The government of South Africa have allowed the Masaajid to open after weeks of closure due to the coronavirus pandemic. We thank Allah for this blessing. As believers, we must take relevant precautions to protect ourselves and others in this pandemic. However, we should not allow fear to stupefy and enfeeble us. Below are six points to bear in mind:
1) Recognise your rights: In our gratitude, we must not lose sight of the bigger picture or our rights as citizens. The government are not doing us a favour by allowing the opening of Masaajid. They have simply restored our basic right to freedom of movement and religion. We must engage in further discussion to have our full rights restored.
Their response is like that of a bully in school who steals your sandwich. In response to your objection, he cuts a piece of the crust and throws it at you, expecting you to be happy. You become so used to your sandwich being stolen that you actually do become happy, forgetting that the whole sandwich was yours. I’m not a politician but if we don’t keep our asal (traditional roots and way of following Deen) in mind, then with the passage of time draconian laws will be regarded as normal. Other laws will be introduced under the guise of protecting your health. Be aware and alert.
2) Mutawallis (trustees) do not own the Masaajid: Allah says, “Masaajid belong to Allah; so, do not invoke anyone along with Allah” (Qur’an, 72:18). Some trustees have become extremely paranoid during the pandemic. They closed the Masaajid before it became the law. Now the law has been reversed and Masaajid can open, they still opt to keep it closed. It would be interesting to know if they still keep their businesses open, as some people value their pockets more than prayers.
Such trustees should fear Allah. Stay away from the Masaajid if you’re so scared, but do not close them. You have no right to close them. We cannot go against the law of the land but now that the law has been reversed, we cannot go against the laws of Allah and force the Masaajid shut. We do not own the Masaajid, they belong to Allah. Fear Allah in this regard.
3) Praying Salah with social distancing: We have been requested by the government to maintain social distancing in our Masaajid, by keeping a two metre gap during Salah. This is against the prophetic way. Nabi ﷺ said, “Verily, Allah and his angels send blessings upon those who pray in rows, and those who fill the gaps will be raised in rank by Allah.” (recorded in Sunan Ibn Maajah). Nabi ﷺ also said, “Straighten your rows and be close together; for indeed I see you from behind my back” (recorded in Bukhari and Muslim).
“Straighten your rows and be close together” is a command, and the command of Nabi ﷺ is ranked as waajib (necessary) in Islam. In other ahaadith, Nabi ﷺ has clearly forbidden us to leave gaps as they make way for Shaytaan. Therefore, filling the gaps is waajib. Based on this, senior ulama have stated that it is makrooh tahreemi to pray Salah leaving a two metre gap. Makrooh tahreemi is close to haraam and should be avoided at all costs.
I’m not saying that we must defy the law but we must challenge it by engaging with the authorities and making dua. Furthermore, the law only allows fifty congregants to enter the Masaajid. We did not build Masaajid for fifty congregants only. Once again, we must challenge this in a lawful way.
4) Don’t become complacent: Initially, when the Masaajid closed due to the lockdown laws, some claimed that it’s only Sunnah to attend the Masjid anyway. Then why did they waste public funds to build a Masjid if it wasn’t important? They watered down this waajib act and the government then stopped us from fulfilling this waajib act. Some now adopt a complacent, ‘at least the Masaajid are open’ attitude. They state that Salah is read with gaps in Makkah Mukarramah too, as though they are an example to follow.
We collectively condemned the music concerts in Saudi Arabia and the way they treated Jamal Khashoggi. But now in terms of reading Salah with gaps, Saudi Arabia is hailed as an example. They are not. Our example is the ahaadith of Nabi ﷺ, that is what we follow. They also claim that we should comply with the laws and not challenge them, because at least the Masaajid are open. This attitude is incorrect.
Tomorrow if the scientists claim that the coronavirus stays on the carpet so we cannot do sajdah, what will we then do? Will we comply, citing the rulings in fiqh that state sajdah can be done with ishara (indications)? Will we then remove our carpets? What if we were told that many people hold the Qur’an and the virus may spread unless we take them and all literature out of the Masaajid? Will we continuously comply like sheep? Little will be left of Deen, if we do not stand up for our basic rights. This is how the asal is lost over the years. Our response should be to recognise that these laws are oppressive, in that they restrict our right to practise, and to challenge them.
Those who are brave enough to challenge the system in a lawful way are marginalised by Muslims themselves. It is odd that some Muslims are so concerned about the law when it comes to the Masaajid but in other spheres of life, they have no problem breaking the law. They drive over the speed limit, or build houses without complete approval from the authorities, or commit tax evasion. Of course, this is all incorrect. However, that aside, it is odd that those same Muslims then become law abiding citizens in matters of the Masaajid. In fact, they go one step ahead of the government and become more cautious than advised.
5) Wahn: Nabi ﷺ prophesied that a time will come when the Ummah will be large in number, but they will be like froth (the insignificant bubbles on top of the sea). Allah will remove fear from the chests of their enemies and cast al-wahn in their hearts. Someone asked, “O messenger of Allah, what is al-wahn?” Nabi ﷺ replied, “Love of the world and dislike of death” (recorded in Abu Dawud, 4297).
Wahn is the cause of our complacency and excessive fear of coronavirus. This world has become so beloved to us that we fear parting with it, to the extent that we would rather part with the compulsory acts of Deen than part with the world. Thus, if there are losses in the department of Deen, we are still satisfied that the bare minimum is fulfilled. Whereas the world is near and dear to us. For that we desire no losses, just gains and optimum result. Simply put, we are scared to die.
For such individuals, stay at home and pray if you wish, but why be a thorn for those who want to pray in the Masaajid? Or those who want to challenge the law in a lawful way? Salah is a pillar of Deen, it cannot be replaced by other modes of worship nor can it be compromised. If you cannot make a change, at least do not stand in the way of others.
6) The example of Nabi ﷺ: Nabi ﷺ always took a strong stance against injustice. Due to this, many Sahaaba (RA) were martyred over the years. Once, his daughter fell down and had a miscarriage yet Nabi ﷺ never abandoned his mission. On another occasion, Abu Bakr (RA) was badly injured in defending Nabi ﷺ. He became unconscious and upon touching his head, clumps of hair would fall out. When he became conscious again the first thing he asked was how is Nabi ﷺ? Whereas the defense of Nabi ﷺ is what caused his injury in the first place.
The life of Nabi ﷺ is filled with examples of struggle, sacrifice and standing up against injustice. They never abandoned their mission and paid for it with their lives in return for Jannah. This is what we strive to emulate. Our complaint is to Allah and we seek help from Allah. May Allah guide us and grant us the ability to stand firm, aameen.
— Shaykh Dawood Seedat حفظه اللّٰه
Above is an extract from Shaykh’s talk on 01/06/20 in Masjid-ut-Taqwa, Pietermaritzburg. To listen to the full talk, please click here.