Islam Helps Prevent Epidemics

Health workers

According to the website, Listverse, the spread of infectious diseases (epidemics) is the 7th greatest problem facing the world. Epidemics induce poverty and poverty in-turn brings about instability, famines, war and deaths. One major way diseases spread from one region to another is the movement of people. 

A disease breaks out in town X, Mr. X feels unsafe and decides to migrate to town Y. unknown to Mr. X, has already contracted the disease. By the movements of Mr. X, he ignorantly becomes a ‘pollinating agent’ for the disease and we have an epidemic across the region. 

This plot played itself out in West Africa in 2014 during the Ebola epidemic that swept through the region. 

EBOLA AND THE LIKES

Patrick Oliver Sawyer

The initial outbreak took place in Sierra Leone and then spread eastwards. Then, an ignorant infected Liberian-American diplomat, Patrick Oliver Sawyer, decided to leave Liberia for Nigeria even after he was told not to leave. The arrival of Patrick Sawyer in Nigeria on 20th July 2014 saw for the first time the arrival of the deadly Ebola virus in the most populous black nation.  A total of eight Nigerians died of Ebola during the outbreak.

Where does Islam come in in all of this?

QUARANTINE

Muhammad (SAW) said, “If you hear that it (plague) has broken out in a land, do not go to it; but if it breaks out in a land where you are present, do not go out escaping from it”. 

If Patrick Sawyer had been a devout Muslim, he never would have left his country for Nigeria knowing full well that he was infected. In other words, all those who died in Nigeria due to the epidemic would have still being alive today.

HANDLING CORPSES

During the same Ebola crisis of 2014, the disease was able to spread by several means. In some cultures, all corpses must be returned to the homeland for burial no matter how far away the death occurred. Some of these cultures exist in Nigeria particularly in the largely non Muslim south. When an individual dies of a disease, the pathogens remain in the corpse. Wherever this corpse is taken, the disease also goes. If the disease is contagious, then anyone who comes in contact with the corpse is very likely to be infected.

On 31st July 2014, in Anambra state of Nigeria, an Ebola scare ensued when the corpse of an individual suspected to have died of Ebola in Liberia was brought into the state. The mortuary to which it was brought had to be cordoned off. It is tentative what happened to those who were quarantined.

Islam to the rescue again: The transfer of corpses from one place to another without concrete reasons is greatly frowned at in Islam. 

Muhammad (SAW) said, “Hasten to bury the corpse; for if it was righteous then you are sending it off to its welfare; and if it was otherwise then you are putting off a liability from your necks”. 

In another statement, Muhammad (SAW) said, “Do not withhold the dead body, and hasten to take it to its grave…”

The lesson in these statements of Muhammad (SAW) is that corpses should be buried in the region the deaths occur and as quick as possible. Islamic scholars are of the opinion that Muhammad (SAW) never sanctioned the transportation of dead bodies.

On washing corpses before burial, Muhammad (SAW) said, “Whoever washes the dead, let him do ghusl (ritual bath), and whoever carries him, let him do wudu (ablution)”. 

We see here that even if a body is infected with a disease, the chances of the person washing the corpse getting infected are greatly reduced.

HAND WASHING

Germs are known to cause a great number of infectious and common diseases; some of them very fatal. As humans, we often come in contact with these germs by touching surfaces contaminated by them. Ebola falls in the category of diseases that can be contracted and transmitted by touch. In the peak of the Ebola crisis in West Africa, the ‘Hand Washing’ campaign reached its highest levels yet. People of all classes and categories were urged to wash their hands frequently.

Muslims did not feel any change in life-style with the coming of this wave as hand-washing has long been the life-style of Muslims. Islam instructs hand washing on a number of instances, the major ones are discussed briefly below. 

Salah

For centuries (over a millennium) Muslims from the age of 10 have washed their hands no fewer than 5 times a day in the ritual washing of wudu (ablution) prior to the observance of prayers. Allah's Messenger (SAW) said, "The prayer of a person who does Hadath (passes urine, stool or wind) is not accepted till he performs the ablution."

Toilet manners

Islam greatly emphasizes the need for physical purification after coming in contact with any kind of filth. Narrated Anas bin Malik: Whenever Allah's Apostle went to answer the call of nature, I along with another boy used to carry a tumbler full of water (for cleaning the private parts).

