Is My Job As A Dental Assistant Permissible?

Answered by Shaykh Abdul- Rahim Reasat 

Question:

Assalamu ‘alaykum.

I am a female. I work with a male dentist. We are almost never alone, and when we are, the door to the clinic is always open to the outside. Is this allowed? And I sometimes do scans on the clients where I have to touch their mouth; sometimes, the client is a male. The door to the clinic is always open.

Is this work permissible for me?

Answer:

Wa ‘alaykum assalam wa rahmatullah wa barakatuh.

I pray you are well.

Yes, it is permissible to be in your work environment like that with the male dentist. What is not permissible is for an unrelated male and female to be alone in a place where they cannot be seen, nor can anyone walk in on them without permission. Your work environment does not cross this line. (Khadimi, al Bariqa al Mahmudiyya)

The general rule is that touching the non-mahram members of the opposite gender is not permissible; however, there are exceptions in cases of medical treatment. The condition is that only the bare minimum of contact is made. Stick to this, and your job is permissible. (Zarqa, Sharh Qawa’id al Fiqhiyya)

May Allah grant you the best of both worlds.
[Shaykh] Abdul-Rahim

Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Shaykh Abdul-Rahim Reasat began his studies in Arabic Grammar and Morphology in 2005. After graduating with a degree in English and History, he moved to Damascus in 2007, where, for 18 months, he studied with many erudite scholars. In late 2008 he moved to Amman, Jordan, where he continued his studies for the next six years in Sacred Law (fiqh), legal theory (Usul al-fiqh), theology, hadith methodology, hadith commentary, and Logic. He was also given licenses of mastery in the science of Quranic recital. He was able to study an extensive curriculum of Quranic sciences, tafsir, Arabic grammar, and Arabic eloquence.