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It is Forbidden for a Person with a Contagious Disease to Mix with others
Author : The General Iftaa` Department
Date Added : 05-07-2023

It is Forbidden for a Person with a Contagious Disease to Mix with others

 

Praise be to Allah the Lord of the Worlds. May His peace and blessings be upon our Prophet Mohammad and upon all his family and companions.

 

The General Iftaa` Department confirms that the preservation of human life is amongst the great purposes of Islamic Law. This is reflected in the Glorious Quran and the Sunnah of our Prophet Mohammad (PBUH), and the sayings of the great jurists from amongst the Imams of our Muslim nation.

In order to save souls and lives, Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) commanded that we protect ourselves from contagious diseases and adopt legitimate measures to limit their spread. Allah's Messenger (PBUH) said, "(There is) no 'Adwa (no contagious disease is conveyed without Allah's permission). nor is there any bad omen (from birds), nor is there any Hamah, nor is there any bad omen in the month of Safar, and one should run away from the leper as one runs away from a lion." {Transmitted by Bukhari}. He (PBUH) also said: "The cattle (sheep, cows, camels, etc.) suffering from a disease should not be mixed up with healthy cattle, (or said: "Do not put a patient with a healthy person). " (as a precaution) {Transmitted by Bukhari & Muslim}.

 

Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) also commanded resorting to quarantine as a means to prevent the spread of contagious diseases. He said, "If you hear of a plague in a land, do not enter it, and if it breaks out in a land where you are, do not leave it." (Transmitted by Bukhari & Muslim).

 

Our great jurists have taken the above into account. Sheikh al-Islam Imam Zakariya al-Ansari al-Shafi'i said:" The judge 'Iyad has narrated from the scholars that the leper is prevented from the mosque, Friday prayer, and mixing with the people." (Asna al-Matalib, V.1:215).Imam al-Shihab ibn Hajar al-Haytami al-Shafi'i stated: "The reason for preventing someone like a leper is fear of harm, and in such situation prevention is obligatory." (Al-Fatawa al-Fiqhiyyah al-Kubra, V.1:212).

 

Based on the above, it is obligatory for everyone to fully comply with all health and regulatory instructions issued by the competent authorities, in obedience to Allah the Almighty and to those in authority. Allah says {What means}: " O ye who believe! Obey God, and obey the Apostle, and those charged with authority among you." {An-Nisa`, 59}. 

 

Everyone must also take the necessary means to prevent the transmission and spread of the disease, such as wearing a mask, maintaining safety distances, staying away from gatherings, avoiding shaking hands and kissing, and taking appropriate medications and vaccines. It is also forbidden for someone who has been infected with a contagious disease or who is suspected of being infected with it to transmit it to others by mixing with them. He/she must take the necessary health precautions, such as quarantine, even in their home. Moreover, it is forbidden for him/her to hide their illness so as not to harm others.

 

We ask Allah Almighty to bless our country along with all Muslim countries with safety and security, and to protect us from diseases and ailments. Verily, He is capable of that, and our last prayer is that all praise be to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds.

 

 

 

 

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Summarized Fatawaa

What should a person, who doubts the validity of his Wudu, or over performs it, do?

One who doubts the validity of his/her Wudu while performing it should redo it until he/she is certain of having attained purity. But, if doubt was after having performed Wudu, then he/she should not pay attention to that as doubt after the end of an act of worship does not count. This is of course in case doubt was within the reasonable limits since once it goes beyond that, it becomes a whispering of the Shaytaan (devil) which he/she should ignore as the Wudu is valid.

What is the ruling of Islamic Law on the prayer of zawal?

