Fatwa declares coronavirus vaccine 'permissible' under Islamic law

• PM's aide Maulana Tahir Ashrafi announces fatwa, under which getting vaccinated against coronavirus is mandatory.
• Fatwa issued with the consent and consultation of ulema, muftis, and leading religious scholars of the Dar-ul-Ifta Pakistan.
• Fatwa asks Pakistan's philanthropists to use zakat to help provide the coronavirus vaccine to the needy.

ISLAMABAD: One of the country's top seminaries, the Dar-ul-Ifta Pakistan, has declared vaccination against the novel coronavirus 'legal' and 'permissible' under the Islamic shariah, or jurisprudence.

In a joint press conference at the Muttahida Ulema Board's office on Monday, Prime Minister Imran Khan's aide on religious harmony, Maulana Tahir Ashrafi, announced a fatwa, or religious decree, under which getting vaccinated against coronavirus was needed to prevent the ongoing pandemic.

The fatwa, Ashrafi added, was issued with the consent and consultation of ulema, muftis, and leading religious scholars of the Dar-ul-Ifta Pakistan. It asks the country's philanthropists to use zakat, or alms, to help provide the coronavirus vaccine to the needy.

According to the fatwa, it is every individual's responsibility to administer vaccination against coronavirus since the Islamic law orders people to protect themselves and others from harm but refrains them from spreading rumours.

Leading religious institutions in the Islamic world — including Dar al-Ifta al-Misriyyah and Saudi Arabia's Majma al-Fiqh al-Islami (Muslim World League) — have declared administering coronavirus vaccine as an obligation under shariah so that people could ensure their safety, as well as of others.

Maulana Ashrafi said the fatwa was issued after a series of meetings chaired by the Imam-e-Kaaba, Sheikh Salih bin Abdullah al Humaid, at the International Islamic Fiqh Council in Saudi Arabian city of Jeddah, which operates under the auspices of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC).

The Muslim world's leading scholars and leaders — including Saudi Arabia's Mufti-e-Azam Sheikh Abdul Rahman Al-Sudais and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas — have been vaccinated, he said.

Dar-ul-Ifta Pakistan, he added, also endorsed and supported Sheikh Al-Sudais' fatwa regarding vaccination during fasting and that according to the Islamic law, it does not break the fast.

Maulana Ashrafi said precautionary measures to prevent oneself against the novel coronavirus should be fully observed and that precautionary measures, as well as standard operating procedures, for mosques should be heeded.

The distance between worshippers in mosques while offering prayers as described by medical experts fell under the realm of compulsion and necessity, he explained. Therefore, there should be no doubt or confusion over the matter.

No proposal under consideration to close mosques

In response to a question, the prime minister's aide said there was no proposal under consideration to close mosques during or before the holy month of Ramadan.

Pakistan's mosques were open even when others around the world were closed due to the coronavirus pandemic, he said, cautioning the public, scholars, and elders against believing in baseless rumours.

In response to another question, he said the supply of vaccines for Hajj and Umrah pilgrims would be ensured as per the instructions of the Saudi Arabian government.

The premier, he added, has instructed that all precautionary measures mentioned by Saudi Arabia for Hajj and Umrah pilgrims should be fully implemented. If arrangements were made for Hajj in the ongoing year, vaccines should be provided to the pilgrims.

Ashrafi also said the novel coronavirus had caused a global a pandemic and anyone could contract it; therefore, it was not okay to make fun of the disease.

"Imran Khan is in good health and prayers are being made all over the Islamic world for the speedy recovery and health of PM Imran Khan," he added.