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@ Halal | March-April . 2021
Pandemic not a
‘ plandemic ’
Government authorities and State muftis say there are no conspiracies behind the pandemic , and the fatwa issued on Covid-19 vaccine is valid
BY CAMILIA REZALI
In conjunction with the National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme , Forum Perdana Ehwal Islam held an exclusive session on Feb 25 , 2021 , to consider queries raised by several Malaysian netizens – What is the actual status of Covid-19 vaccines ? Is it halal ?
To respond to these questions , the forum , unlike its previous sessions before , titled “ Vaccines : Prevent before Losing ”, took in nine expert panellists ( previous sessions had only a maximum of three panellists ) to give a broader understanding of vaccines from an Islamic perspective .
The forum was organised by the Department of Islamic Development ( JAKIM ) and RTM , moderated by Mohd Hadiri Mohamad Daud and Rizal Ramli .
Tha ’ un Amwas as a lesson
In the hindsight of Islamic history , a case of an infectious disease outbreak is not new , said Federal Territory Mufti , Datuk Dr Luqman Abdullah .
An epidemic called tha ’ un Amwas occurred on 18hijr , corresponding to 639AD . The epidemic took 25,000 lives back then , including some of the close companions of Prophet Muhammad ( PBUH ).
Dr Luqman said the case of tha ’ un Amwas is an occurrence that should be taken as an example of the recent Covid-19 pandemic .
Luqman referred to one of the statements related to the case of tha ’ un Amwas in hadith of al-Bukhari : “ If you hear of the outbreak of tha ’ un in a land , do not enter it ; but if it breaks out in a place while you are in it , you must not leave that place .”
What is stated in the hadith is guidance to how we can deal with the Covid-19 pandemic . If a person is infected by the disease , go for quarantine until the condition gets better . If a person is not infected , he or she should then stay far to prevent infection .
“ One of the things we can learn from the spread of tha ’ un Amwas is that Islam places huge importance on the healthcare of the ummah . We cannot say that a disease is predestined by Allah , and we do not have to strive and so on . That is not in line with the teachings of Islam ,” said Luqman .
How does the covid-19 vaccine work ?
The National Immunisation programme was introduced in the 1950s . Even though vaccines have been around for several decades , the world has not yet achieved society ’ s total trust in getting themselves vaccinated . Needless to say , the vaccine conspiracy is a neverending phenomenon .
During the forum , Deputy Director- General of Health , Research and Technical Support , Datuk Dr Hishamshah Mohd Ibrahim , shared the true definition of a vaccine and how it functions as an infectious disease inoculation .
He disclosed the size of a Covid-19 virus was about 100 nanometre , equal to one out of a thousand cuts of a strand of hair .
Today ’ s vaccine technology is an advanced technology developed by a Turkish couple , Ugur Sahin and his wife Özlem Türeci , and the cooperation with several other researchers around the globe . The world designed a vaccine based on a platform called the messenger RNA , shared Dr Hishamshah .
“ This mRNA is a genetic sequence model of the Covid-19 virus coated with lipid nanoparticles which makes the Covid-19 vaccines available today . When we get injected with this vaccine , our body will recognise protein spikes ( located on the edges of the virus ) through antibodies , T-cells and B-cells produced in the body ’ s immune system . Hence , the vaccine can help our body prevent diseases ,” he said ..
Our vaccines are classified halal
Let ’ s tap into the most popular question among Muslims – is the Covid-19 vaccine truly halal ? Now , the government has clearly stated the law towards Covid-19 vaccines among Muslims .
Through a special meeting arranged by the Muzakarah Committee of the National Council for Islamic Affairs , which convened on Dec 3 , 2020 , the committee decided the law on using Covid-19 vaccine is harus ( permissible ) it is wajib ( mandatory ) to be taken by government-designated groups .
Although the vaccines we have today are not yet certified halal , are they scientifically halal ?
The forum brought in a panellist who is an expert in pig ’ s DNA studies for more than 10