Fatwa's Insights - Waqf, Mosque dan Funeral Management

THE 46TH MEETING OF THE PERLIS STATE FATWA COMMITTEE / 2020

17 JUNE 2020 / 25 SYAWAL 1441

CONFIRMATION

(Circular Paper Dated 16 March 2020)

RESOLUTION OF THE PERLIS STATE FATWA COMMITTEE CONCERNING THE MANAGEMENT OF MOSQUES FOLLOWING THE SPREAD OF THE COVID-19 OUTBREAK, EFFECTIVE 16 MARCH 2020

Having received the views and advice of the Ministry of Health Malaysia regarding the current developments of COVID-19 as at 15 March 2020, the Perlis State Fatwa Committee agreed on the following resolutions concerning the management of mosques:

1. It is agreed that all congregational activities at mosques, including congregational prayer and Friday prayer, be temporarily suspended. Muslims are called upon to perform congregational prayer at home for a period of 14 days, commencing from the Maghrib prayer time on 16 March 2020 until the Isyak prayer time on 29 March 2020.

2. The call to prayer (azan) will continue to be given at mosques, with the phrase hay'alatain (حى على الصلاة، حى على الفلاح — "Come to prayer, come to success") replaced with the phrase صَلُّوْا فِيْ بُيُوْتِكُمْ ("Pray in your homes"), based on the narrations of al-Bukhari (668) and Muslim (699) from Ibn 'Abbas (May Allah Be Pleased With Him). This is one of the permissible views, as stated by Imam al-Nawawi (May Allah Have Mercy On Him) in his work Sharh Sahih Muslim, 5/207.

The wording of the azan to be recited is as follows:

الله أكبر، الله أكبر، الله أكبر، الله أكبر

أشهد أن لا إله إلا الله، أشهد أن لا إله إلا الله

أشهد أن محمدًا رسولُ الله، أشهد أن محمدًا رسولُ الله

صَلُّوْا فِيْ بُيُوْتِكُمْ، صَلُّوْا فِيْ بُيُوْتِكُمْ

الله أكبر، الله أكبر

لا إله إلا الله

3. Only the appointed mosque officers—namely, one imam, one bilāl (caller to prayer), and one mosque caretaker—may attend the congregational prayer, after their cleanliness and health have been duly ensured and subject to the following requirements:

a) Attend the mosque only when the azan is called. Only the muazzin need arrive earlier, for the purpose of giving the call to prayer;

b) Minimise the duration of their presence at the mosque;

c) Perform ablution (wudhu') at home;

d) Refrain from shaking hands;

e) Bring their own prayer mat;

f) Ensure they are genuinely clean and in good health before attending the mosque.

4. Mosques shall carry out cleaning, sanitisation, and disinfection procedures throughout the prescribed fourteen-day period. Such measures shall, moreover, be carried out after every prayer by the mosque officers or mosque committee members on duty.

5. All mosque activities, whether classes, lectures, or religious study sessions, are to be suspended for the 14-day period. Online instruction may be considered as an alternative to be conducted from home.

6. All members of the public are advised to avoid any matters or activities that may contribute to the spread of the said COVID-19 outbreak.