QUESTION: As-Salaam Alaykum Imam Mohammed. Saudi Arabia has suspended the entry of umrah pilgrims into the sacred sites due to the corona virus. This is a move of unprecedented proportions. With daily reports of the continued global spread of COVID-19 (reaching the level of a pandemic) and Ramadan beginning only weeks away and the yearly hajj only two months and some days after that.
There is the likelihood that all visits, in these special times, will be cancelled for hajjis coming from outside of Saudi Arabia. This is a crisis that affects the global Muslim community (ummah) in a way that few occurrences, in modern times or recent years, have. This, you said, is the best of times and the worst of times. How would you address this particular matter further?
IMAM EARL ABDULMALIK MOHAMMED: Islam preserves Faith. This is its objective. The details or requirements of Islam all point to and value Faith in the Lord-Creator. In other words, all of our Islamic practices are essentially actions of obedience to G'd which if understood in their fullness and correctness represent the foundation and pillars upon which the ideal human world is constructed. So, the preservation of human society as G'd intends for us to enjoy it is what Muslims have in focus, and the respect due the human individual is the product. This is the qibla or sacred focus of our attention as Muslims. This is the standard of Muhammed the Prophet's leadership.
If the duties required in our Faith were to trivialize our common, good sense by asking us to make choices that defy respect for our humanity then our religion would be false. The opposite of Islam is falsehood or we might say incorrect belief.
Umra, and therefore by reasoning any visit to the sacred House including during Ramadan and especially during the Hajj season, which puts human lives at risk unnecessarily are not acceptable for conscientious Muslims. The Sacred House is the blessed gathering place for humanity's recognition and discussion of its highest interests and most important focus. The Prophet's clear instructions when asked by the angel Jibril (Gabriel) about what characterizes 'al-Islam', were as its final pillar to visit the House "if you are able" - meaning, if nothing reasonable is preventing you.
Any imminent threat to human life by conflict, or to place innocent life at risk, for reasons that do not safeguard Faith or the peaceful order of society is unjustifiable in Islam. The coronavirus is a proven threat to human life. Our Faith guarantees respect and safety for the sanctity of human life in society, therefore the decision of the Saudi officials is strong and advisable and driven by obedience to G'd, respect for Islamic principles, protection of human life, and the responsibility Muslims have to respect the international social order of peace.
I applaud the decision as wise and responsible, and pray to Allah that Muslim leaders in all nations where Muslims reside advise their people accordingly, and stand in conscious solidarity supporting this decision.
We have history of the Prophet being turned away from Hajj. The result was the growth of al-Islam and the eventual establishment of the just order.