Dealing with Coronavirus Community, Jumu ah, and Spirituality - Corrected Khutba

Dealing with Coronavirus: Community, Jumu'ah, and Spirituality

Speaker: Abdul Nasir Jangda

Opening

"In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful."

"Assalamualaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuhu, this is Abdul Nasser Janga coming to you on behalf of Qalam. With the current situation in regards to the coronavirus, COVID-19, there's a lot of different questions, there's a lot of concern that is circulating within the community. I wanted to take just a brief moment here today and ask for some of your time to discuss some of the questions and concerns that many people in the community have expressed."

Our Faith and Trust in Allah

First and foremost, it is important to remember and understand our perspective and proper belief in Allah. There's a lot of confusion within the community at this time about tragedy and why this would happen and how could God let this happen. We need to remember our faith and belief in Allah and understanding that everything that occurs happens by the will of Allah. And we put our faith and our trust in Allah, knowing that ultimately what is best for us is exactly what Allah has decreed. And so faith and trust is very important. And oftentimes, the crisis that people experience is experienced due to spiritual destabilization.

And that's exactly why whenever the Prophet (صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّم - sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) dealt with any kind of an overwhelming situation and circumstance, he at once immediately resorted and went to the prayer. So that's why it's so important to remember to pray at these times and turn to Allah and connect with Allah and that inshallah will provide a lot of spiritual strength and fortification during difficult times.

Understanding Disease in Islamic Perspective

The second thing that I wanted to talk about and kind of get into right here is a technical issue of a very technical nature. And that is the question about congregations, going to the masjid, public activities, and even Salatul Jumu'ah. People are inquiring. I have been inundated with messages and phone calls trying to figure out what to do about these kinds of scenarios.

First and foremost, what we need to understand is disease is a very real thing. It is not a made up thing. It is not in people's heads. And it is in no way, shape or form part of our spiritual framework to dismiss these things as paranoia. The Prophet of Allah (صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّم - sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) acknowledged that disease is a very real thing. And that's why he said even somebody who dies due to some kind of plague that has afflicted an area, then those people are shaheed, they are shuhada.

The Prophet (صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّم - sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) talked about the benefits of sickness and illness and taught us du'as and supplications to help us remedy our sickness and illness. And He commanded the companions to seek remedy whenever they became ill. So sickness is a very real thing and we need to acknowledge it as such.

Religious Protocols for Disease Prevention

Number two, there are certain protocols that are in place not only from a medical, health, scientific point of view, but also from a religious point of view.

The Prophet (صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّم - sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) talked about the fact that if there is an outbreak of illness in a particular area and it is highly contagious, then people that are in that area, that they should not run from it. They should not leave that area. And people that are outside of that area should not go into that particular area where there is an outbreak and it is highly contagious. Unless and until of course they are going in for the purposes of remedying the illness. Other than that, common folk should abstain from doing so.

And so it is very important to remember that there are precautions that our religion teaches us.

The Prophet (صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّم - sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) says that a sick person should not impose themselves upon people who are not sick. And so therefore it is wise to abstain from attending public gatherings that number one are optional within our religion.

Optional vs Mandatory Religious Gatherings

They are not mandatory. A halaqa is not mandatory in our religion. It is optional. Yes, it's very beneficial. You learn a lot. You benefit, but it is not mandatory. And so it would be wise in these kinds of times to stay away from such kind of public gatherings, especially when we have these kinds of vehicles and avenues of continuing to learn online through recordings and things of that nature. So we should abstain from such places.

When it comes to the second issue, and that is of attending congregational prayer within the masjid, within the mosque, once again, praying five times a day is mandatory. Going to the masjid and attending it there as a jama'a, that is something that is not mandatory upon each and every single individual. Some scholars have stated that it is a communal obligation that someone needs to be doing it, and that can be discussed amongst the leadership of the community. But for the general public in the community, you can know being at home that it is not mandatory on you to go to the masjid for Fajr, Dhuhr, Asr, Maghrib and Isha. You must pray at home, should pray at home, please pray at home. But by no means is it mandatory for you to go for that prayer in the masjid.

