Question:Doctors may need to lie to the patients concerning their health condition, especially as the patient may get worse if he or she knows their real condition. Is the doctor sinful for doing this?
A: It is permissible to lie to the patient if this will improve their medical condition and will not have harmful consequences to the patient or to others.
But if it is possible for the male or female doctors to use equivocation or ambiguous words, without resorting to direct lying, that would be safer and preferable.
May Allah grant us success! May peace and blessings be upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family and Companions!
– Permanent Committee of Islamic Research & Fatwa; Abdul-Aziz Ibn Baz, Abdul-Razzaq `Afify, Abdullah ibn Ghudayyan, Abdullah ibn Qa`ud; alifta.net
Dr. Bilal Philips