Islam and the Response to Coronavirus
Islam is a very practical religion. Allah sent it down as a way of living in all situations and for all times. Hence, we must look to Islam and the Quran for guidance in all matters. Some misguided people who don’t know Islamic rulings disregard laws and regulations, opting to do whatever they wish in the midst of the pandemic. However, that is the wrong approach by far. We must respect the laws of the land we’re in and do our best to help contain the coronavirus by at least not spreading it.
After doing the basic things to protect ourselves such as staying home, wearing masks, and often washing our hands, we should also turn to Allah and ask Him for help. We should do that in all matters in our lives since He is the Supreme Being. That applies even more so in this case because we are completely powerless in the face of the raging pandemic. For this purpose, we should learn some of the duas from the sunnah pertaining to health and protection from diseases. With the help of Allah, we will be safe from the coronavirus.
On many occasions, the Prophet Muhammed advised his companions to value their lives as of the utmost importance over death in his numerous sayings (hadiths), urging people to stay away from places where there were epidemics.
“Our Prophet speaks about the concept of quarantine fourteen hundred years ago,”
“When you hear that a plague is in a land, do not go to it and if it occurs in a land that you are already in, then do not leave it, fleeing from it,” the Prophet famously said.
“This saying exactly refers to the principle of modern quarantine. What it has been currently practiced [concerning the coronavirus outbreak] is the same principle as the advice of the Prophet,”
Islam and epidemics
The Prophet also strictly observed what he advised his companions about the epidemics as he had done in other issues.
“The Prophet gives utmost importance to his own health and public health. When he was in Medina and was about to make an agreement with one of the delegations, he refused to shake hands with one of the people [from the delegation], who had a contagious disease, sending him back [to where he came from],”
Islam’s priorities
In different instances, the Prophet Muhammed demonstrated his dislike of wishing for death under any circumstances.
“None of you should wish for death due to a calamity that has afflicted him,”
Avoid getting infected
The Coronavirus Symptoms enters your body via your eyes, nose, and/or mouth, so it is important to avoid touching your face with unwashed hands.
Washing of hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, or cleaning hands with alcohol-based solutions, gels or tissues is recommended in all settings.
It is also recommended to stay 1 meter or more away from people infected with COVID-19 who are showing symptoms, to reduce the risk of infection through respiratory droplets.
Protect Me
Standard recommendations to reduce exposure to and transmission of a range of illnesses include maintaining basic hand and respiratory hygiene, and safe food practices, and avoiding close contact, when possible, with anyone showing symptoms of respiratory illness such as coughing and sneezing.
Dua for Protection from illness and disease
This dua for protection from illness should be our constant prayer at this time — and it carries an important reminder that our refuge is always in Allah (SWT):
اللَّهُمَّ إِنِّي أَعُوذُ بِكَ مِنَ الْبَرَصِ، وَالْجُنُونِ، وَالْجُذَامِ، وَمِنْ سَيِّئِ الأَسْقَامِ
Allah humma inni a’udhu bika minal-barasi, wal-jununi, wal-judhaami, wa min sayyi’il-asqaami
“O Allah, I seek refuge in You from leprosy, insanity, elephantiasis, and the worst of diseases.” [Abu Dawud]
Dua for sickness
when we are ill, we should seek medical attention — but we can also pray to Allah (SWT) to help our recovery. It is narrated that Aisha (PBUH) said that when anyone among them had an illness, the Prophet (ﷺ) used to rub the area of the pain and recite the following dua for protection:
اللَّهُمَّ ربَّ النَّاسِ ، أَذْهِب الْبَأسَ ، واشْفِ ، أَنْتَ الشَّافي لا شِفَاءَ إِلاَّ شِفَاؤُكَ ، شِفاءً لا يُغَادِرُ سقَماً
Allah humma Rabban-Naas, adhhibil-ba’s, washfi antash-Shaafi laa shifaa’a illaa shifaa’uka shifaa’an laa yughaadiru saqamaa
“O Allah, Lord of mankind, do away with my suffering. Heal (me) as You are the only Healer and there is no cure except that of Yours, it is that which leaves no ailment behind” [Bukhari]
This guidance provides the basis within Islamic law and also medical understanding of the disease so far, for Muslim communities to adapt the guidelines to their particular context around the world.
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