Muhammad Muneeb Ahmad (25100067)

Aurangzeb Haneef

SS 101

October 29, 2021

Fatwa Analysis: Closure of Mosques due to Covid-19

Quran and Sunnah lay the foundation for Muslims' code of conduct, encompassing social

and personal aspects of their lives. Quran and Sunnah are considered Sharia (Divine Guidance),

laying a set of rules and guidelines to be followed by Muslims; however, they are sometimes

unclear or even silent on specific issues. This silence posed a challenge for the generations after

the Prophet(pbuh) as they had no one among them to act as a mediator/jurist and explain rulings

on new issues. It was now up to the jurists to find an answer from the two primary sources-Quran

and Sunnah. They employed various methodologies varying with each school of thought to give

a ruling following the teachings of the Quran and the Sunnah. Fiqh is a dynamic thing that

changes with respect to time and space. An example of this can be the ruling regarding the

permissibility of televisions, loudspeakers, and even surgeries. It is due to these reasons that fiqh

grows and sometimes often builds on previous rulings. With the spread of covid-19, a significant

issue that arose was the closure of mosques and their permissibility in Islam. To understand how

the muftis arrived at rulings, we will analyze the methodologies employed and the sources of

fiqh used.
 The following five fatwas are from jurists and councils all over the world. The first one

is the fatwa issued by the North American Council. The council used Hadith primarily as the

source of fiqh. Ijtihad was done on new issues while using the previously done ijma on a

particular case where the cause(illah) is the same. Ijma and qiyas were applied to Hadith while

keeping istislah and istihsan in mind to conclude that the closure of mosques is best for the

preservation and safety of human lives. The council employed qiyas on the following Hadith

[ Imam al Bukhari narrates: "Narrated Nafi`: Once in a cold night, Ibn `Umar pronounced the

Adhan for the prayer at Dajnan (the name of a mountain) and then said, "Pray at your homes,"

and informed us that Allah's Messenger (pbuh) used to tell the Mu'adh-dhin to pronounce Adhan

and say, "Pray at your homes" at the end of the Adhan on a rainy or a very cold night during the

journey." (Sahih al-Bukhari)] (quoted from north American fatwa) regarding the issue of missing

Friday prayer due to rain/mud and concluded that covid is a bigger hindrance/problem for the

community; hence the closure of mosques is permissible. Therefore, to ease and remove

discomfort for Muslims, the council concluded that the closure of mosques is permissible.

Secondly is the fatwa issued by UAE Council. They used both Quran and the Hadith as the

source of their fatwas. The sources were directly related to the disease's variables, and some

highlighted the obligation to obey the government. The fatwa also employed ijma and qiyas on

the ijtihad of historical religious figures like the case of Amr b. al-Aas in Caliph Umar's time

when he fled Emmaus when afflicted with and lived in the mountains until he got rid of the

plague. When news reached caliph Umar, he did not condemn this action. The fatwa stayed true

to the legal maxim of eliminating harm and employed istislah to conclude that human life is best

preserved with the closure of mosques. Thirdly is the fatwa of Abdullah b. Muhammad Al

Muhaysini used the Quran as the primary source for his fatwa. He employed ijtihad on Quranic
verses to conclude that the pandemic is tribulation and is due to our sins. He further used the

Hadith regarding removing people with foul odor from mosques and applied qiyas to relate it to

infected people showing signs of Covid-19. The fatwa also included customary Law as the

source in the form of Azaan. It cited that Azaan has been going on for centuries, and it should go

on. Here he made use of legal maxims "Certainty overrules doubt" and "custom as a basis for

judgment" to conclude that mosques should be opened, albeit those offering prayers should

follow preventive measures. Fourthly, the fatwa of the European council cited both Quran and

Hadith as its source. They applied qiyas on the Hadith while following the legal maxims

"Hardship begets facility," "Matters are determined based on intentions." They used the common

illah, which was minimizing/reducing discomfort and making ease, and applied it to today's

scenario. The council concluded that if rain and mud cause issues for the Muslims, then covid-19

poses a more significant problem, and hence the closure of mosques is permitted. Lastly, the

fatwa by Shia Grand-Ayatullah-Ali-al-Sistani used ijtihad and general reasoning to reach the

conclusion that the government's directives shall be followed whether it is complete closure or

opening of mosques. However, they are permitted to miss the prayers if individual fear for his

health. These were the five main fatwas regarding the closure of mosques in Covid-19.

