Ruling on working as a doctor in a hotel where the guests are foreigners who dress indecently
I am a doctor. I have been offered a job in a clinic inside a hotel; this clinic is connected to the hospital and the salary is paid by the hospital, not the hotel. In this clinic, I will be responsible for dealing with emergency cases and first aid procedures for the guests and workers in the hotel. I will also be responsible for medical leave and bills for treatment for the hotel workers. The hotel will provide me with complete room and board, a room in the hotel, and food and drink at any time. The vast majority of the hotel guests are foreigners and non-Muslims; they wear clothing that shows most of their bodies. The hotel also serves alcohol, and parties are held there. What is the ruling on working in this place, noting that I will not be sitting in the place where alcohol is served, and I will not be attending those parties? I hope that you can cite the shar‘i evidence for this ruling.
Praise be to Allah.
The basic principle is that it is permissible to work as a doctor treating those who are staying in the hotel and others, so long as the doctor adheres to Islamic guidelines, which include not examining women except in cases of necessity, when there is no female doctor, and that it is limited to looking only at the site of the problem, and not touching any part of the woman’s body except with a barrier.
But there are two factors in this work that are subject to reservations:
The first:
These foreigners are usually improperly dressed, so the one who treats them is exposing himself to grave fitnah (temptation) that may have a negative impact on his spiritual wellbeing and it is most likely that he will not be able to avoid seeing what is haraam and so on. It is well-known that preserving one’s religious commitment takes precedence over earning money, and there is nothing good in deeds that lead to the fire.
The second:
Being in places where there are many evils, such as free mixing, music, parties and alcohol, is a grave calamity and great test.
Even if we assume that he will avoid the parties and places where alcohol is served, and he will avoid falling into anything haraam, seeing the people who do those things and mixing with them will have a negative impact on him.
Therefore our advice to you is to flee for the sake of your religion, and look for work in a place that will be safer for your religious commitment.
And Allah knows best.
Wister