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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 is the ruling on the prayer of one who said "Subḥāna Rabbiya al-ʿAẓīm" in prostration (*sujūd*) and forgot to correct it?

 

All praise is due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our master, the Messenger of Allah.
Saying “Subḥāna Rabbiya al-ʿAẓīm” in bowing (rukūʿ) and “Subḥāna Rabbiya al-Aʿlā” in prostration (sujūd) is one of the hayʾāt (non-essential sunnahs) of the prayer. Whoever omits it, whether deliberately or by forgetfulness, or replaces it with another remembrance (dhikr), his prayer is valid and he does not perform sujūd al-sahw. Shaykh al-Islām Imam al-Nawawī (may Allah have mercy on him) said: “Our school holds that one does not prostrate for omitting the audible or silent recitation, the tasbīḥ, and the rest of the hayʾāt.” [al-Majmūʿ, Vol.4/p.127]
If he performs sujūd al-sahw for something that does not call for it, his prayer is invalidated, because he introduced a prostration of forgetfulness without a cause, and he must repeat the prayer. The exception is one who did so out of forgetfulness or ignorance, whether because he recently entered Islam or because he lives far from scholars; he is excused and his prayer is not invalidated.
It is stated in Mughni al-Muḥtāj (Vol.1/p.417): “It is stated in al-Anwār: If he does something that does not call for sujūd al-sahw, thinking that it does, and then prostrates, his prayer is not invalidated if he is ignorant because he recently entered Islam or because he is far from scholars.”
Since this issue is hidden from the laity, as it is among the subtleties of knowledge, and the laity are excused for ignorance of whatever is of such a nature, and their act of obedience is not invalidated because of it, it may be said that the prayer of one who has not acquired knowledge of the issue is not invalidated. As for after knowing it, the prayer is invalidated.
Whoever realizes while still in the prayer that his prostration was out of place, it is sunnah for him to perform sujūd al-sahw. And Allah Almighty knows best.

What is the ruling on wiping the head during ablution from behind a barrier like a headscarf (hijab)?

The obligation in ablution is to wipe some of the head; it is not a condition to wipe all of it. As for one who has a turban or headscarf on their head, it is permissible for them to wipe over it after wiping a part of their head in any place. This is easily done at the front of the head. This means the woman begins by wiping the front of her head from under the headscarf, then completes the wiping to the back of the head from over the headscarf. If the woman wipes over the headscarf on her head and the moisture reaches the scalp or some hair within the boundaries of the head, it suffices for wiping the head. And Allah the Almighty knows best.

What should a person who was favored from Allah with a newborn, but couldn`t afford an Aqeeqah, do?

Aqeeqah (the sheep slaughtered on the seventh day from the child`s birth) is a desirable Sunnah for the financially able since Allah, The Exalted, charges not a soul beyond its capacity. Therefore, if the father couldn`t afford the Aqeeqah before the end of his wife`s confinement, then it isn`t due on him, and if he was able to afford it later on, then it is permissible, but if he didn`t until the child reached puberty, the latter can offer the Aqeeqah himself.

What is the Du`a (supplication) of Istikhara (guidance prayer)?

O Allah, I consult You as You are All-Knowing and I appeal to You to give me power as You are Omnipotent, I ask You for Your great favor, for You have power and I do not, and You know all of the hidden matters. O Allah! If you know that this matter (then he should mention it) is good for me in my religion, my livelihood, and for my life in the Hereafter, or he said: "for my present and future life" then make it (easy) for me. And if you know that this matter is not good for me in my religion, my livelihood and my life in the Hereafter, or he said: "for my present and future life" then keep it away from me and take me away from it and choose what is good for me wherever it is and please me with it."