Islam is not a set of beliefs to worship the true Lord, Allah the Almighty, but It is a complete way of life. Allah teaches us how to live, worship, behave and spend time. In everyday life, in every action, Islam teaches us how to act. It teaches us how to sit, how to sleep, how to pray, and how to prevent diseases and hardships, etc. Along with this in Islam, educate us for unusual situations like eclipses, earthquakes, Diseases outbreak, Pandemic, and War.
Pandemic Corona Virus 2020
The pandemic of coronavirus spread this year and harm the economy with no distinction between rich and poor. Worlds leading economies have bow down to outcomes of this disease. On December 31, 2019, China notified the WHO of a string of respiratory infections in the city of Wuhan. The root virus was unknown. On January 11, death occurs in China, and then disease spread and the death chain spread worldwide. On January 23, China put its cities in Quarantine. Now more than 180 countries are in partial or full Lockdown.
In this situation of the pandemic, all countries are facing problems to treat patients and quarantine arrangements. But the most horrible thing is that this disease has a continuously growing chain from person to person. Being Muslims how we should behave and what’s the teaching of Islam How following Sunnah can help us. We now discuss all this in detail.
Cleanliness:
Islam gives so much importance to cleanliness as it is part of faith. Sanitation and purification are of the necessity of being Muslim. Prophet(PBUM) said cleanliness is half faith (Sahih Muslim). Islam encourages personal hygiene. Islam teaches us to keep clean our body, place of living, and soul also. Muslims perform ablution(wudu) five times a day and perform gusal(bath) if it is necessary. In ablution, they wash their hands one, two, or three times. Washing hands for twenty seconds will clean our hands from viruses(coronavirus).
Moreover, Prophet(PBUM) teaches His followers to cover their faces while sneezing and coughing. It is a way to avoid spreading the virus from patients. He kept his body and clothes clean, took a bath regularly, liked the use of fragrance, liked to do Miswaak, He (PBUH) disliked the use of smelly things like garlic, etc. and appreciated neat and attractive appearance.
Along with outer cleanliness, Islam encouraged believers for internal purification. Spiritual purification is all about a positive attitude towards everything, Thinking positive for own self and others. Prophet (PBUM) use to smile to everyone. The pure soul has a strong connection to Allah and complete reliance over Him. Research has shown that positive thinking and attitude towards life improve the immune system. A healthy immune system is essential to fight such a disease when there is no vaccine yet. Allah in the Quran says:
“Allah does not intend to inconvenience you, but He intends to clean you and complete His favour to you, so that you may give thanks.”
(Quran, 5:6)
So we must make our outer self clean and inner the pure one. At this time, we must obey Allah and His Prophet(PBUM) to be protected. As Allah said in the Quran:
He has succeeded who purifies it (the self)
Surah Al shams (99)
Seeking Allah’s Help In Pandemic
Everything in this universe is in Allah’s control. Only He is one who can heal us when no medicine or vaccine can do that. Along with all precautionary measures, we must seek Allah‘s help through prayers, charity and good deeds. Recite the following invocation to seek protection:
Recite this invocation thrice in the morning and evening to get protection from every mishap (Sunan Abu Daud).
We all should seek forgiveness for all sins. We should repent and ask Allah for his mercy.
Quarantine
Quarantine means the separation of persons or communities who suffer from infectious diseases. Today due to the Covid-19 spread, quarantine is observed in all countries with this coronavirus. Islam has a complete set of instructions to deal with such pandemics. Our beloved Prophet(PBUM) said: If you discover an outbreak of plague in an area, do not enter it; if the plague breaks out in a region while you are in it, do not leave that place (Sahih Al-Bukhari). This isolation will save people from other areas as well as stop the spreading of disease. This type of practice was also observed in Hazrat Umar, the Caliph era. Prophet (PBUM) once refuses to shake hands with a person from the foreign delegation, suffering from a contagious disease. Protecting life through these steps is the faithful following of Islam.