 

All praise is due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our master the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.
It is recommended (sunnah) to pray four rakʿāt — either with a single tasleem or as two separate sets of two rakʿāt — immediately following the sun's decline from its zenith (zawāl). This prayer is distinct from the regular Sunnah prayer of Ẓuhr (sunnat al-ẓuhr al-rātibah), as explicitly stated by the Shāfiʿī jurists.
It is mentioned in Nihāyat al-Muḥtāj: "The prayer of zawāl is offered after the sun's decline — so were one to perform it before that, it would not count. It consists of two or four rakʿāt and is distinct from the Sunnah of Ẓuhr, as is evident from the fact that it is mentioned separately after the regular Sunnah prayers, and it becomes a make-up prayer (qaḍāʾ) if a long period of time passes by customary reckoning... Al-ʿAlqamī stated: 'Scholars refer to this as the Sunnah of Zawāl, and it is distinct from the four rakʿāt that constitute the Sunnah of Ẓuhr.' Our shaykh said: Al-Ḥāfiẓ al-ʿIrāqī stated that among those who explicitly affirmed its recommendation was al-Ghazālī in al-Iḥyāʾ, in the chapter on devotional litanies, noting that there is no tasleem between them — meaning there is no break between each pair of rakʿāt."
The time of the sun's decline (zawāl) marks the very beginning of the time for the Ẓuhr prayer.
And Allah the Almighty knows best.

What is the ruling on sending blessings and peace upon the prophet (PBUH) after the Adhan?

 

Praise be to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our Master, the Messenger of Allah.
 
It is a Sunnah to send blessings and peace (As-Salat wa al-Salam) upon the Prophet ﷺ after the Adhan and the Iqamah, for both the caller (Mu’adhin) and the listener. It is permissible to do so aloud after the conclusion of the Adhan. However, it is preferable to maintain a brief pause between the words of the Adhan and the prayers upon the Prophet ﷺ, so that people do not mistakenly assume that sending blessings upon him is an integral part of the Adhan itself. And Allah the Exalted knows best.

Is it permissible to offer an Udhiyah on behalf of the deceased?

In the Name of Allah, and may peace and blessings be upon our Master, the Messenger of Allah.
 
Offering an Udhiyah (sacrificial animal) on behalf of a deceased person is permissible. This is the official position of the Hanbali school (as stated in Kashshaf al-Qina’ by al-Bahuti,Vol.6/P.428) and was also upheld by the prominent Shafi'i scholar Al-’Abbadi (mentioned in Bidayat al-Muhtaj by Ibn Qadi Shuhbah,Vol. 4/P.358). It has likewise been narrated as a valid view among some Maliki and Hanafi scholars.
 
In fact, Imam Abu Dawud dedicated an entire chapter in his Sunan collection entitled, "Chapter on Sacrificing on Behalf of the Deceased." In it, he recorded a narration from Hanash, who said: "I saw 'Ali sacrificing two rams, so I asked him, 'What is this?' He replied, 'The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) commanded me to offer a sacrifice on his behalf, so I am sacrificing on his behalf.'"
 
Imam Abu Dawud also narrated from Jabir (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "O Allah, this is from You, for You, and on behalf of Muhammad and his Ummah (community). In the Name of Allah, and Allah is the Greatest," and he then slaughtered the animal.
 
The textual evidence here lies in the fact that our Master, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), offered a sacrifice on behalf of his entire community—and it is well-established that his community includes those who have already passed away.
 
Furthermore, there is an abundance of sacred texts demonstrating that the rewards of righteous deeds reach the deceased. For instance, it is permissible to fast on behalf of a deceased person who passed away with missed obligatory fasts, and it is equally permissible to perform Hajj on their behalf, both of which are firmly established in authentic Hadiths. Therefore, if the reward of fasting (which is a purely physical act of worship) and Hajj (which is a joint physical and financial act of worship) can reach the deceased, then the reward of an Udhiyah reaches them with greater reason (by way of A Fortiori argument). This is because it is a purely financial act of worship, falling under the general category of charity (Sadaqah).
 
Additionally, scholars have reached a consensus (Ijma') that the rewards of charity reach the deceased, and since the Udhiyah is inherently an act of charity, it falls under the same ruling. Consequently, based on all the aforementioned evidence, we hold the view that offering a sacrifice on behalf of the deceased is entirely permissible. And Allah the Almighty Knows Best.