Ruling on Using Cassia Auriculata and Other Plants for Medical Purposes

22-10-2026 | IslamWeb

Question:

Assalamu alaykum,Is it permissible to use Cassia auriculata solely as a hair treatment, particularly for dandruff and oily hair, knowing that this plant is also used in some Hindu religious traditions for offerings or other rituals involving their deities?I would use it solely for its hair-care properties, with no religious intention and without imitating any of their rituals.Jazakum Allahu khayran.

---

Answer:

All perfect praise be to Allah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allah, and that Muhammad is His slave and Messenger.

It is permissible to use the plant Cassia auriculata to care for the hair or to treat dandruff, so long as its benefit for that purpose has been established by medicine or experience. For the default ruling on things is permissibility, and the default ruling on benefits is that they are lawful.

Nor does it become forbidden merely because some people use it in Hindu offerings or rituals, so long as you use it for a permissible purpose such as care and cleanliness. Your use of it is like benefiting from cattle, which groups of people worship (we seek refuge in Allah from that). Could anyone claim that benefiting from cattle is impermissible for this reason?

Allah Knows best.