Due to the preference of sources, methods the fatwas reached a different conclusion to

the issue. Some relied extensively upon Quran and Hadith, while others did not. The UAE and

the European council used different verses of the Quran to address multiple issues. For example,

the UAE council used a verse from the Quran, "You who believe, obey God and the Messenger,

and those in authority among you" (Qur'an 4:59) (quoted from UAE fatwa), to establish the

religious obligation and significance of obeying ruling authority's position and command. While

the European Council made use of the following verse" Anyone who, after accepting faith in
Allah, utters Unbelief, - except under compulsion, his heart remaining firm in Faith" (Trans.

16:106) to make a point that Islam allows Muslims to carry out such a grave deed if he fears for

his life than the act of closing the mosques for fear of human health is a relatively minor act. On

the other hand, the North American Fatwa and the fatwa by Grand-Ayatullah-Ali-al-Sistani did

not use qur'anic verses. The former case relied heavily on the Hadith, while the latter presented

his conclusion based on general reasoning. The reason for not using the Quran as a source for the

fatwa is because it is silent on the closure of mosques. There is no verse in the Quran that can be

applied in this context. Abdullah b. Muhammad Al Muhaysini used Qur'anic verse in a

completely different scenario from the rest of the fatwas. He used the following verse, "He has

not brought down a tribulation except through sin," to identify covid as God's tribulation due to

our sin, a point of view that is not discussed in the rest of the fatwas. Al Muhaysini used the third

source of fiqh that is customary Law, in the context that in every crisis, for example, lack of rain

or enemy having supremacy, we turn to prayer than it is not suitable that we close the house of

God in such crisis. Another notable thing is that the same Hadith can be interpreted differently

by different jurists/councils. For example, the jurists from UAE and North America employed

the Hadith regarding removing a person with garlic odor from the mosque, exercising qiyas on it

that a person causing inconvenience should not come to the mosque and related that with a

person having Covid to justify the closure of mosques. However, Abdullah b. Muhammad Al

Muhaysini used this exact Hadith and interpreted it as denying entry to those who have

symptoms of covid 19. Three Sunni councils have used another hadith referring to the isolation

of the infected person from the healthy except for Al Muhaysini. The crux of this Hadith was that

a person infected with the disease should be isolated from the remaining healthy community. The

Shia fatwa from Grand Ayatullah al-Sistani follows roughly along the same line; however, he
has not cited any Qur'anic verses or Hadith as his sources but rather used General Reasoning,

which is prevalent in the Shia sect. On the contrary, all four of the Sunni councils relied

extensively on sources of fiqh and employed several methodologies like ijma qiyas and ijtihad.

to reach their final decision. The North American Council employed ijtihad to conclude that it is

permissible to offer prayers at home since mosques are a hotbed of transmission due to it being a

closed space with many attendees sharing the same wuzu station, prayer mats, and it is

documented that covid-19 is a viral infectious disease that spreads in closed spaces. The UAE

council also exercised the ijtihad of Amr b. al-Aas, where he fled from Emmaus to the mountains

and spent the time till they got healthy. Using this event as an example, they ruled that since

caliph Umar did not condemn their actions, it was permissible to isolate at home and offer

prayers there. This is an example of taqlid (imitation of past). Both the European and the North

