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Professional Secrecy  

Keeping other persons' secrets is decreed on all the Faithful ... the more so if these were Doctors, for people willfully disclose their secrets and feelings to their doctors, confident of the time old heritage of Professional Secrecy, that the medical profession embraced since the da wn of history. The Prophet (peace be upon Him) described the three signs of the hypocrite as: "He lies when he speaks, he breaks his promise and he betrays when confided in". The Doctor shall put the seal of confidentiality on all information acquired by him through sight, hearing or deduction. Islamic spirit also requires that the items of the Law should stress the right of the patient to protect his secrets that he confides to his Doctor. A breach thereof would be detrimental to the practice of medicine beside precluding several categories of patients from seeking medical help.