March-April . 2021 | @ Halal
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Conspiracy theories have been roaming cyberspace , and more people are turning into keyboard warriors . Theories are drawn up from scientific analysis , and some are even assembled through videos and photos , which are combined with religious propositions .” years . He is the Senior Lecturer of Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia ( UKM ), Prof Madya Dato ’ Dr Mohd Izhar Ariff Mohd Kashim .
Izhar said : “ In Islam , there are few aspects to look at to determine whether something is halal or haram . Firstly , is to refer to the Qur ’ an and the Sunnah of the prophet . But if the matter is not stated in the Qur ’ an or Sunnah , we need to turn to experts .
“ All things are originally classified as harus ( permissible ) unless proven ritually unclean . How ? One , is it made of unslaughtered animals ? Number two , does it contain pig ’ s DNA or porcine ? And lastly , does it contain harmful chemical substances ?”
This law is equally agreed by all Islamic schools of thought , be it madhhab Hanafi , madhhab Hanbali , madhhab Maliki and madhhab Syafie .
“ The experts and Muftis have already taken into consideration all of these aspects . So , the public must not worry . It is safe to hold onto the fatwa ( a nonbinding legal opinion on the Islamic law point ) released by muftis . The Covid-19 vaccine is halal .”
The Minister in the Prime Minister ’ s Department ( Religious Affairs ), Datuk Dr Zulkifli Mohamad Al-Bakri , said he sent letters to The Grand Imam of al-Azhar , Mufti of Egypt Shauqi Allam , and even a letter to a well -known Islamic scholar , Syeikh Abdullah Bin al-Mahfoudh Bin Bayyah .
“ As I carefully read their response to the letter , every step taken to issuing a fatwa on Covid-19 vaccine by other countries are similarly carried out by the authorities in Malaysia .” What plandemic ? Covid-19 is no conspiracy
According to The Muzakarah Committee of the National Council for Islamic Religious Affairs ( MKI ) Chairman , Datuk Wan Zahidi Wan Teh , every decision made by the government authorities was made on the concept of ‘ maslahah ’ or public interest .
The concept of ‘ maslahah ’ means bringing good to society and casting aside harmful situations .
Well , the truth is convincing people to trust the vaccine is somehow a more significant challenge . Making it more difficult is the fact that we still have 20 per cent of people who subscribe to conspiracy theories .
Conspiracy theories have been roaming cyberspace , and more people are turning into keyboard warriors . Theories are drawn up from scientific analysis , and some are even assembled through videos and photos , which are combined with religious propositions .
Social media influencers are one of the categories of people who can quickly shuffle the cards and sway people ’ s minds only because they appear to have a significant number of followers .
One of the conspiracies shared by our local Islamic preacher , Firdaus Wong Abdullah , during the forum was : “ Some said the whole Covid-19 scenario is just an action plan designed to bring down the Muslim community . They creatively termed the situation a ‘ plandemic ’ – a plan to weaken the Muslims .”
He said social media users must be wary of such false speculations . Any statement made with no reference to facts should not be trusted . The same goes for the influencers – they must consider the facts before sharing any information on their page .
Apart from social media users , the Perlis Mufti , Prof Madya Dato ’ Arif Perkasa Dr Mohd Asri Zainul Abidin noted that the authorities also played a massive role providing accurate information and applying laws .
Mohd Asri believed a syiar once mentioned by Prophet Muhammad ( PBUH ) back then was an assertion that lawmakers should look into .
“ The syiar states if an authority releases a statement to the public , and it results in a negative impact on the people following the statement , the authorities shall then be fully responsible .”
In other words , it is the responsibility of the authorities or the lawmakers to refer to fatwas and actual facts when providing resolutions .
Filter for false infos
We need to filter every information we get and do note that Covid-19 is no conspiracy .
As Negeri Sembilan deputy Mufti , Sohibus Samahah Dato ’ Dr Anhar Opir picked out a quote from the Qur ’ an : “ O you who believe , when you do encounter certain news , investigate first so that you do not inflict ignorance on people . Not knowing the truth will only lead you to regret it .
After the whole world has been vaccinated , is there a possibility of people going back to their previous lifestyle ?
As worded by one of the panellists , a Family Physician of Tengkawan Health Clinic of Hulu Terengganu , Dr Suhazeli Abdullah , the answer is : “ Yes , we can .”
But his response followed with a condition . “ People must take responsibility for any rules projected by the government .”
Ending the live discussion , Zulkifli said the effort to introduce a vaccine against Covid-19 has no other intention but to achieve the nation ’ s best health .