America council used the concession of avoiding Friday prayer due to rain and exercised ijtihad

to give the same ruling that there is no compulsion in religion and congregational prayers can be

missed due to certain circumstances, including fear of being harmed. Both the councils reached

the same endpoint that since praying in mosques during covid has the potential of harming and

putting an individual's life at risk; it is permissible to pray at home. The legal maxims of

eliminating harm were common throughout the three Sunni fatwas the three fatwas. However,

we can see that each fatwa also employed other maxims to reach their conclusions, as stated

above. Istilah public good was also preferred as it was the main reason behind preventing

congregational prayers as it would cause harm to the public. On the other hand, Al- Muhaysini

and Grand Ayatullah al-Sistani did not use ijma and qiyas; however, the latter used istihsan

preference for something better. Overall, we can see that muftis employed various methodologies
and sources, often relying more on a particular maxim/methodology than the others and

interpreting the same texts differently.

After reading and analyzing the fatwas how scholars develop a fatwa using

different sources and methodologies, similar work can be done on this issue.

The protection and sanctity of human life are stated through the Quran. "Do not kill each other,

for God is merciful to you" (Qur'an 4:29). {quoted from UAE fatwa}. In the following verse,

"Do not contribute to your destruction with your own hands" (Qur'an 2:195), minimizing harm

and protecting others is also highlighted. Since Islam stresses personal and communal well-

being, opening mosques in a pandemic like this puts a large section of believers at risk, including

those that offer prayers and their families and other people they might interact with. Secondly,

multiple Hadith speak about the measures that should be taken in case of a breakout for example,

On the authority of Usamah b. Zayd g, the Messenger of God s said, "If you hear of an epidemic

afflicting a land, do not enter it, and if it afflicts the land you are in, do not leave it" (Bukhari).

(quoted from UAE fatwa) . This Hadith sets the guidelines that should be followed when one

hears about a pandemic, and if we single out the illah behind the Hadith, it prevents the spread of

the epidemic. Going by that reason, we can rightfully argue that this Hadith can be low-scaled

and applied to mosques. Another prophetic transmission goes as follows "A man with sick

camels should not let them graze or drink alongside healthy ones." If this Hadith is valid for

animals, then it is by definition applicable to humans as well. Mosques act as a small community

center for Muslims. Each person has physical contact with the prayer mats/caps, which might

have been used by a person infected by covid-19.

In Hadith and the Quran, it is further stated that a person should follow his government's

directive because that is beneficial to the public. In many places in the Quran and Hadith, it is
repeatedly mentioned that there is no compulsion and that "We have made things easier for you."

These verses emphasize that religion allows us to make concessions if we fear for our security

and health.

It was narrated that Ibn ʿAbbās said to the caller of prayer on a very rainy day: 'When you say: I

bear witness that there is no God but Allah and I bear witness that Muhammad is the Messenger

of Allah, do not say 'come to prayer' but rather say 'pray in your houses.' Some people found that

strange, so he responded to them: 'Are you surprised by what I just said? A person better than me

did just that [referring to the Prophet]." (quoted from north American fatwa). This Hadith

permits Muslims to miss their Friday prayers in case of rain because the mud would

inconvenience them. If being inconvenienced by mud and rain constitutes a cause for praying at

home, then surely worrying for one's health and well-being in an epidemic constitutes a valid

cause as well.

Throughout the fatwa, legal maxims of eliminating harm, hardship begets facility, and the

matter is determined based on intentions are maintained. The fatwa was written keeping in mind

the methodology of istilah (public good). To conclude, it is the consensus of Muslim scholars

and jurists that prayers can be offered at home and that government's directive and healthcare

guidelines should be followed with due diligence and as a religious obligation.

Wallah hu Alam (And God knows best).

To conclude, jurisprudence is a complex field that requires one to have mastery over the

sources of fiqh-Quran and Sunnah and have the ability to exercise ijtihad, ijma, qiyas whatever

he deems necessary while keeping in mind the legal maxims defined by the school of thought

and the principles of istilah and istihsan. It also requires that the jurist be well aware of the issues

of the current time and at least has a little technical knowledge about the subject of the fatwa.
 WORKS CITED

 web.colby.edu