Series of Answers by the Eminent Scholar Ata Bin Khalil Abu al-Rashtah, Ameer of Hizb ut-Tahrir, to Questions from Visitors to his Facebook Page "Fiqhi"
To Umm Bilal
Question:
Assalamu Alaikum Wa Rahmatullahi Wa Barakatuh...
May Allah bless you, our Ameer, and grant you victory and support you with a clear conquest and a Khilafah (Caliphate) on the Method of Prophethood, by which the hearts of a believing people are healed...
My question is regarding the new vaccine that countries have started giving to people against the COVID-19 disease... We see a lot of fear among people about taking this vaccine in light of the many rumors spread through social media about the danger of this vaccine, and that it is a global capitalist conspiracy against the people... We know that healing is in the hand of Allah alone, and that for every term there is a decree. As carriers of the Da’wah, we ask about the reality of this vaccine, and is it a Sharia obligation to receive it in light of the spread of this pandemic?
May Allah bless you.
Answer:
Wa Alaikum Assalam Wa Rahmatullahi Wa Barakatuh,
As you know, we have previously issued answers to questions regarding Tadawi (seeking medical treatment), in which we said:
- If the medicine contains harm, it is prohibited (Haram) according to the Hadith:
"There should be neither harming nor reciprocating harm."
If the medicine does not contain harm but includes prohibited (Haram) or impure (Najas) materials, its ruling is Makruh (disliked). This means it is not Haram, but rather it is permissible to use with dislike if the patient cannot find a permissible medicine...
If the medicine does not contain harm and does not include prohibited or impure materials, then it is Mandub (recommended)...
I will excerpt for you what is necessary from these answers:
[...First: An answer to a question on 26/01/2011 regarding benefiting from the prohibited and the impure and seeking treatment with them, which stated:
(...3- Seeking medical treatment is an exception to the prohibition; therefore, seeking treatment with prohibited or impure substances is not Haram:
- As for seeking treatment with prohibited substances not being Haram, it is due to the Hadith of Muslim on the authority of Anas:
"The Messenger of Allah ﷺ granted a concession, or a concession was granted, to az-Zubair bin al-Awwam and ‘Abd al-Rahman bin ‘Awf to wear silk because of an itch they had."
Wearing silk for men is Haram, but it was permitted for medical treatment...
- As for seeking treatment with impure substances not being Haram, it is due to the Hadith of Bukhari on the authority of Anas (ra):
"Some people fell ill in Medina, so the Prophet ﷺ ordered them to join his shepherd—meaning the camels—and drink their milk and urine. So they joined the shepherd and drank their milk and urine..."
The meaning of ajtawoo is that its food did not agree with them, so they became ill, and the Messenger ﷺ permitted them to use "urine" for treatment, which is Najas (impure)...] End.
Second: It was stated in an answer to a question on 19/09/2013:
[...And the answer is that the use of Khamr (wine/alcohol) in medicine, as well as medicine that contains alcohol... its ruling is permissibility with dislike (Makruh), and the evidence for that is:
Ibn Majah narrated by way of Tariq bin Suwaid al-Hadrami who said:
"I said: O Messenger of Allah, in our land there are grapes which we squeeze and drink from. He said: No. I went back to him and said: We use it as medicine for the sick. He said: It is not a cure, but rather a disease."
This is a prohibition against using the impure or prohibited (Khamr) as medicine. However, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ permitted seeking treatment with the impure (camel urine). Bukhari narrated by way of Anas (ra):
"Some people from Uraynah found the climate of Medina unsuitable, so the Messenger of Allah ﷺ allowed them to go to the camels of Sadaqah and drink their milk and urine..."
ajtawoo al-Madinah means its atmosphere did not suit them and they became ill, so the Messenger ﷺ allowed them to seek treatment with camel urine, which is Najas. Similarly, the Messenger ﷺ allowed seeking treatment with the prohibited (wearing silk). At-Tirmidhi and Ahmad narrated, and the wording is for at-Tirmidhi, by way of Anas:
"Abd al-Rahman bin ‘Awf and al-Zubair bin al-Awwam complained of lice to the Prophet ﷺ during one of their battles, so he granted them a concession to wear silk shirts. He (the narrator) said: I saw them wearing them."
These two Hadiths are an indicator (qarinah) that the prohibition in the Hadith of Ibn Majah is not decisive, meaning that seeking treatment with the impure and prohibited is Makruh (disliked).]
Third: An answer to a question on 18/11/2013 regarding vaccination and its ruling stated:
[Vaccination is a medicine, and Tadawi (seeking treatment) is Mandub (recommended) and not an obligation (Fard), and the evidence for that is:
1- Bukhari narrated by way of Abu Hurairah that he said: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
"Allah has not sent down any disease unless He also sent down its cure."
Muslim narrated from Jabir bin Abdullah from the Prophet ﷺ that he said:
"For every disease there is a remedy; when the remedy for the disease is applied, the patient recovers by Allah's permission, the Mighty and Sublime."
Ahmad narrated in his Musnad from Abdullah bin Mas'ud:
"Allah has not sent down any disease but He has sent down a cure for it; those who know it, know it, and those who do not know it, do not know it."
These Hadiths contain guidance that for every disease there is a medicine that cures it, in order to encourage the pursuit of medical treatment which leads to the cure of the disease by the permission of Allah (swt); and this is guidance and not an obligation.
