Essay on the COVID 19 in the Muslim Community

Just a few days ago, I read a social media post about the issue of Covid19 restrictions, as well as, Muslim prayer. A person had shared a story of the family in which Grandfather went to offer prayer in the mosque and (got) caught by COVID 19. And because of this old man the whole family suffered from the same issue. The person had stated how they could have prevented this bad incident by staying at home and remaining safe with their family. Moreover, they could offer their prayer at home as it is allowed in their religion. Here I would say how I have also tried to contribute to control this issue. Yesterday, I met a person who was of an older age of above 50 years, and who insisted to visiting the mosque for his prayer. I told him about the incident I read about on social media. Then I talked to him about the possible consequences and increased hazard for the other people belonging to him if he visits the mosque. While I also added quotes from the religious books to convince him. In this way I feel I contributed to stopping the Covid-19 spread in the Muslim community.

A novel disease of coronavirus, also known as COVID 19 has changed the living pattern of human beings in all communities. People living all over the world are having trouble and issues concerning their health and financial conditions because of the rapid spread of COVID 19 in all countries of our globe. Apart from general health and financial issues, many communities are also having issues and challenges regarding their religious obligations and duties, so I am writing about the impact of COVID 19 on the Muslim community with specifically focusing on the religious aspects and duties such as offering prayers in Mosques.

An Issue of concern in the Muslim community, COVID 19 has caused several challenges for us (the Muslim community- avoid repetition in same sentence). For instance, Muslims are unable to perform their Hajj (pilgrimage). However, this issue is specifically limited to the people who intended to have Hajj this year or who can afford it. While a common issue among all Muslims is the limitation of offering prayer in their Mosque. According to the religious texts guiding, every Muslim person is required to offer his prayer.  “And seek help in patience and prayer” [Holy Quran__ Al-Baqara 45] Additionally, the following quote is for the importance of prayer in the light of saying by Holy Prophet Muhammad PBUH.  “The distinguishing factor between “kufr” and “Imaan” is the deliberate neglect of Salah” [saying of Holy Prophet Muhammad PBUH]

Considering the above-stated quotes about the importance of prayers, we can say that prayer is an important part of the Muslim religion. Males from the whole Muslim community are obliged to follow up on the orders of their prophet and God regarding offering prayer in the Mosque. However, now because of COVID 19, many of them are not even capable of going to their Mosque for prayers in the holy month of Ramadan. In such a situation many new challenges are raised as well. For instance, a reasonable percentage of Muslim males insisted to visiting their mosque for daily prayers which can be a cause of a rapid spread of COVID 19 in the Muslim community.

 In general, the Muslim community seems to be divided into two main groups. One of which has agreed to stay at home and offer prayers at home. While the second group of this community held the perception that they should visit their mosque for prayer no matter what circumstances the community faces because of this action (En.qantara.de, 2020). According to media reports and news articles, the majority of mosques are closed in Muslim states by the government. The state government has set new rules for lockdown in these countries. People are not allowed to come out from their houses unless they have a solid reason. Governments are trying to control the rapid spread of COVID 19 in the communities by controlling unnecessary social gatherings (Shahzad, 2020).

In such situations, they also need to take control of the gathering for religious purposes. Such actions are for the support of people of living in that community, as human life is more important than anything else in the community. While for some religious gatherings they cannot put the lives of other people at (of) stake. However, this point is very difficult to understand for some people. Therefore, the Muslim community is having issues on religious topics in their community, which in my opinion, is happening because of two main reasons. First of all, many of our Muslim people have not experienced such issues like a global pandemic and the need for quarantine, in the past; therefore they do not have enough knowledge. Many of them even do not know should they visit a mosque in such a condition or not? What does their religion say about it? Secondly, many Muslim leaders are not playing an effective role. They should talk about such an issue and possible solutions, otherwise communication barriers between Muslim leaders and the community will cause misunderstandings and people may get involved in wrong deeds such as exploiting innocent people in the name of religion.

In Conclusion, these community issues caused by COVID 19, also represent the importance of prayer in the Muslim community. In the end, a possible solution is suggested for this issue in my example from my personal experience: we must speak to each other, educate each other, and above all, protect each other, if we are to stop the spread of this deadly virus.

References of Covid 19 in the Muslim Community

En.qantara.de. (2020). Coronavirus in the Islamic world. Retrieved from en.qantara.de: https://en.qantara.de/content/coronavirus-in-the-islamic-world-the-challenges-of-covid-19

Shahzad, K. (2020). COVID-19: A challenge for the Muslim American community. Retrieved from Dailytimes.com.pk:https://dailytimes.com.pk/591814/covid-19-a-challenge-for-the-muslim-american-community/