{"id":2877,"date":"2020-03-21T17:58:53","date_gmt":"2020-03-21T15:58:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/investigate-islam.com\/?p=2877"},"modified":"2020-03-21T17:58:53","modified_gmt":"2020-03-21T15:58:53","slug":"coronavirus-an-islamic-perspective","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/investigate-islam.com\/web\/?p=2877","title":{"rendered":"Coronavirus \u2013 an Islamic perspective"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"top-story-block\">\n<h1>Coronavirus \u2013 an Islamic perspective<\/h1>\n<div class=\"posted-by\">\n<div class=\"author\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"publish-date\">\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-description dhide-680\">\n<p>Whatever problem or issue a Muslim is facing, he returns back to All\u0101h and his Messenger for guidance; there is nothing that happens in the life of a Muslim except that his religion has a solution to it.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-content\">\n<div class=\"article-image\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.newvision.co.ug\/new_vision\/news\/1516641\/coronavirus-islamic-perspective\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newvision.co.ug\/w-images\/916315a3-8a70-4250-bc60-ff13a8a18d26\/2\/HamzaKoire1newggg-703x422.jpg\" alt=\"Hamzakoire1newggg 703x422\" \/><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"container_ad dhide-768\">\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-1496656157133-0\" data-google-query-id=\"CIGQ0tb1q-gCFUyh7QodwawPUw\">\n<div id=\"google_ads_iframe_\/16375024\/2016_NV_SPG_AD1_728X90_dtop_0__container__\"><iframe id=\"google_ads_iframe_\/16375024\/2016_NV_SPG_AD1_728X90_dtop_0\" title=\"3rd party ad content\" name=\"google_ads_iframe_\/16375024\/2016_NV_SPG_AD1_728X90_dtop_0\" width=\"670\" height=\"90\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" sandbox=\"allow-forms allow-pointer-lock allow-popups allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox allow-same-origin allow-scripts allow-top-navigation-by-user-activation\" data-google-container-id=\"p\" data-load-complete=\"true\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>OPINION<\/p>\n<p>By Hamza Koire<\/p>\n<p><strong>All\u0101h has blessed us with a religion that is complete and perfect for all times and places.\u00a0 All\u0101h tells us in the Qur\u2019\u0101n: \u201cThis day I have perfected for you your religion and completed My favour upon you and have approved for you Islam as your religion\u201d<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>We also have in the Prophet (peace be upon him), the best of examples, as All\u0101h says in the Qur\u2019\u0101n:\u201cSurely there was a good example for you in the Messenger of All\u0101h\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>Whatever problem or issue a Muslim is facing, he returns back to All\u0101h and his Messenger for guidance; there is nothing that happens in the life of a Muslim except that his religion has a solution to it.<\/p>\n<p>We recently heard about the coronavirus which is spreading to a number of countries, affecting the lives of many people, causing death to others. There are a number of thoughts that should cross the mind of a Muslim when they hear something like this. Below are some points that a person must remember and internalize when they see or hear of such\u00a0incidents:-<\/p>\n<p>Trials and tribulations are part of life, this is something that All\u0101h informs us of and warns us so that when we are afflicted, we remember that it is ultimately All\u0101h who controls our affairs. It is He who will provide help and His knowledge of our affairs surpasses our restricted intellect.<\/p>\n<div class=\"container_ad dhide-768\">\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-1501674790852-0\" data-google-query-id=\"CLbNyNb1q-gCFUyh7QodwawPUw\">\n<div id=\"google_ads_iframe_\/16375024\/2016_NV_SPG_AD2_728X90_dtop_0__container__\">\n<div class=\"article-content\">\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><!--more--><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>As He says in the Qur\u2019\u0101n: \u201cDo you think that you will enter Paradise without such [trials] as came to those who passed away before you? They were afflicted with severe poverty and ailments and were so shaken that even the Messenger and those who believed along with him said, \u2018When [will] the Help of All\u0101h [come]?\u2019 Yes! Certainly, the Help of All\u0101h is near!\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>All\u0101h sends us tests to see how we will react and handle them. How are we going to respond? When you hear the news that your Umrah trip is cancelled because of this virus, how will you respond?<\/p>\n<p>When you hear your flights have been cancelled, your loved ones have fallen ill, how will you respond?. All\u0101h says in the Qur\u2019\u0101n: \u201cAnd We will surely test you with something of fear and hunger and a loss of wealth and lives and fruits, but give good tidings to the patient\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>So how do we respond to a calamity? All\u0101h tells us immediately after the previous \u0101yah: \u201cWho, when disaster strikes them, say, \u2018Indeed we belong to All\u0101h, and indeed to Him we will return.