By the leading authority among the senior scholars of Saudi Arabia: The Mufti, Shaykh ‘Abdul-‘Azeez Aal ash-Shaykh (may Allah preserve him)

All praise is due to Allah, the Lord of all things. May Allah raise the rank of and grant peace to our Prophet Muhammad, and likewise all of his family and companions. As for what follows:

The Muslim continues to worship and perform good deeds which benefit himself, his family, and his Ummah. By way of that, he becomes capable of caring for the entire world. Indeed the Prophet (may Allah raise his rank and grant him peace) praised the strong believer, saying:

(( الـمُؤْمِنُ القَوِيُّ خَيْرٌ وَأَحَبُّ إِلَـى اللهِ مِنَ الـمُؤْمِنِ الضَّعِيفِ وَفِـي كُلٍّ خَيْرٌ ))
“The strong believer is better and more beloved to Allah than the weak believer, while there is good in both.” [1]

The Messenger of Allah (may Allah raise his rank and grant him peace) meant by this: One who is strong in his eemaan (faith) in Allah, the Exalted, and in his creed, his soul, and his physical body.

So good health is a tremendous blessing, and the Prophet (may Allah raise his rank and grant him peace) stressed its importance, saying:

(( نِعْمَتَانِ مَغْبُونٌ فِيهِمَا كَثِيْـرٌ مِنَ النَّاسِ: الصِّحَّةُ وَالفَرَاغُ ))
“Two blessings are neglected by many of the people: good health and free time.” [2]

So the body’s good health is a great blessing not fully understood except by those who have lost it. Thus, it is imperative that a person be keen to preserve his health and stay away from whatever would corrupt or harm it from diseases, contagions, and symptoms.

Islaam has instituted a number of preventative measures to preserve good physical health and to protect a person from getting ill. It requires purification of the body and limbs, and it has made this half of faith. He (may Allah raise his rank and grant him peace) said:

(( الطُّهُورُ شَطْرُ الإِيْـمَانِ ))
“Purification is half of faith.” [3]

Islam commands people to purify themselves for prayer and other things, and it forbids a Muslim from subjecting himself to anything that could harm or kill him. Allah, the Most High, says:

( وَلَا تُلْقُوا بِأَيدِيكُمْ إِلَى التَّهْلُكَةِ )
“And do not throw yourselves into destruction
at your own hands.” [4]

Islam emphasizes all measures which prevent diseases before infection and from passing that on to others [after infections occur]. From those diseases which have spread among the masses these days is Coronavirus, which is a highly contagious disease which spreads quickly between people who come together when they do not follow safety measures and preventive protocols.

The [Saudi] government –may Allah give them success- has exerted great efforts to prevent the spread of this disease and this contagion among the people, and to counter the spread of this contagion with every possible means. From that is what has been undertaken by the Health Ministry and other appointed government agencies of announcing a series of safety protocols, like wearing a mask, maintaining distance between people, and restricting large gatherings of people in one place, among other safety and precautionary directives. These blessed efforts have yielded good results in preventing the spread of the contagion, in getting control of it, and in keeping the numbers of infections low. However, it has been noticed these days that some people are being negligent in maintaining these safety protocols and precautionary directives, which has led to a noticeable increase in the number of daily infections. This is something which puts additional strain on the health care system in the Kingdom and elsewhere, causing problems and crises within the official care institutions and among the people at large. As a result, we stress the importance of abiding by the safety protocols and precautionary directives which have been set by the government through its Ministry of Health, to preserve the safety of the people of the society, one and all.

So we advise everyone with the following directives, in order to ensure safety:

• Continuing to wear masks when going out and when mixing with others.
• Continuing to maintain physical distance in places where people mix.
• Continuing to quarantine, for those infected, or those who have mixed with those infected with this disease. It is not permissible for such people to go out and mix with others, as this leads to them becoming infected with this virus. If anyone intentionally does that, he bears a great burden of sin, because in doing so he harms others and leads to them becoming infected with a dangerous disease. Moreover, this could even lead to the loss of innocent lives or subjecting them to dangerous symptoms and complications.
• Avoiding many gatherings, crowds, and social events. When there is a need for that, it is imperative to stick to the principles of social interaction and to observe the limits on the numbers of attendees permitted by governmental policy.
• Continuing to quarantine, for those arriving from outside the Kingdom, and to not go out until the amount of time set by the relative authorities has elapsed.

By observing these precautionary measures, by Allah’s Permission, we will preserve the safety of all people in the society, keep them from the danger of becoming infected with this dangerous contagion, and prevent its further spread.

The increasing and multiplying numbers of infections with this disease that we witness today in a number of countries is due to the laxness and even total neglect of abiding by the safety protocols and preventative directives among the people in general.

Thus, we advise our brothers not to be lax in this matter, and that they take precautions and abide by what comes from the official authorities of posted guidelines, procedures, and preventative directives related to this affair.

May Allah grant us all success in attaining what He loves and is pleased with, and may Allah raise the rank of and grant peace to our Prophet, Muhammad.

Source: Arabic original (PDF), as shared on the Twitter account of KSA’s Head Office for Research and Fatwaa on the 10th of Ramadhaan, 1442 (Thursday, April 22, 2021).

Translation: Moosaa Richardson

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FOOTNOTES (by the translator):

[1] Collected by Muslim (2664) from the report of Aboo Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him).

[2] Collected by al-Bukhaaree (6412) from the report of Ibn ‘Abbaas (may Allah be pleased with him).

[3] Collected by Muslim (223) from the report of Aboo Maalik al-Ash’aree (may Allah be pleased with him).

[4] Soorah al-Baqarah (2:195) and a translation of its meaning.