We must ensure personal and public cleanliness and hygiene, for the Prophet (PBUH) said:

“When you do your ablutions, clean your nostrils with water and when you use the latrine, clean yourself with water...and when you wake up, wash your hands before putting them anywhere, because you don’t know where your hand has spent the night.”

Similarly, Verses 43 in Surah "The Woman" and in 6 of Surah: "The Table" of the Qu’ran recommend using water in the toilet whenever possible. The Qu’ran also says that

“Allah (SWT) loves those who purify themselves.” (S Repentance, V 108)

According to Seydatuna Aysha, the Mother of the Believers, the Prophet (PBUH) said:

“Be clean, Islam is clean.”
“Cleanliness is half of Faith,”
“Allah (SWT) is Clean and loves those who are clean... is Generous and loves those who are generous. Always keep your courtyards and public places clean.”

The use of Face Mask during Salat as well as in Hajj and Umrah is promulgated by using the Major Qawaaid that emphasizes the elimination of all harm

The maxim in Arabic is "al-Darar muzal": harm must be eliminated. The basis for this maxim is the hadith of the Prophet (may Allah bless him and give him peace):

“Harm may neither be inflicted nor reciprocated in Islam.”

Similarly, the use of alcohol-based hand sanitizers (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2021); as well as the formulation of ethical guidelines to be in self-isolation to prevent spread from infected persons, have their origins from the same Qawaaid of not harming anyone (Ware, 2015).

The example for precautions, comes form the general Islamic rule during insecure times such as a pandemic, which is to protect oneself, as stated in the Qu’ran:

“Believers, take precautions.”

The example for precautions, comes form the general Islamic rule during insecure times such as a pandemic, which is to protect oneself, as stated in the Qu’ran:

“Believers, take precautions.”

Also, Muslims are instructed to avoid shaking hands when greeting someone during the pandemic. Allah (STW) says in V 54 S The Livestock:

“When those who believe in Our teachings come to you, tell them: Peace be with you!”

Thus, the only obligation while greeting in Islam is to say ”Peace be with you.” So, when health experts judge that hugging or shaking hands can infect others or oneslef, Muslims should refrain from doing so.

Be careful in the way that you gather at mealtime and adapt to the coronavirus situation by eating separately. V 61 S The Light states:

“There is no harm in eating either together or eating separately.”

Avoid gathering together for prayer according to the situation. Health experts recommend avoiding gatherings in places of worship during the pandemic. This recommendation corresponds to the Prophet’s advice (PBUH). For, Islam allows you to pray at home when the weather is bad as seen in this account by Imam Ibn Hajar (RA) who says in Fathul Bâry's Commentary on Bukhari:

Bukhari (RA) reports that Abdallah Ibn Harith said: “Abdallah Ibn Abas exhorted us one day of great rain and when the muezzin arrived at the phrase, Come to prayer, he ordered him to say: Pray in your homes. Everyone looked at each other in amazement. He said to them: Do you disagree with me? Yet someone better than me (the Prophet) did it.”

In situations where the right to health or life is threatened, Islam grants numerous exemptions related to worship. For example, you are allowed to do the following:

• Suspend prayers in times of insecurity or when traveling
• Temporarily suspend fasting during times of illness
• Permanently end fasting for people with chronic illness
• Not perform the pilgrimage in times of illness or insecurity
• Shorten prayers and the number of Rakas when ill or in times of insecurity.

All of these exemptions are granted in accordance with the following Qu’ranic principle:

“Allah (Swt ) does not want to cause you problems. On the contrary, HE wants to purify you and fill you with Favors so that you will be grateful.” (V 6 S La Table)

“Allah (Swt ) wants to facilitate and not create difficulties.” -(V 185 S The Cow)

Religious experts have interpreted these verses through the following Islamic Principles:

• Principle 1: “Under certain circumstances, normal obligations need not be followed.”
• Principle 2: “Avoiding something bad is more important than doing something good.”

Protect yourself from getting sick and take care of yourself if you fall ill. For, the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said:

“Allah (SWT) brings sickness, but provides cures and there is a remedy for every sickness. Therefore, heal yourselves, but not with things that are forbidden.”

Cover your mouth when coughing or yawning for the Prophet (PBUH) said: “ When you cough or yawn, place your hand in front of your face (mouth) and lower your head.” His followers reported that:

“When the Prophet (PBUH) coughed, he put his hand or his handkerchief over his mouth to reduce the impact.”

The maxim in Arabic is "al-Darar muzal": harm must be eliminated. The basis for this maxim is the hadith of the Prophet (may Allah bless him and give him peace):

“Harm may neither be inflicted nor reciprocated in Islam.”

