(Series of Answers by the Scholar Ata bin Khalil Abu al-Rashtah, Ameer of Hizb ut-Tahrir, to the Questions of the Followers of His Facebook Page)
To: Sadiq Ali
Question:
Assalamu Alaikum Wa Rahmatullah Wa Barakatuh,
Your sister in the Aqeedah – from the city of Jozieva – I address the noble scholar Ata bin Khalil Abu al-Rashtah, Ameer of Hizb ut-Tahrir, may Allah protect and preserve him, with the following:
I am Chechen, living in Belgium for 14 years, where the Chechen community is large. Recently, there has been much talk and many questions regarding the vaccination of children in Islam, i.e., vaccination against measles, polio, hepatitis, mumps, tuberculosis, and other types of vaccinations. A massive trend against vaccination and vaccines is observed. Proponents of this trend justify it by the complications that occur due to vaccination, which they claim are steadily increasing, and that this is a harm to which our healthy children should not be exposed. They also argue that medical treatment is not an obligation, so what about prevention? It is undoubtedly of a lower priority. They continue by saying: vaccination means transferring microbes into the child's body, which is prohibited, and that vaccines are taken from animals, such as monkeys. This is the end of their words.
The question is: What is the reality of vaccination, and what is the Sharia ruling on it? Will vaccinations of all kinds exist in the Khilafah State? Note that half of the Muslim community here do not vaccinate their children, and their numbers are increasing. A clear and strong Sharia ruling has become inevitable. We ask you to elaborate and clarify as much as you can, and may Allah reward you on our behalf and on behalf of the Muslims with the best of rewards.
Wassalamu Alaikum Wa Rahmatullah Wa Barakatuh.
Answer:
(Walaikum Assalam Wa Rahmatullah Wa Barakatuh)
Vaccination is a medicine, and seeking medical treatment (tadawi) is mandub (recommended) and not a fard (obligation). The evidence for this is:
1- Al-Bukhari narrated via Abu Hurairah that the Messenger of Allah (saw) said:
مَا أَنْزَلَ اللَّهُ دَاءً إِلَّا أَنْزَلَ لَهُ شِفَاءً
"Allah has not sent down any disease but He has also sent down a cure for it." (Sahih Bukhari)
Muslim narrated from Jabir bin Abdullah that the Prophet (saw) said:
لِكُلِّ دَاءٍ دَوَاءٌ، فَإِذَا أُصِيبَ دَوَاءُ الدَّاءِ بَرَأَ بِإِذْنِ اللهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ
"For every disease there is a remedy; when the remedy for the disease is applied, the patient recovers by the permission of Allah, the Mighty and Majestic." (Sahih Muslim)
Ahmad narrated in his Musnad from Abdullah bin Mas'ud:
مَا أَنْزَلَ اللَّهُ دَاءً، إِلَّا قَدْ أَنْزَلَ لَهُ شِفَاءً، عَلِمَهُ مَنْ عَلِمَهُ، وَجَهِلَهُ مَنْ جَهِلَهُ
"Allah has not sent down a disease except that 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." (Musnad Ahmad)
These Hadiths contain guidance that for every disease there is a medicine that cures it, acting as an encouragement to seek medical treatment which leads to the cure of the disease by the permission of Allah (swt). This is guidance (irshad) and not an obligation (ijab).
2- Ahmad narrated from Anas that the Messenger of Allah (saw) said:
إِنَّ اللَّهَ حَيْثُ خَلَقَ الدَّاءَ، خَلَقَ الدَّوَاءَ، فَتَدَاوَوْا
"When Allah created the disease, He also created the cure, so seek medical treatment." (Musnad Ahmad)
Abu Dawud narrated from Usamah bin Sharik, who said: "I came to the Prophet (saw) and his companions were sitting as if they had 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:
تَدَاوَوْا فَإِنَّ اللَّهَ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ لَمْ يَضَعْ دَاءً إِلَّا وَضَعَ لَهُ دَوَاءً، غَيْرَ دَاءٍ وَاحِدٍ الْهَرَمُ
"Seek medical treatment, for Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, has not made a disease without making a remedy for it, except for one disease: old age." (Sunan Abi Dawud) i.e., "except death."
In the first Hadith, there is a command to seek medical treatment, and in this Hadith, there is an answer to the desert Arabs to seek medical treatment, addressing the servants to seek treatment because Allah has not placed a disease except that He placed a cure for it. The address in both Hadiths came in the imperative form (amr), and the command indicates an absolute request; it does not indicate an obligation unless it is a decisive command. Decisiveness (jazm) requires an indicator (qarinah) to denote it, and there is no indicator in these two Hadiths that denotes obligation. Furthermore, there are Hadiths indicating the permissibility of leaving medical treatment, which negates the implication of obligation in these two Hadiths.
