What is the juristic ruling on cauterization?

Answered by Mufti Naved Akhtar ·

Question

Assalamu Alaikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh,

Respected Mufti sahab,

I would like to know the Islamic ruling regarding cauterization (burning a part of the body using a heated instrument) as a medical treatment.

Also, what do the scholars say about the ahadeeth where the prophet صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم said not to use cauterization but he صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم himself used it in ghazwa khandaq on Hazrat ubayy ibn ka'b رضی اللہ عنہ

جزاک اللّہ خیرا کثیرا فی الدنیا والآخرۃ

Response

Wa ʿAlaykum al-Salām wa Raḥmatullāhi wa Barakātuh.

According to the Hanafi school, cauterization (al-kayy) is permissible when undertaken for a genuine medical need and there is a reasonable expectation of benefit. However, its unnecessary use is discouraged, particularly when an effective and less harmful alternative is available.

Although certain authentic hadiths discourage cauterization, others establish that the Prophet ﷺ employed it as a medical treatment. The scholars have reconciled these narrations by distinguishing between unnecessary cauterization and its use for legitimate treatment.

The Apparently Contradictory Hadiths

Ibn ʿAbbās (رضي الله عنهما) narrates that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:

الشِّفَاءُ فِي ثَلَاثَةٍ: شَرْطَةِ مِحْجَمٍ، أَوْ شَرْبَةِ عَسَلٍ، أَوْ كَيَّةٍ بِنَارٍ، وَأَنْهَى أُمَّتِي عَنِ الْكَيِّ

“Healing is found in three things: cupping, drinking honey, and cauterization with fire; however, I prohibit my Ummah from cauterization.”

In another narration, the Prophet ﷺ said:

وَمَا أُحِبُّ أَنْ أَكْتَوِيَ

“I do not like to undergo cauterization.”

On the other hand, Jābir ibn ʿAbdillāh (رضي الله عنهما) narrates:

بَعَثَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ﷺ إِلَى أُبَيِّ بْنِ كَعْبٍ طَبِيبًا فَقَطَعَ مِنْهُ عِرْقًا ثُمَّ كَوَاهُ عَلَيْهِ

“The Messenger of Allah ﷺ sent a physician to Ubayy ibn Kaʿb, who cut a vein and then cauterized it.”

Another narration in Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim states that Ubayy ibn Kaʿb was struck by an arrow in the arm during the Battle of Aḥzāb, and the Prophet ﷺ cauterized his injury.

Similarly, when Saʿd ibn Muʿādh (رضي الله عنه) suffered an injury to a vein in his arm, the Prophet ﷺ cauterized the wound and repeated the procedure when swelling subsequently occurred.

Thus, authentic narrations establish both the discouragement of cauterization and its use by the Prophet ﷺ. This naturally raises the question: How have the scholars reconciled these apparently conflicting narrations? The following explanations help clarify the matter.

Imam al-Ṭaḥāwī (d. 321 AH), in Sharḥ Maʿānī al-Āthār, dedicates a chapter to this question. After examining the narrations on both sides, he explains that the prohibition may concern cauterization performed before an illness occurs, particularly under the belief that it independently prevents affliction. Cauterization undertaken to treat an existing illness, however, is permissible.

Ḥāfiẓ Ibn Ḥajar al-ʿAsqalānī explains in Fatḥ al-Bārī that cauterization is permissible when needed, while abstaining from it is preferable when it is not specifically required. He further observes that the Prophet’s ﷺ dislike of cauterization does not necessarily establish its prohibition.

Similarly, ʿAllāmah Badr al-Dīn al-ʿAynī states in ʿUmdat al-Qārī that cauterization should neither be rejected absolutely nor employed indiscriminately. Its permissibility depends upon its suitability as a treatment and the recognition that healing ultimately comes from Allah.

Mullā ʿAlī al-Qārī also explains in Mirqāt al-Mafātīḥ that when cauterization becomes necessary for treating an illness, it falls outside the scope of the discouragement. He mentions that the prohibition may relate to unnecessary procedures, excessive harm, or misplaced reliance upon the treatment itself.

The hadiths, therefore, are not contradictory. They address different circumstances and emphasise that a potentially painful treatment should not be adopted without sufficient justification.

Similarly, the Hanafi jurists explicitly permit cauterization for medical benefit.

Imam al-Zaylaʿī states in Tabyīn al-Ḥaqāʾiq:

وَكَذَا يَجُوزُ كَيُّ الصَّغِيرِ وَبَطُّ قُرْحَتِهِ، وَغَيْرُهُ مِنَ الْمُدَاوَاةِ

“Likewise, cauterizing a child, opening an abscess, and other forms of medical treatment are permissible.”

Al-Ḥaṣkafī states in al-Durr al-Mukhtār, as explained by Ibn ʿĀbidīn in Radd al-Muḥtār:

وَيَجُوزُ كَيُّ الصَّغِيرِ وَبَطُّ قُرْحَتِهِ وَغَيْرُهُ مِنَ الْمُدَاوَاةِ لِلْمَصْلَحَةِ

“Cauterization of a child, opening an abscess, and other forms of treatment are permissible for a beneficial purpose.”

Furthermore, al-Fatāwā al-Hindiyyah states:

وَلَا بَأْسَ بِكَيِّ الصِّبْيَانِ إِذَا كَانَ لِدَاءٍ أَصَابَهُمْ

“There is no objection to cauterizing children when it is for an illness affecting them.”

These statements establish the permissibility of medically justified cauterization in Hanafi jurisprudence.

Accordingly, where a qualified medical practitioner considers cauterization an appropriate treatment and its expected benefit outweighs its risks, it is permissible. The same principle applies to modern procedures such as electrocautery used to control bleeding during surgery.

In conclusion, Cauterization is not categorically prohibited in Islam. It is permissible when genuinely needed for treatment, while unnecessary or excessively harmful cauterization should be avoided.

And Allah Taʿālā knows best.

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