Allah a adopted and encouraged taking preventative measures
himself. However, he would also sometimes purposely
defy preventive measures to prove a point: the ultimate
power of causation lies in the hands of Allah. Consider the
following hadith as a few examples:
Abu Hurayra g reports that the Messenger of Allah a said,
“Flee from a leper similar to how you would flee from a
lion” (Bukhari).
Usama bin Zayd g reports that the Messenger of Allah a
said, “If you hear of a plague in a land, then do not enter it.
And if a plague appears in a land where you reside, then do
not leave it” (Bukhari).
Abu Hurayra g reports that the Messenger of Allah a said,
“Do not bring diseased camels into contact with healthy
camels” (Bukhari).
Jabir bin Abdullah g reports that the Messenger of Allah a
took a leper’s hand and placed it in the bowl (he was eating
from). He then said, “Eat in the name of Allah while placing
your full trust in him” (Tirmidhi).
The following points can be deduced from the above narrations:
1) Islam is not a fatalist religion. Many Muslims have
mistaken fatalism for religiosity and purposely defy
preventative measures as a form of expressing piety.
There are even those who condemn or belittle others
for adopting such measures and accuse them of not
trusting Allah to protect them. The Messenger of Allah
a, himself, along with asking Allah for protection, took
preventative measures and encouraged others to do
so. Thus, if a person really wants to follow the Sunna,
it would be to adopt preventative measures along with
placing one’s complete trust in Allah.
2) Precautionary measures are not religiously binding.
Rather, they are at the level of a recommendation.
Thus, a person not adopting precautionary measures
would not be sinful and should not be condemned as
such. It should be noted, however, that sometimes
precautionary measures can become more emphasized
or even binding due to external factors.
3) The ultimate power of causation is in the hands of
Allah. Islam does not deny causality or the phenomena
of cause and effect, rather the aforementioned hadith
clearly affirm it. However, the effect from causes are
not innate nor autonomous. They are subject to the
will of Allah. Thus, if Allah wishes, He may negate an
effect, or He may bring it into existence without any
cause at all.
Would adopting precautionary measures be against tawakkul
?
It is necessary for every Muslim to have unwavering trust
in Allah. This unwavering trust is known as tawakkul and
has been emphasized throughout the Qur’an and Sunna.
Adopting precautionary measures does not contradict placing
one’s trust in Allah. Anas g reports that a person asked
the Messenger of Allah a, “O Prophet of Allah! Should I tie
my camel and then place my trust in Allah or should I leave
it untied and then place my trust in Him?” The Prophet a
replied, “Tie your camel and then rely on Allah” (Tirmidhi).
What if the medication contains haram ingredients?
In principle, anything entering a person’s body must be
halal. This principle is applicable for food, drinks, and
medications (including vaccines). The Prophet a, himself,
clearly makes this clear when he said, “Verily Allah has
created the disease and the cure and has created a cure for
every disease. Therefore, seek treatment but do not seek
treatment from haram” (Abu Dawud).
As such, if a person is prescribed medication that contains
haram ingredients, it would be necessary for him/her to
seek a halal alternative. One may refer to a Muslim physician
or pharmacist in this regard.
However, it should also be noted that there are some
narrations that show that the Messenger of Allah a allowed
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