam in Rep of Ireland for a number of years. He has taught hifz of the Qur’an, Tajwid, Fiqh and many other Islamic sciences to both children and adults onsite and online extensively in UK and Ireland. He was teaching at a local Islamic seminary for 12 years in the UK where he was a librarian and a teacher of Islamic sciences.
He currently resides in UK with his wife. His personal interest is love of books and gardening.