2- Ahmad narrated from Anas who said: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
"Indeed, when Allah created the disease, He created the cure, so seek medical treatment."
Abu Dawood narrated from Usamah bin Sharik who said: I came to the Prophet ﷺ and his companions as if there were birds on their heads. I greeted them and sat down. Then some desert Arabs came from here and there and said: O Messenger of Allah, should we seek medical treatment? He said:
"Seek medical treatment, for Allah, the Mighty and Sublime, has not made any disease without making a remedy for it, except for one disease, which is old age," meaning "except death."
In the first Hadith, there is a command to seek treatment, and in this Hadith, there is an answer to the desert Arabs to seek treatment, and an address to the servants to seek treatment, for Allah has not made a disease except that He has made a cure for it. The address in both Hadiths came in the form of a command (Amr), and the command indicates a general request and does not indicate an obligation unless it is a decisive command (Amr Jazim). Decisiveness requires an indicator (qarinah) that points to it, and there is no indicator in either Hadith that points to obligation. Additionally, there are Hadiths that indicate the permissibility of leaving medical treatment, which negates the indication of obligation from these two Hadiths. Muslim narrated from Imran bin Husayn that the Prophet ﷺ said:
"Seventy thousand people of my Ummah will enter Paradise without account."
They said: Who are they, O Messenger of Allah? He said:
"They are those who do not use cauterization, nor seek Ruqyah (incantation), and they put their trust in their Lord."
Ruqyah and cauterization are forms of medical treatment. Bukhari narrated from Ibn Abbas who said: ...This black woman came to the Prophet ﷺ and said: I suffer from epilepsy and I become uncovered, so supplicate to Allah for me. He said:
"If you wish, be patient and you will have Paradise; and if you wish, I will supplicate to Allah to heal you."
She said: I will be patient. Then she said: I become uncovered, so supplicate to Allah for me that I do not become uncovered.
"So he supplicated for her..."
These two Hadiths indicate the permissibility of leaving medical treatment.
All of this indicates that the command mentioned "so seek medical treatment" and "seek medical treatment" is not for obligation. Therefore, the command here is either for permissibility (Ibahah) or for recommendation (Nadb). Due to the intensity of the Messenger's ﷺ encouragement for medical treatment, the command to seek treatment mentioned in the Hadiths is for Nadb.
Accordingly, the ruling on vaccination is Nadb, because vaccination is a medicine, and medical treatment is Mandub. However, if it is proven that a specific type of vaccine is harmful, such as its materials being spoiled or harmful for some reason... then vaccination with these materials in this case would be Haram according to the rule of harm from the Hadith of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ which Ahmad narrated in his Musnad from Ibn Abbas, who said: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
"There should be neither harming nor reciprocating harm."
However, these are rare cases...
As for the Khilafah State, there will be vaccination against diseases that require it, such as infectious diseases and the like, and the medicine will be pure from every blemish and clear. And Allah (swt) is the Healer:
"And when I am ill, it is He who cures me." (Ash-Shu'ara [26]: 80)
It is known in Sharia that healthcare is one of the obligations upon the Khaleefa as part of the duty of looking after the affairs, acting upon the saying of the Messenger ﷺ:
"The Imam is a shepherd and is responsible for his flock." (Narrated by Bukhari from Abdullah bin Umar).
This is a general text regarding the state's responsibility for health and medical treatment because they fall under the care that is mandatory upon the state.
There are specific evidences regarding health and medical treatment:
Muslim narrated by way of Jabir who said:
"The Messenger of Allah ﷺ sent a doctor to Ubayy bin Ka'b, who cut a vein and then cauterized it."
Al-Hakim narrated in al-Mustadrak from Zaid bin Aslam from his father who said:
"I became very ill during the time of Umar bin al-Khattab, so Umar called a doctor for me who put me on such a strict diet that I would suck on a date stone because of the intensity of the diet."] End of what is quoted from the answers.
Summary:
1- The ruling on vaccination is Nadb, meaning it is recommended and not an obligation (Fard).
2- If it contains harmful components, it is prohibited (Haram).
3- If it does not contain harm but includes impure or prohibited materials, it is permissible with dislike, meaning it is Makruh and not Haram.
4- Accordingly, the sick Muslim first looks for permissible medicine, and if they cannot find any, it is permissible for them to use Makruh medicine.
5- Therefore, the answer to your question, according to what is explained above, is as follows:
Vaccination with vaccines containing prohibited or impure materials is permissible with dislike because vaccination falls under the chapter of Tadawi (seeking medical treatment), and seeking treatment with the prohibited and impure—as shown above—is permissible with dislike... unless it is clear that there is harm in it, in which case it is not permissible.
Until now, I have not reached a definitive opinion regarding the harm and injury from this medicine. Therefore, I leave the matter to the brothers and sisters according to what they feel assured of regarding its safety in light of what is mentioned above. We ask Allah (swt) to protect us and all Muslims from every disease; indeed, He is All-Hearing, All-Responsive.
Wassalamu Alaikum Wa Rahmatullahi Wa Barakatuh.
Your brother, Ata bin Khalil Abu al-Rashtah
09 Jumada al-Akhirah 1442 AH Corresponding to 22/01/2021 CE
Link to the answer from the Ameer's (may Allah protect him) Facebook page Link to the answer from the Ameer's (may Allah protect him) website