Treatment with Muḥarramāt (Forbidden Things)

The jurists have since early times wondered whether illnesses can be treated with forbidden or ḥarām things and thereby improve the illness and restore the patients to health; or whether it is totally forbidden and impermissible to step into this arena even if motivated by treatment of illness. Of course، using the unlawful in treating illnesses where exploitations other than eating and drinking is in mind is not so much problematic and sensitive; however، what is more open to disputation is eating and drinking unlawful things with the intention of treatment. In this respect، although most of the jurists، especially the earlier ones، have viewed treatment with the unlawful، either absolutely or with certain muḥarramāt as impermissible and have not withstood it، the viewpoint addressed in this article is the permissibility of all kinds of treatment with all muḥarramāt irrespective of their differences. Thus، in order to explain this viewpoint and reinforce it، five reasons have been set forth and by providing the conditions and answering to the contradictory probabilities and criticizing the opponents’ viewpoints، it is tried to pave the ground to some extent for the acceptability of this theory.