Don’t make the permissible impermissible

7th of Ramadhan 1441 Hijriah (30th April 2020)

Because of the COVID-19 pandemic (a recurring topic in my current posts), my local government has  issued a large scale social distancing/restriction. Consequently, people are not allowed to gather in large numbers and freely go wherever they want. This includes restrictions in gathering for religious purposes, such as going to the mosques or churches. The purpose for this is to cut off the infection cycle of the COVID-19 virus and avoid a large scale infection.

Alas, in the case of religious gatherings, there are still many communities who are against this regulation and continue to gather and commune. This is also the case for many mosques in my city. One of the important religious duties for men in the Islamic tradition is the Friday prayer. And because of the large scale social restriction, the Friday prayer has been prohibited until the pandemic is under control. This is the result of a multi-stakeholder discussion which also includes prolific Islamic scholars. Thus, from an Islamic ruling point of view, there are scholars who support the idea of prohibiting Friday prayer during the current pandemic, because it is for the greater good and to protect human lives.

So in the case of Friday prayer in the pandemic for Muslims, there are two opinions, to refrain from the prayer, and to conduct the prayer despite the consequences. Unfortunately there are some people who are unable to compromise with the different opinions and condemn others who do not follow the opinion they are inclined to. Especially ones who hold the opinion that it is still obliged to conduct the Friday prayer. Saying that those who do not follow the opinion risk disbelief or hypocrisy. Making it unnecessarily strict for others who hold the other opinion.

In reality, the Islamic tradition has always been nuanced. Even the closest companions of the Prophet Muhammad (Peace and Blessings be upon him, PBUH) had different opinions about rulings, and still respected each others judgement. Understanding that the rulings in Islam are flexible and can have multiple interpretations. People who condemn other people for following rulings from legitimate scholars are making it strict for the Muslim community. And a similar kind of behavior is opposite of what has been instructed in the Quran, where God tells the believers to not prohibit things that have been made permissible, and those who have done so, have transgressed.

Nowadays, there is a thin line between the permissible and not. In these times of difficulty, we need more people, especially leaders in society with intellect, compassion, and level-headedness. People who do not rush to condemn other people for following or disobeying the opinions and regulations that have been set by the higher authorities. Self-righteousness, which in turn will make it constricted for other people, will only make the condition even worse. 

-Fendrri

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