Friday Prayer (Jumu'ah) Requirements

The third issue now is about Salat al-Jumu'ah, the Friday congregational prayer. Now, first and foremost, let's create a little bit of clarity. Friday prayer, attending the Friday prayer in the masjid is not mandatory upon everyone. For instance, it is not mandatory upon people who live outside of the city in the countryside. They live like on a huge farm by themselves, nowhere near civilization. It's not mandatory on people like that. It is not mandatory upon women and children. Attending the Jumu'ah prayer is definitely not mandatory upon sick people, people who are ill and physically not well. And this would qualify. So what that tells us is that Jumu'ah is only mandatory upon adult males who live in the community. Those are the only people that Jumu'ah is mandatory for. Everyone else is allowed to pray Salat al-Dhuhr.

Number two, what is exactly the definition of Jumu'ah? The definition of Jumu'ah is that there needs to be some kind of praise and glorification of Allah.

"(Quran 62:9). It does not have to be a 30 minute long sermon. It does not have to be a long, you know, lecture that goes into detail about a lot of things."

It can be a very short mention of the praise and the glorification of Allah. Some other scholars have listed specific points. Suffice it to say, even with the most detailed outline, that it needs to have the proclamation of faith, sending salutations upon the Prophet (صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّم - sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) the praise and the glorification of God, reciting a verse of the Qur'an, mentioning something from the prophetic guidance, and then concluding with a du'a, all of that could still be done within two minutes at the most.

So that is the minimal requirement of the Friday khutbah, and then two rak'ahs are prayed in congregation. So that is the minimum of what is required in terms of Salat al-Jumu'ah.

Considerations for Jumu'ah During the Pandemic

Now, the question is being brought up, is it wise to have these gatherings when this situation is going on? So there's a few things we need to take into consideration. I know that many respected scholars have shared some commentary, and what I'm going to say now in no way, shape, or form is to compliment or refute what anybody else has said. I am simply here sharing my own thoughts, my own research, my own reading, and that and the consultation that I've conducted with my fellow team members and scholars and faculty here at Qalam.

So first of all, what we need to take a look at is that we do know for a fact from the hadith of the Prophet (صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّم - sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) that someone who is sick does not have to come to Salat al-Jumu'ah. Part of the problem is the unknown with this particular virus. Many people who are sick might not even know that they are sick. And while it might not be having a very traumatic effect upon them, that does not mean that they could not transmit it to someone else who could be very severely affected by it. Or then they could transmit it, take it home to an elderly parent or grandparent who could be very severely affected by it. So there is this unknown element and factor that when we say sick people don't need to come, we're not even really sure who's sick or not. So there is this unknown element that does exist that I do feel warrants some level of precaution and maybe pushing the envelope a little bit.

Precedents for Excusal from Jumu'ah

Number two, the second thing that we also have to take into consideration is that there is a precedent within our religion that when there is the element of fear for one's well-being, for one's personal property, that one could be excused from the Jumu'ah prayer. So once again, fear for one's well-being and health and safety or the health and safety of one's family. While I might not be immunocompromised, I might have a family member at home who would be described as such, who is more susceptible, an elderly parent or someone of that nature.

So the element of fear can also excuse someone from even the obligation of Salatul Jumu'ah. We do have a precedent for that in many of our books of fiqh, Ibn Abideen and many others have written about this.

Principle of Removing Harm

Number three is that what we also have to take into consideration is that there is a general recommendation within our Shari'ah, within the sacred source of Islam, the Qur'an and the Sunnah of the Prophet (صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّم - sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) about removing harm and avoiding harm within the community.

Allah in the Qur'an tells us, Hardship and unnecessary hardship was not created, was not placed within our religion. The Prophet (صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّم - sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) taught us about (لا ضرر ولا ضرار - la dharar wa la dhirar) (Hadith: Ibn Majah 2341) - no harm, no reciprocating of any harm. And there's many, many other evidences that we can go through that does illustrate the idea that we do prioritize minimizing harm within the community from a religious point of view in Islam.

The Quranic Mandate for Jumu'ah

The last thing I want to mention, however, at the same time, is that there's still a level of precaution when we talk about, quote unquote, cancelling Salatul Jumu'ah. And the reason for that is the mandate of there being a Jumu'ah congregation within the community is something that comes from the Qur'an itself. God Himself, Allah Himself has mandated this.

