Is it permissible for a Muslim physician to specialize in gynecology obstetrics, and what is the ruling on working as such?
Some fields of knowledge are an individual duty while others are a collective one, and specializing in gynecology obstetrics is a collective duty. However, if there were female physicians to treat women, then there is no need for a male gynecology obstetrics specialist to look at women`s Awrahs (private parts) except in necessary situations since the jurisprudential maxim says:” Necessity must only be assessed and answered proportionately.” And Allah Knows Best.
Is it permissible for a woman who is observing `Iddah (waiting period) due to the death of her husband to travel for performing Umrah (Minor Hajj)?
A woman observing `Iddah of a revocable (Rajee`) divorce isn`t allowed to travel for Umrah except with the consent of her husband.
Is it permissible for the doctor to uncover the hair of a female patient out of necessity?
It is only permissible for him to do so when there is no female doctor, and he should examine the patient in the presence of one of her Mahrams (unmarriageable kin).
What is the ruling on reciting verses of the Holy Quran on water, then drinking it?
It is permissible to recite Quran on water, then drink it as a kind of treatment since the Quran heals. Allah, The Almighty, Says (What means): "We send down (stage by stage) in the Qur’an that which is a healing and a mercy to those who believe: to the unjust it causes nothing but loss after loss." [Al-Isra`/82].