Waking from sleep

Muhammad (SAW) also said, “When you wake up from sleep to pray wash your hands before you put them in wudu water for you do not know where your hands have spent the night.”

Hand washing before and after meals

During the outbreak, there was a very heavy stress on the need for people to wash their hands before putting anything in their mouths. The practice of Islam ensures that adherents wash their hands especially as regards eating. Muhammad (SAW) said, “Blessing in food lies in washing the hand before and after eating.” (Sunan Tirmidhi-Hadith: 1846)

“Whoever would like Allah to increase the goodness/blessing of his home, should wash hands when his [meal] is brought to him and when it is taken away” (Sunan Ibn Majah-Hadith: 3260)

PEDICURE AND MANICURE

Asides the washing of body parts especially the hands), Muslims are also urged by the scriptures to keep their fingers trimmed. Pedicure is an activity that Muslims must undertake to have a 100% Jum’ah outing (Friday prayers). 

Muhammad (SAW) said, "If a person cuts his nails on Friday, Allah will protect him from troubles till next Friday and three days more”. 

In another statement, Muhammad (SAW) said, “Whoever does not remove bodily hair from below the navel, and does not trim the nails, and does not trim his moustache, is not one of us”.

HIV/AIDS

There will never be a discussion on deadly diseases without Mr. HIV/AIDS popping up. Since its discovery in 1981, HIV/AIDS has killed about 35 million people worldwide.

Though the disease can be transmitted via several ways, the most prolific HIV/AIDS transmitter has been fornication/adultery. According to health authorities in Ghana, heterosexual intercourse accounts for 80% of HIV cases. In 2016, health authorities in Ghana revealed that sexual promiscuity accounted for 86% of new HIV infections. If investigated sincerely, the same trend will be observed in other communities with high HIV prevalence.

Where does Islam come in in all of this?

Islam and promiscuity

It is known that Islam has arguably the strictest laws governing sex. Sharia law stipulates 100 strokes of the cane for fornicators and the death penalty (stoning) for adulterers. Allah (SWT) says in the Qur’an, “The fornicatress and the fornicator – flog each of them with a hundred stripes; and do not let pity for them hold you back from carrying out God's law, if you truly believe in God and the Last Day; and let a group of believers witness their punishment”. Suratul Nur (24:2)

Even though most of the Muslim lands have been de-Islamized, the spirit of Islam still keeps Muslims in-check to a very large extent resulting in Muslims being able to restrain themselves more effectively in matters relating to sexual perversion. Nigeria; a country that is 50% Muslim, 40% Christian and 10% Animist has the second largest population of HIV carriers with 3.2 million (2016 estimate). 

But quite interestingly, the greater bulk of this HIV carrying population is concentrated in the southern states (the non Muslim population). Even when HIV carriers are found in northern Nigeria, they are mostly from non Muslim backgrounds.

Circumcision

Islam is one of two religions that greatly emphasize circumcision the other religion being Judaism. Islam is also by far the largest single religious group that upholds circumcision. The World Health Organization and UNAIDS in 2007 recommended circumcision as a mean of cubing HIV citing that circumcision “reduces the acquisition of HIV by heterosexual men by between 38% and 66% over 24 months". 

Abu Huraira said, “I heard the Prophet Muhammad (SAW) saying. ‘Five practices are characteristics of the Fitra: circumcision, shaving the pubic hair, cutting the moustaches short, clipping the nails, and depilating the hair of the armpits.’” (Sahih Bukhari, Book 72, Vol 7, Hadith #779)

Whatever might be said, the fact that Islam puts measures in place to curb the epidemics can never be refuted.

As Muslims, we believe in destiny. We believe that despite our human effort, Allah has the final say. Epidemics might still breakout in Islamic lands despite the religious following of all these religious principles as Allah (SWT) has said, “And We will surely test you with something of fear and hunger and a loss of wealth and lives and fruits, but give good tidings to the patient, Who, when disaster strikes them, say, "Indeed we belong to Allah, and indeed to Him we will return". Suratul Baqarah (2:155-156)

Muhammad (SAW) also said, "Death from plague is martyrdom for every Muslim."

In clearer terms, Aisha (the wife of the Prophet) asked Allah's Apostle about plague, and Allah's Apostle informed her saying, "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."

However, at the human level, it is evident that the practice of Islam provides a community with a great deal of immunity against epidemics.