"(Quran 62:9) That when the call is made, O you who believe, when the call is made for prayer on the day of Friday, then hasten to the remembrance of Allah and abandon all business and trade. So this is a mandate that exists within the Qur'an itself. And the Prophet (صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّم - sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) has reiterated this in numerous authentic narrations."

So this is what we typically call a very, very conclusive issue that Jumu'ah must be established in the community, what we call Qata'i. And in order to override something that is so conclusive, you need equally, if not even greater conclusive proof. You need some very, very strong proof or you need some very strong factors to override something like this.

Practical Recommendations

Like for instance, if there was an absolute shutdown of anyone going out in public, a martial law, complete quarantine of the population. Now that becomes a very serious concern and something that is strong enough to be able to override this absolute command, conclusive command that we have within the Shari'ah. However, the situation we deal with right now, I personally, and this is not to address anyone else's opinion, I respect everyone's opinion.

I personally would not say that we should cancel Jumu'ah in terms of there will be no Jumu'ah conducted. There could be, once again, a very select group of people. This could be the responsibility of the leadership of the community who are going to get together with a lot of precaution taken and perform a Jumu'ah that will absolve the entire community of that communal obligation.

But as far as individuals are concerned, I do think that it is OK for people to choose to not to go to the Jumu'ah prayer while we are dealing with this circumstance. That is something that I feel comfortable communicating to people, that if you do not feel comfortable, you do not feel safe attending the Jumu'ah prayer, then you may excuse yourself and pray Salat al-Dhuhr at home. And insha'Allah, bismillah, we pray to Allah that we'll be excused in the eyes of God.

But I personally just will not say that completely Jumu'ah would be decommissioned or deregulated, because I think that would require a more drastic measure, something coming down from like a governmental policy, completely prohibiting and restricting movement or gathering of any kind. Then in that scenario, of course, Jumu'ah would not be conducted at all.

Health and Safety Precautions

The third thing is that I wanted to also advise everyone, I am not a health expert or medical professional, but please, please follow all the recommendations and advice that we are getting from medical and health professionals about cleanliness, about caution.

Many people are asking the questions. Of course, we don't need to Islamically explain that it is good to wash your hands and to practice good safety and health and sanitation. That should be fairly obvious to people.

But along with that, there's some questions I've also gotten about, well, isn't it sunnah to shake hands? What am I supposed to do, not shake my brother's hand? Once again, understand that there is actually evidence for this. At the time of the Prophet (صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّم - sallallahu alayhi wa sallam), there was a man who was afflicted with

leprosy, who came to Medina to give the oath of allegiance and the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) excused him from coming and giving the oath of allegiance. And he said, we have acknowledged your allegiance and took that kind of precaution.

Now, that person was a Muslim, a companion of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم), but the Prophet صلی الله عليه وسلم practiced that kind of precaution. The Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) has taught us فِرٌ مِنَ الْمَجْذُومِ كَمَا تَفِرُّ مِنَ الْأَسَدِ Bukhari hadith 5707) - that run from somebody afflicted with leprosy or something equally dangerous and contagious as you would run from a lion, like a wild animal that could harm you. So people should not become hyper emotional and people should not talk about matters that they do not have proper knowledge in regards to.

Two Approaches to Dealing with Crises

There is absolutely an understanding and mechanism built into our religion that addresses these kinds of situations, whereas optional interactions like hugging and shaking hands and things of that nature, we are absolutely allowed to abstain from these kinds of things in the situation that we are in right now.

The next item I wanted to address is that it is very, very important that there are two means or two types of means, two ways that we go about addressing any and all situations that we deal with. The first way that we deal with anything that we are afflicted with, anytime we come across any situation, the first way that we deal with that situation is by turning to Allah, by connecting to Allah, praying to Allah, asking Allah for his protection, for his help, for health, for mercy, for guidance, for benevolence.

Spiritual Remedies and Practices

We always turn to Allah first and it's very important to remember to do so in this situation. We might not be able to go to congregational prayers on a daily basis to the masjid, but make sure you are praying five times a day and you are not missing your salah. Try to start now that we are home a lot more. Try to start adding on sunnah, nawafil, optional, voluntary units of prayer to every obligatory prayer that we are offering.

