Closing mosques; The Coronavirus pandemic and Sharia

Amidst the fatalities prompted due to Coronavirus Governments of Saudi Arabia, UAE, and many more Islamic states have restricted the Five-time and Jummah prayers in mosques as the rate of virus scattering in jammed places is much higher.

A well-inferred institution of Egypt “Azhar Shareef” has also encouraged. Saudi “ہیتہ کبارالعلماء” had also issued a Fatwa:

Narrated by Sharid Bin Suaid, when a unit of Saqif came to pledge there was a Person infected by leprosy. Prophet issued a message, we have pledged you can leave; (Muslim).

Formerly on the 16th of March, Saudi Ulema curtailed the Jumma and five-time prayers in Saudi except for Harmain. This act can also be justified by the Hadith in which people were asked to offer their prayers at home due to the excessive rain during the time of Prophet. Muazins were told to say “الاصلو فی الرحال” (offer your prayers at home) at the end of Adhan.

Pakistani Ulema’s are calling these constraints as illegal. Points they are considering are:

1. In history, there were much worse pandemics and ailments but Mosques were never closed.
2. The infected ones can be hindered, but why the immune? As in the Quran

“And who is more unjust than those who prevent the name of Allah from being mentioned in His mosques and strive toward their destruction. It is not for them to enter them except in fear,” (Al Baqara:114)

These points can be discussed:

1. No Examples of mosques closing in history cannot be considered as an incorrect step. During the pandemics in history if the mosques were not closed that doesn’t rationalize it can’t be transpired. Especially in Shariah History due to some reasons, there is a place for not appearing in mosques such as during the excessive rain.
   “and make your houses [facing the] Qiblah and establish prayer” (Younis 87).
2. In past the Ulema didn’t find this appropriate, they believed that diseases won’t circulate due to the gatherings in the mosques. Plagues had their symptoms that could easily be tested, unlike the Coronavirus for which even the symptoms take days to show. For these necessary precautions are only the remedy we have till now.
3. Even if the governments had instructed the people to avoid prayers in mosques there is still a room that could avoid the mosques from getting totally shutdown. The supervisors of mosques can offer their Jumma and five-time prayers in the mosques practicing the mandatory steps so that the contrariness to Shariah would also not happen. People can practice their religious activities at home.

The rate with which this malady is flooding the best available option is to follow the Fatwah of Arab countries before it’s too late.