Islamic Sharia and Polio

Mufti Shamsurahman Frotan

The focal point of the Islamic Advisory Group

 

Introduction

The purpose of the Islamic Sharia is to protect five things such as; protection of the religion, protection of intellect or mind, protection of property, protection of life and descendants, and protection of dignity.

Allah (SWT) has created the human being and it is compulsory for him/her to protect the life and descendants therefore preservation or protection of life is one of the five purposes of Islam.

The aim of protecting life and descendants includes measures of prevention and treatment. One of the main measures of protecting yourself is prevention from any kind of sickness, and most of the rules of Islam have preventive aspects. The purpose of the discussion of Jiha’d in Holy Quran is to protect the religion and the lives of innocent people. Also, the purpose of prohibiting some edibles is to prevent illnesses in humans. The prophet Mohammad (PBUH) told to the people of his time, not to enter or go out of the sites of plague disease. The purpose was the prevention of the plague disease.

Looking at this example, polio is also one of the dangerous diseases and cannot be cured. Therefore, every one of us has the responsibility to take part in efforts to prevent this disease.  If we do not prevent this disease through reasonable efforts, we all will be guilty and ignore one of the purposes of Sharia which is the protection of life.

The only way to prevent polio disease is by administering the polio vaccine, so let’s comprehend the verdict of Islamic Sharia on the polio vaccine.

 

The Verdict on Polio from an Islamic Point of View

The polio vaccine is given to children to protect them from the deadly disease, and in Islamic Sharia every prevention or treatment is Halal or sometimes it is considered obligatory (Wajab). Those who do not use the blessings of Allah (SWT) in the prevention of diseases, definitely destroy themselves.

Allah (SWT) says: (وَلَا تُلْقُوا بِأَيْدِيكُمْ إِلَى التَّهْلُكَةِ وَأَحْسِنُوا إِنَّ اللَّهَ يُحِبُّ الْمُحْسِنِينَ)

Translation: Do not let your own hands throw you into destruction ˹by withholding˺. And do good, for Allah certainly loves the good-doers. – Surah Al-Baqarah, 195.

(يَاأَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا خُذُوا حِذْرَكُمْ)

Translation: O believers! Take your precautions and go forth. – Surah An-Nisa, 71.

The prophet Mohammad (PBUH) said: “مَن باتَ فوقَ بيتٍ ليس حوله شيءٌ يرُدُّ رِجْلَه؛ فقد برئتْ منه الذِّمَّةُ، ومَن ركب البحرَ بعدما يَرْتَجُّ؛ فقد برئتْ منه الذِّمَّةُ” – Rawah Ahmad.

Translation: The person who rests on the roof of their house at night and there is nothing all around to protect him/her and there are no protection measures, Allah (SWT) does not guarantee his/her life and does not like this act. And the one who gets onboard to a ship in storm, Allah (SWT) does not guarantee his/her life and does not like this act as well.

And in another Hadith it is said: “إذا قامَ أحدُكم عن فراشِهِ، ثمَّ رجعَ إليه؛ فَلْيَنْفُضْهُ بِصِنْفةِ إزارِهِ ثلاثةَ مراتٍ، فإنه لا يدري ما خَلَفه بعده.” Rawah Bukhari and Muslim.

Translation: Whoever gets up from his bed and comes back to the bed after some minutes, they should check the bed with their scarf or shawl to see if something has come to the bed.

The prophet Mohammad (PBUH) further said: “إنَّ هذه النارَ إنما هي عدوٌّ لكم، فإذا نمتُمْ فأطْفِئوها عنكم.”

Translation: The fire is your enemy, while you get to bed, you have to put the fire out.

The above verses of the Holy Quran and the Ahadith clearly proves that Islam strongly suggests and endorses the prevention (Waqaya) and when a person expects risk he/she should find preventable solutions for it. And if a person is aware of the possible risk or danger and they do not consider preventive measures, it is their own fault.

So, polio is a deadly and paralyzing disease, everyone knows its risks. This disease has paralyzed a great deal of people (mostly children) in the world and the only preventive measure for the disease is the polio vaccine. If we do not vaccinate our children on time, it is our own fault and the negative consequences will be our own responsibility.

In case of any negligence regarding polio vaccination or to consider this vaccine Haram will be our own responsibility if anyone is paralyzed by this disease and we must be answerable to Allah (SWT).

Those who considers polio vaccine as Haram without any reference or proof, they come under the category of people mentioned in this verse of Holy Quran: (قَدْ خَسِرَ الَّذِينَ قَتَلُوا أَوْلَادَهُمْ سَفَهًا بِغَيْرِ عِلْمٍ وَحَرَّمُوا مَا رَزَقَهُمُ اللَّهُ افْتِرَاءً عَلَى اللَّهِ قَدْ ضَلُّوا وَمَا كَانُوا مُهْتَدِينَ) Surah Al-An’am.

Translation: Lost indeed are those who have murdered their own children foolishly out of ignorance and have forbidden what Allah has provided for them—falsely attributing lies to Allah. They have certainly strayed and are not ˹rightly˺ guided.