- Details
- Hits: 719
THE STANCE OF RASULULLAH (SALLALLAHU ALAYHI WASALLAM) ON PANDEMICS
Picture the following scene that occurred during the time of Rasulullah (sallallahu alayhi wasallam):
An epidemic (Wabaa’) is raging in Madinah. The Masjid, as usual, is filled with the Sahabah (radhiyallahu anhum) praying Salaat – both the Ansaar (natives to Madinah) and the Muhajiroon (emigrants of Makkah). With barely an exception, all of them carry intense fevers and are virtually incapacitated by the epidemic. Such is their weakness and exhaustion from the disease that they are all constrained to pray their Salaat sitting down. Furthermore, they are in the Masjid praying extra Nawaafil – optional, supererogatory prayers which could be prayed in the comfort of their own homes.
Rasulullah (sallallahu alayhi wasallam) enters the mosque and observes the scene. Perhaps a hint of disapproval appears on his blessed face. The spectacle of a mosque filled with virtually incapacitated Musallis having to pray their Nawaafil sitting down as a result of contracting a fast-spreading disease, prompts Rasulullah (sallallahu alayhi wasallam) to deliver some Naseehat – a Naseehat (advice) which is ultimately derived from Wahy (revelation) from the Khaaliq (the Creator), for as the Qur’an explicitly states:
“He does not speak except from revealed Wahy.”
Thus, this scenario, just like every other scenario enacted by Allah Ta’ala for His Rasool (sallallahu alayhi wasallam), is in reality a blueprint divinely ordained by Allah Ta’ala for the entire Ummah to imitate till the very last Hour.
The perfect guidance and unambiguous message Allah Ta’ala issues here at this critical juncture through His Rasool (sallallahu alayhi wasallam) will ultimately shape and determine the conduct and attitude of the Ummah during epidemics and plagues for the next 1400 years, and for as long as there exists even a single person from the gradually dwindling group of believers (ghurabaa) who, according to authentic Hadith, will continue to adhere to the original and untampered Deen of Allah during the final era of mankind’s existence on Earth.
So does Rasulullah (sallallahu alayhi wasallam) issue orders for the diseased to immediately vacate the premises and retreat into solitary confinement in their homes? Does he accuse them of unnecessarily bringing danger to others?
Does Rasulullah (sallallahu alayhi wasallam) scold the few healthy individuals, saying that they are also unnecessarily bringing risk to themselves and to others by potentially contracting a clearly debilitating disease and taking the disease into their own homes where it could prove fatal for their weaker family members?
Does Rasulullah (sallallahu alayhi wasallam) issue
instructions for quarantine procedures or a full lockdown of the entire society?
Does Rasulullah (sallallahu alayhi wasallam) suspend the daily congregational prayers and the Jumuah prayers?
Etc. etc.
In vivid contrast to all of the above measures dictated by science – the “God” adopted by most of the Ummah today – Allah Ta’ala inspires His Rasool (sallallahu alayhi wasallam) to issue the following ruling in order to encourage His Ummah to exert themselves even more for His sake:
“The prayer of the one sitting is equal to only half the prayer of the one standing.”
The tenor of the message and of the absence of any other Divine guidance in this unique scenario enacted by none other Allah Ta’ala Himself to guide the Ummah, is unmistakably clear. It is in absolute conflict with the new religion innovated by so-called Muslims today which entails mutilating all of the Sunnah that Rasulullah (sallallahu alayhi wasallam) had so painstakingly established as a permanent feature of this Ummah – a new religion which argues for the mutilation of the Sunnah of Musaafahah (shaking hands), of closing the gaps in Salaah, of visiting the sick, and of washing, shrouding and burying the Mayyit (dead); a new religion that argues for the supposed “virtues” of the satanic act of cremation of the Mayyit; a new religion that argues for the unprecedented crime of shutting down the Masjids indefinitely and suspending the Jumuah and other congregational prayers; a new religion which is ready and set to suspend the obligation of the fasts of Ramadhan should there occur in future a general agreement (Ijma) on this course of action amongst their true Gods, the scientists; a new religion for which there is absolutely no limit to the number of tenets of the orginal Deen which are eligible for tampering, at the beck and call of any group of qualified quacks; and worst of all, a new religion that countenances the satanic idea that Allah Ta’ala had neglected to provide adequate guidance for a scenario that He Himself has enacted time and time again since the beginning of creation, during the blessed era of Rasulullah (sallallahu alayhi wasallam) and his Sahabah (radhiyallahu anhum), and throughout the 1400 years history of this Ummah.
Is there even the slightest resemblance between this new religion today, and the Deen for which Allah Ta’ala issued the clear-cut and unambiguous message in the scenario of the epidemic described above?
The incident is recorded in the Muwatta of Imam Malik as follows:
ﻋﻦ ﻋﺒﺪ اﻟﻠﻪ ﺑﻦ ﻋﻤﺮﻭ ﺑﻦ اﻟﻌﺎﺹ ﺃﻧﻪ ﻗﺎﻝ «ﻟﻤﺎ ﻗﺪﻣﻨﺎ اﻟﻤﺪﻳﻨﺔ ﻧﺎﻟﻨﺎ ﻭﺑﺎء ﻣﻦ ﻭﻋﻜﻬﺎ ﺷﺪﻳﺪ ﻓﺨﺮﺝ ﺭﺳﻮﻝ اﻟﻠﻪ – ﺻﻠﻰ اﻟﻠﻪ ﻋﻠﻴﻪ ﻭﺳﻠﻢ – ﻋﻠﻰ اﻟﻨﺎﺱ ﻭﻫﻢ ﻳﺼﻠﻮﻥ ﻓﻲ ﺳﺒﺤﺘﻬﻢ ﻗﻌﻮﺩا ﻓﻘﺎﻝ ﺭﺳﻮﻝ اﻟﻠﻪ – ﺻﻠﻰ اﻟﻠﻪ ﻋﻠﻴﻪ ﻭﺳﻠﻢ – اﻟﻘﺎﻋﺪ ﻣﺜﻞ ﻧﺼﻒ ﺻﻼﺓ اﻟﻘﺎﺋﻢ
“When we arrived in Madinah an epidemic struck us, severe in its debilitating effects. Rasulullah (sallallahu alayhi wasallam) came out to the people while they were praying their supererogatory prayers sitting down. So he said: “The (prayer of) one sitting down is like half of the prayer of one standing up.”
In the narration recorded by Imam Ahmad in his Musnad with a Saheeh chain, the reaction of the Sahabah (radhiyallahu anhum) to the advice of Rasulullah (sallallahu alayhi wasallam) is described as follows:
ﻓﺘﺠﺸﻢ اﻟﻨﺎﺱ اﻝﺻﻼﺓ ﻗﻴﺎﻣﺎ
“So the people imposed upon themselves to toil (literally, suffer) in praying the Salaat standing up.”
In the narration recorded by Ibn Hashim it states:
ﺣﺘﻰ ﻛﺎﻧﻮا ﻣﺎ ﻳﺼﻠﻮﻥ ﺇﻻ ﻭﻫﻢ ﻗﻌﻮﺩ
“(The disease hit so many of the believers) to the extent that there was no one praying except that he was sitting…”
The narration is undeniably authentic and recorded in almost all of the early compilations of Hadith. The word used for the outbreak of disease is wabaa’ which the commentaries defined as one causing “rapid and abundant deaths.”