Similarly, the use of alcohol-based hand sanitizers (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2021); as well as the formulation of ethical guidelines to be in self-isolation to prevent spread from infected persons, have their origins from the same Qawaaid of not harming anyone (Ware, 2015).

In the current context of coronavirus, these guidelines are recommended by doctors who consider them as ways to avoid spreading saliva or cough droplets, considered to be the main method for teansmitting infection to others. This is why they recommend coughing or sneezing into the crook of the elbow or into a tissue to be thrown into a waste basket immediately after use.

For, in order to get fresh air, we need environmental protection. And, the Prophet was the first man ever to establish nature reserves where trees may not be felled and animals may not be killed. In another hadith, we read the following report:

“The Prophet declared as forbidden the cutting of trees and the hunting of game within the confines of Medina”. -Ref No. [62] in Dr M H Al Khayat Health as a Human Right in Islam-Part 5 WHO In reference to a certain valley in Taif, the Prophet says: “Hunting and cutting trees in Wajj are forbidden”. [63]

Abu Yussuf quotes Malik ibn Anas as saying that he learnt that the Prophet had forbidden the cutting of trees in a 12 mile belt around Medina and forbidden hunting within a belt of four miles. He says that a number of scholars consider that these measures are aimed at preserving trees, in order to protect the environment. [64]

This right requires each one of us to feed the body when it is hungry, rest it when tired, clean it when it gets dirty, protect it against all harm, take precautions against subjecting it to illness, provide it with the necessary treatment when it suffers from disease, and not to overburden it in any way. All this represents, from the Islamic standpoint, a right which must never be overlooked or neglected in preference to other rights, including God’s own rights over us.

Place your trust in Allah (SWT): Some people have said: “We don’t need to follow the recommendations of health specialists; we just need to place our trust in Allah (SWT) to protect us from the COVID-19.” However, Islam recommends something else.

Abderrahmane Ibn Abi Layla (RA) relates that a man asked the Prophet (PBUH): “Do I place my trust in Allah (SWT) and leave my camel outside without attaching him or do I attach my camel outside and place my trust in Allah (SWT)?” The Prophet (PBUH) told him: “Attach it outside and place your trust in Allah (SWT).”

Attaching your camel in the current context means that we must take every precaution to avoid contracting the COVID-19 disease. In this way, we truly place our trust in Allah (SWT). It is only when we have taken all precautions, following the general and specific recommendations, that our prayers have the most chance of being favorably accepted by Allah (SWT).

Accordingly, we ask for forgiveness and pray to Allah (SWT) as did his final Prophet:

“God, protect me from skin disease, from leprosy, from mental illness and the consequences of other illnesses.”

[He] has not laid upon you in religion any hardship”4 and “God wishes to lighten [the burden] for you; and man was created weak”-Noble Quran 4:28

The Prophet is reported in al-Bukhārī, Kitāb al-Imān, Ḥadīth No. 39, to have said:

“Religion is very easy and whoever overburdens himself in his religion will not be able to continue in that way”.

Events that occurred during ʿUmar Ibn Khaṭṭāb’s rule provide a vivid proof that rules can be breached in dire circumstances. It is reported that ʿUmar suspended ḥaddpunishment for theft during a period of famine in Medina.10 The crime was neither legalized nor ‘fiscalized’, but the severe punishment for a ḥudūd crime was waived or reduced temporarily, depending on the perpetrator’s circum-stances, in order to alleviate the hardship of starvation.

Thus, after the first protective measure with regard to our health, we must refrain from causing any harm to people, which in the pandemic context is spread of infection. This begins in the limited immediate environment of the home and similar enclosed places, where only a small number of people may stay. Hence, in Islam it is forbidden to pollute such an environment, say by tobacco smoke, or by any biological infectious agents say by coronavirus for example, as the serious health risks of both tabacco smoke and coronavirus represent have been ascertained beyond any shadow of doubt.

Moreover, we can use the new norm of work from home, to catch up with members of our own home, our kith and kin, our neighbours. Also, time saved from travel can be spent to learn new skills, or clear up backlogs.

Likewise, religious experts have interpreted the maxim, “Adversity begets facility” to indicate that any form of suffering, even if it does not endanger lives, will allow for flexibilities in finishing religious duties. In addition, this tenet declares that we must protect ourselves from getting sick and take care of ourselves, if we fall ill (Nordin, 2019).

This Hadith of the noble Prophet, which says that there is no disease that Allah has created, except that He also has created its treatment, rings in hope whenever mankind is put to test like in this pandemic. For, this hadith reveals itself evolving to crystallize into its Qawaaid form and spreading beyond in manifold roles of promoting faith in the science of COVID-19, including its vaccines, destroying the conspiracy theories, and the pandemic of misinformation (Alghamas, 2020).