Muslim narrated from Imran bin Husayn that the Prophet (saw) said:
يَدْخُلُ الْجَنَّةَ مِنْ أُمَّتِي سَبْعُونَ أَلْفًا بِغَيْرِ حِسَابٍ
"Seventy thousand of my Ummah will enter Paradise without being brought to account." They asked: "Who are they, O Messenger of Allah?" He said:
هُمُ الَّذِينَ لَا يَكْتَوُونَ وَلَا يَسْتَرْقُونَ، وَعَلَى رَبِّهِمْ يَتَوَكَّلُونَ
"They are those who do not use cauterization, nor seek incantations, and they put their trust in their Lord." (Sahih Muslim)
Cauterization and incantations are forms of medical treatment. Al-Bukhari narrated from Ibn Abbas who said: "...This black woman came to the Prophet (saw) and said: 'I suffer from epilepsy and I become uncovered; so supplicate to Allah for me.' He (saw) said:
إِنْ شِئْتِ صَبَرْتِ وَلَكِ الجَنَّةُ، وَإِنْ شِئْتِ دَعَوْتُ اللَّهَ أَنْ يُعَافِيَكِ
'If you wish, you can be patient and Paradise will be yours; and if you wish, I will supplicate to Allah to heal you.' She said: 'I will be patient,' then she added: 'But I become uncovered, so supplicate to Allah for me that I may not become uncovered.' So he supplicated for her..." (Sahih Bukhari). These two Hadiths indicate the permissibility of leaving medical treatment.
All of this indicates that the command mentioned "seek medical treatment" is not for obligation. Therefore, the command here is either for permissibility or recommendation (mandub). Due to the intensity of the Prophet's (saw) encouragement to seek treatment, the command for treatment mentioned in the Hadiths is for recommendation.
Accordingly, the ruling on vaccination is recommendation (mandub), because vaccination is a medicine, and medical treatment is mandub. However, if it is proven that a specific type of vaccination is harmful—for instance, if its materials are contaminated or harmful for some reason—then vaccination in this case with these materials would be haram (prohibited) according to the rule of harm from the Hadith of the Messenger of Allah (saw) as recorded by Ahmad in his Musnad from Ibn Abbas, who said: The Messenger of Allah (saw) said:
لَا ضَرَرَ وَلَا ضِرَارَ
"There should be neither harming nor reciprocating harm." (Musnad Ahmad)
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. The medicine will be pure from any blemish and clear, and Allah (swt) is the Healer:
وَإِذَا مَرِضْتُ فَهُوَ يَشْفِينِ
"And when I am ill, it is He who cures me." (Ash-Shu'ara [26]: 80)
It is known legally that healthcare is among the duties of the Caliph under the umbrella of managing the affairs, acting upon the saying of the Messenger (saw):
الإِمَامُ رَاعٍ وَهُوَ وَمَسْؤُولٌ عَنْ رَعِيَّتِهِ
"The Imam is a shepherd and he is responsible for his flock." (Narrated by al-Bukhari from Abdullah bin Umar). This is a general text regarding the state's responsibility for health and medical treatment as it falls under the mandatory care (ri'ayah) of the state.
There are also specific evidences regarding health and medical treatment: Muslim narrated via Jabir who said:
بَعَثَ رسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم إِلَى أُبَيِّ بْنِ كَعْبٍ طَبِيبًا فَقَطَعَ مِنْهُ عِرْقًا ثُمَّ كَوَاهُ عَلَيْهِ
"The Messenger of Allah (saw) sent a physician to Ubayy bin Ka'b, who cut a vein from him and then cauterized it." (Sahih Muslim)
Al-Hakim narrated in al-Mustadrak from Zayd bin Aslam from his father who said: "I fell severely ill during the time of Umar bin al-Khattab, so Umar called a physician for me, who put me on such a strict diet that I would suck on date stones due to the intensity of the restriction."
The Messenger (saw), in his capacity as a ruler, sent a physician to Ubayy, and Umar (ra), the second Rightly Guided Caliph, called a physician for Aslam to treat him. These are two evidences that health and medical treatment are among the basic needs of the citizens that the state must provide free of charge to those who need them among the subjects.
Your brother, Ata bin Khalil Abu al-Rashtah
Link to the answer from the Ameer's Facebook page