\u2019\u201d. A Muslim is patient in trials; he knows All\u0101h will never forsake him, nor will All\u0101h burden him with a trial that is more than what he can handle.<\/p>\n<p>This is not something new, Illnesses and viruses such as the coronavirus are not something new, nor is the fact that people are afflicted with illnesses.<\/p>\n<p>The companions once asked the Prophet (peace be upon him):\u201cOh Messenger of All\u0101h, who from amongst the people were tested the most? The Prophet (peace be upon him) responded and said, the Prophets, then the next best and then the next best.\u201d. We see the great Prophet of All\u0101h, Ayy\u016bb (peace be upon him),was tested with a great illness.\u00a0 His story is synonymous with patience.<\/p>\n<p>He lost everything; his family, wealth, and health. Some narrations say he was bedridden for 18 years, tested with a great illness, yet we find he did not give up hope in All\u0101h and turned to him in this great trial. Some scholars have said that his illness was so severe that his flesh dropped from his body and nothing remained on him except his bones and muscles.<\/p>\n<p>All\u0101h tells us his story in the Qur\u2019\u0101n: \u201cAnd Ayy\u016bb, when he called to his Lord, saying \u2018Harm has inflicted me and You are the Most Merciful\u201d, \u201cSo We answered him and removed his affliction and We gave him his family and the like of them with them, as a mercy from Us and a reminder to Worshippers.\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>The story of Prophet Ayy\u016bb is one filled with lessons for us to ponder over. The virtue of patience is shown to us in the Prophet Ayy\u016bb through some of the most dire situations that one can come across in life.<\/p>\n<p>pre-determination (Qadr): This concept is extremely important for a Muslim to understand.\u00a0 When incidents such as the coronavirus occur, a Muslim should know that this is what All\u0101h had decreed 50,000 years before the creation of the universe. The Prophet (peace be upon him) explained: \u201cAll\u0101h had written the ordained measures (and due proportions) of the creation, fifty thousand years before the creation of the heavens and the earth&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p>All good and bad is from All\u0101h, as is mentioned in the Hadeeth of Jabir: \u2018No slave of All\u0101h will truly believe until he believes in al-Qadr; its good and bad from All\u0101h, and until he knows that what has befallen him was not going to miss him and that what missed him was not going to befallen him.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>All\u0101h will never harm us nor does he want evil to befall us. We may think something is bad for us due to our restricted view of life, but there is always good in a situation.<\/p>\n<p>All\u0101h tells us that &#8220;perhaps you hate a thing but it is in fact good for you, and perhaps you love a thing when in reality and it is bad for you, yet All\u0101h knows while you know not&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p>A believer has two positions when it comes to pre-determination: one is before the situation occurs, and one is after. Before the situation he seeks help from All\u0101h, makes dua to him, and relies upon him; he asks All\u0101h for good to come from it.<\/p>\n<p>After the situation, if the result was positive and good the person thanks All\u0101h.\u00a0 If the event had a negative outcome the person is patient because he knows that All\u0101h will never forsake him even if it seems the result is negative, because indeed All\u0101h is the best of planners.<\/p>\n<p>Taking necessary precautions: A Muslim should not overreact; at the same time he should not be oblivious about a situation and do nothing! Taking the necessary means and then relying upon All\u0101h is something which is emphasised in Islam.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOne day Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), noticed a Bedouin leaving his camel without tying it. He asked the Bedouin, \u2018Why don\u2019t you tie down your camel?\u2019 The Bedouin answered, \u2018I put my trust in All\u0101h\u2019 The Prophet then said, \u2018Tie your camel first, then put your trust in All\u0101h\u2019.<\/p>\n<p>We also find in the incident of Khalifa Umar ibn al-Khattab taking necessary precautions is a must when you know of harm or potential danger that could afflict you.<\/p>\n<p>Umar ibn al-Khattab was traveling with a group of companions during his reign. They approached a town in which it was said had a contagious\/infectious disease. Umar asked his group whether they should proceed or return (to Madinah).<\/p>\n<p>The majority of the companions said they should go back but some said they should proceed. Then one companion said he knew a hadith where the Prophet (peace be upon him) said, \u201cIf you hear that this disease exists in a country, do not travel to that country.\u201d So Umar decided that they should go back.<\/p>\n<p>Another companion asked him whether he was running away from qadar. Umar replied that they were moving away from one qadar to another qadar.