Corona or COVID-19, by whatever name you may call it, has become one of the most serious issues of the present date. It has shaken the whole world and is continuing to do so to date. So, we, the Muslims, ought to know about it and take powerful preventive measures.
Coronavirus – Introduction
Corona viruses (CoV) are a large family of viruses that cause illness ranging from the common cold to more severe diseases such as the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS-CoV) and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS-CoV). A novel coronavirus (nCoV) is a new strain that has not been previously identified in humans.
COVID-19 is the infectious disease caused by the most recently discovered coronavirus. This new virus and disease were unknown before the outbreak began in Wuhan, China, in December 2019.
(According to WHO)
Present situation
In December 2019, a pneumonia outbreak was reported in Wuhan, China. On 31 December 2019, the outbreak was traced to a novel strain of coronavirus, which was given the interim name 2019-nCoV by the World Health Organization (WHO), later renamed SARS-CoV-2 by the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses. Some researchers have suggested that the Huanan Seafood Market may not be the original source of viral transmission to humans.
As of 16 March 2020, there have been at least 6,512 confirmed deaths and more than 169,316 confirmed cases in the coronavirus pneumonia pandemic. The Wuhan strain has been identified as a new strain of Betacoronavirus from group 2B with approximately 70% genetic similarity to the SARS-CoV. The virus has a 96% similarity to a bat coronavirus, so it is widely suspected to originate from bats as well.The pandemic has resulted in serious travel restrictions.
(Adapted from Wikipedia)
(Adapted from Wikipedia)
But I do not intend to make this post a document on Coronavirus, so I will leave the job to the links provided below:
1. Advice for Public
2. Q&A on Coronavirus
3. Myth Busters on Coronavirus
The clearest reference to the Coronavirus as it is a Plague can be found in the Hadith:
Sa’d reported: The Prophet (PBUH) said, “If you hear of a plague in a land, then do not go into it. If it happens in a land where you are, then do not go out of it.” (Sahih Bukhari: 5396, Sahih Muslim: 2218)
Take the following Hadiths as remedies or solutions for COVID-19 if you are a Muslim:
1. Allah's Apostle said, "Neither Messiah (Ad-Dajjal) nor plague will enter Medina."
2. Allah's Apostle said, "(Death from) plague is martyrdom for every Muslim."
3. The Prophet said, "He (a Muslim) who dies of an abdominal disease is a martyr and he who dies of plague is a martyr."
4. "Plague was a punishment which Allah used to send on whom He wished, but Allah made it a blessing for the believers. None (among the believers) remains patient in a land in which plague has broken out and considers that nothing will befall him except what Allah has ordained for him, but that Allah will grant him a reward similar to that of a martyr."
5. Umar bin Al-Khattab departed for Sham and when he reached Sargh, the commanders of the (Muslim) army, Abu 'Ubaida bin Al-Jarrah and his companions met him and told him that an epidemic had broken out in Sham. `Umar said, "Call for me the early emigrants." So `Umar called them, consulted them and informed them that an epidemic had broken out in Sham. Those people differed in their opinions. Some of them said, "We have come out for a purpose and we do not think that it is proper to give it up," while others said (to `Umar), "You have along with you. Other people and the companions of Allah's Apostle so do not advise that we take them to this epidemic." `Umar said to them, "Leave me now." Then he said, "Call the Ansar for me." I called them and he consulted them and they followed the way of the emigrants and differed as they did. He then said to them, Leave me now," and added, "Call for me the old people of Quraish who emigrated in the year of the Conquest of Mecca." I called them and they gave a unanimous opinion saying, "We advise that you should return with the people and do not take them to that (place) of an epidemic." So `Umar made an announcement, "I will ride back to Medina in the morning, so you should do the same." Abu 'Ubaida bin Al-Jarrah said (to `Umar), "Are you running away from what Allah had ordained?" `Umar said, "Would that someone else had said such a thing, O Abu 'Ubaida! Yes, we are running from what Allah had ordained to what Allah has ordained. Don't you agree that if you had camels that went down a valley having two places, one green and the other dry, you would graze them on the green one only if Allah had ordained that, and you would graze them on the dry one only if Allah had ordained that?" At that time `Abdur-Rahman Bin `Auf, who had been absent because of some job, came and said, "I have some knowledge about this. I have heard Allah's Apostle saying, 'If you hear about it (an outbreak of plague) in a land, do not go to it; but if plague breaks out in a country where you are staying, do not run away from it.' “`Umar thanked Allah and returned to Medina.
6 Remedies/Decisions for a Muslim or Non-Muslim:
a. Not to go to a land where the plague is prevailing.
b. Not to leave a land where plague is prevailing (with the purpose of fleeing).
c. Not to fear the plague but Allah.
d. Believe that the death from the plague gives martyrdom to the Muslims.
e. Plague or Dajjal can’t enter Madinah.
f. Plague is a blessing for the believers.
Along with these, we should understand the best prescription for the time:
Everything happening in the present world should not leave us with the confusion that Allah is planning something big. And that is surely annihilation of the Kuffars, sooner or later. So, our duty is to pray to the Almighty to protect us from all kinds of calamities and plagues and to engage ourselves in Ibadat.
Conclusion
No one can save you except Allah, it may be Corona or Sars or AIDS or Cancer, only Allah is our Saver. With that view in mind, we all should read aloud and with deep faith the following:
“Hasbunallahu Wa Ni’mal Wakeel, Ni’mal Maula Wa Ni’man Naseer!”
Jazakallahu Khairun. And Allah knows the best!
Jazakallahu Khairun. And Allah knows the best!
