It has become widely known among the common people that a certain type of cough is treated with the milk of a she-ass. They say, “When necessity arises, prohibited things become permissible.” The first occurrence of “arises” means “comes upon one,” while the second means “becomes permissible”; this is a complete paronomasia. However, this saying is incorrect and has no basis, for two reasons:

First: Allah has not placed our cure in what He has forbidden to us.

Second: The necessity that makes a prohibited thing permissible is subject to two conditions:

First: warding off the necessity must depend specifically on this thing, not on something else.

Second: the necessity must actually be relieved by it.

Does medication meet these conditions or not?

The answer is that it does not. First, a person may recover without taking medicine, and this occurs frequently. How often, praise be to Allah, have we recovered from many illnesses without taking any medicine! Most people have experienced this. Therefore, we are not in a state of necessity that requires taking medicine.

Second, there may be another medicine that can serve in its place, so we are not under necessity to take this particular medicine.

As for our statement, “the necessity must actually be relieved by it,” is necessity relieved by medication?

The answer is that it may be relieved, or it may not be relieved. That is, it may be beneficial, or it may not be beneficial. Hence, in the authentic hadith from the Messenger, peace and blessings be upon him—