<\/p>\n<p>Whenever there is a problem, a challenge, or any hardship which we can remove, overcome, solve, or minimise, we must do so. Many of the health guidelines given by the Ministry of Health are in fact normal practices for Muslims, some of which are as\u00a0<a href=\"follows:-\">follows:-<\/a><\/p>\n<p>1. Washing hands: this is a part of ablution, a Muslim\u2019s daily ritual of purity.<\/p>\n<p>2. General cleanliness: The Prophet (peace be upon him) said:\u201cCleanliness is part of faith\u201d. Keeping our surroundings tidy, cleaning up after ourselves, and wiping surfaces down are all aspects of cleanliness which must be adhered to in these situations.<\/p>\n<p>3. Covering your mouth when sneezing; The Prophet would cover his mouth when he sneezed. This basic etiquette can take big part in the stopping of the spread of viruses. \u201cWhenever the Messenger of All\u0101h (PBUH) sneezed, he would cover his mouth with his hand or a piece of cloth.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>4. Quarantine in times of viruses which can spread; The Prophet gave instructions on what to do if there is an outbreak. Abd al-Rahm\u0101n ibn \u2018Awf said: \u201cI heard the Messenger of All\u0101h (PBUH) say: \u201cIf you hear that (the plague) is in a land, do not go there, and if it breaks out in a land where you are, do not leave, fleeing from it.\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>The Prophet (PBUH) also taught us how to protect ourselves by maintaining our duas from the Sunnah. One such dua that he taught us was:\u201cIn the name of All\u0101h with Whose name nothing can harm on earth or in heaven, and He is the All-Hearing, All-Knowing\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>Being positive and having an optimistic outlook: Always have a positive outlook regardless of the situation you\u2019re in, this is what our Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) taught us, when he told us, &#8220;Amazing is the affair of the believer, verily all of his affairs are good and this is not for no one except the believer, if something of good\/happiness befalls him, he is grateful and that is good for him, if something of harm befalls him, he is patient and that is good for him.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>We should also not blame others or ridicule them because they are from a certain country or they have come from a part of the world that has been affected by the virus. Unfortunately, we have seen physical attacks on people, racist remarks made, and people making a joke and mocking the situation people are in.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Conclusion<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The coronavirus is a reminder to us all of our weak state. Regardless of our social standing and our financial position, we are helpless. All\u0101h says: \u201cMankind was created weak\u201d. Situations like this remind us to turn back to All\u0101h.<\/p>\n<p>All\u0101h controls everything and he is the one that can relieve us from our difficulties, we must return to All\u0101h and seek refuge in him and ask his protection.<\/p>\n<p><em>The writer is a researcher at the Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia in Kampala &#8211; Uganda .<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Coronavirus \u2013 an Islamic perspective &nbsp; Whatever problem or issue a Muslim is facing, he returns back to All\u0101h and his Messenger for guidance; there is nothing that happens in the life of a&#46;&#46;&#46;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2878,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26,1,4],"tags":[332,324],"class_list":["post-2877","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-ethics-in-islam","category-general-topics","category-about-islam","tag-coronavirus","tag-prophet-mohammed"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/investigate-islam.com\/web\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2877","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/investigate-islam.com\/web\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/investigate-islam.com\/web\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/investigate-islam.com\/web\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/investigate-islam.com\/web\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2877"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/investigate-islam.com\/web\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2877\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2879,"href":"https:\/\/investigate-islam.com\/web\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2877\/revisions\/2879"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/investigate-islam.com\/web\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2878"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/investigate-islam.com\/web\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2877"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/investigate-islam.com\/web\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2877"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/investigate-islam.com\/web\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2877"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}