Number two, recite Qur'an. The book of Allah is a profound remedy.

Commit yourself to the Qur'an at this time. Read the Qur'an, listen to the Qur'an together as a family, read the translation of the Qur'an, learn the meaning of the Qur'an. We have some humble resources at Qalam. If you go to the Qalam podcast, there are recordings there of the tafsir of the Qur'an by myself, Mufti Kamani, Ustad Abdul Rahman Murphy and many, many others. But spend as much time learning, reading, reciting, understanding the Qur'an as you can. The Qur'an is a very powerful remedy.

Prophetic Supplications

Number three, dua, pray and supplicate to Allah. There are many beautiful supplications taught to us in the Qur'an. Allah tells us that when the Prophet Yunus (alayhi salam) was overwhelmed in a situation, he turned to Allah.

That oh Allah, there's absolutely positively no one worthy of worship except for you. And you are absolutely perfect. Oh Allah, and I indeed have done wrong.

So these kinds of supplications, this teaches us to repent. Ask Allah for forgiveness of our sins. There are many beautiful duas of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم)

(Abu Dawud hadith 5088)

That oh Allah, with the name of God, nothing can harm us within the heavens and the earth. The Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) taught us to seek refuge from these kinds of diseases and illnesses.

(Abu Dawud hadith 1554)

The Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) taught us to constantly seek protection from Allah.

(Ibn Majah hadith 3851)

So there are many, many prophetic supplications as well for praying to Allah for well-being and safety and health. Please commit yourself to these kinds of supplications. Scholars also recommend that during these tragic times giving sadaqah, charity, is also a very powerful means of attracting the mercy of Allah.

Family Time and Learning

So do so. And something else that I'll personally mention is if people are going to be home from school and work a whole lot more it's also easy to waste a lot of time. Rather than putting in more time into watching TV or videos or movies or playing video games or wasting time with these kinds of things commit more time to spending time together as a family.

Pray together as a family, read together as a family, make dua together as a family, bond with each other as families and learn knowledge. This is an ideal time to educate yourself and learn knowledge. Once again, there are tons of resources I can just simply mention what I am familiar with. If you go to the Qalam podcast, you go to the Qalam website there are a lot of beneficial resources there that we are making an effort to make available to the community. So please utilize your time more wisely and educate yourself about your deen and your religion.

Avoiding Speculation About Divine Wisdom

Lastly and finally, it is very important to remember that not to delve into areas that we have no knowledge of. There's a lot of discussion online as this is a punishment from God for these people for doing that or this or that. Remember something very important. Whatever happens, there's the only one who can tell us about the intent of God and anything that happens in this world is God himself. Only Allah can tell us why he did what he did and that ended with the departure of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) from this world. No more divine revelation is coming. So anything that transpires no one has any ability to absolutely with certainty state that this is what this is, that this is a punishment or it's this or it's that.

Remember it's going to be different things for different people. For some it could be a punishment, for some it might be a test and for some it will be a profound mercy and a cleansing of their sins. That all will only be known in the life of the hereafter and on the day of judgment.

So stay out of areas that do not concern us. Commit yourself to the good that you can do and that you can engage in and lastly and finally, I wanted to just give a little bit of an update in terms of Qalam because I feel that that is a responsible thing to do and hopefully this can set an example for other local communities and organizations as well.

Qalam's Response to the Situation

At Qalam we are taking the health and the well-being of our students, our communities that we work with very very seriously. So at Qalam we have currently suspended any and all public activities. Our instructors who visit different communities are not going to be doing so unless or until the situation changes. Any seminars, intensives, retreats, that were going to be going on soon are being postponed until the situation changes.

Even at the Qalam Seminary where we have over a hundred students studying full-time, we are moving, we currently were on the spring break and when classes resume next week, we are moving all of our studies online. No students will be coming into the classrooms, no students will physically be coming onto campus. All of our studies will be conducted online remotely and so these are some of the precautions that we're taking and we advise you to take similar precautions.

Closing

May Allah protect everyone, may Allah preserve everyone and their families, anyone who is afflicted and who is sick, may Allah grant them shifa and healing.