Esteemed religious scholar, Maulana Tariq Jameel, has quoted a hadith to prove that prayers can be offered at homes during the time of a pandemic.
While speaking on a TV show, Maulana Tariq Jameel, narrated an incident from Prophet’s (PBUH) era to support his statement.
Once, it was raining heavily in Madinah. When Bilal climbed up to call Azaan, Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) asked him to tell everyone to perform Namaz at home and not to come to the mosque.
The cleric then noted that this Hadith of the Prophet (peace be upon him) gives us proof that if there is any compulsion in coming to the mosque, then the prayers should be offered at home.
This is not a weakness of faith but a precautionary measure.
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When asked about the directions for Jummah prayers in case Coronavirus enforces lockdown, he said:
We have such a great Hadith as proof that even for the fard (compulsory) prayers, our Prophet ordered to perform at home (in case of compulsion.)
Here’s what he said:
It should be noted that Kuwait, a Muslim country in the Middle East, made an amendment in Azaan to ask people to perform prayers in their homes. As the Coronavirus threat looms, muazzins in Kuwait replaced “hayya alas salah” with “assalatu fi buyutikum” which means “offer prayers in homes.”
UAE, Qatar and Turkey are also announcing similar measures to control the outbreak.
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Similar is the situation in Pakistan where 184 cases have been reported to date. As a precautionary measure, the government has banned all public gatherings in the country till April 5. This includes closure of wedding halls, picnic points, religious shrines, madrassahs, schools, and colleges.
In the next step, the government is considering taking Kuwaiti measures to control the spread of Covid-19.
