Pivotal Quote
“…applying the principle that we have in Islām, which was worded by the Messenger (صلى الله عليه وسلم), “There is no harm, initiating or reciprocating.”
So by gathering together there is a potential harm of one person being sick and getting everyone else sick, and so we are only breaking up the Jamāʿah for the best interest of the people.”
سؤال وجواب – عربي – ١:١٦ دقائق
Question and Answer – English [1:43]
Question:
There are some people, even though the masājid have been closed down and because they want good, are gathering in front of the masjid to pray in jamāʿah (they are praying outside the masjid because the masjid is locked), or they gather in the home of one of their neighbours and they all pray as a jamāʿah together. So what advice do you have towards such people?
Answer:
This is going against the purpose of closing down the masjid, which is to minimise contact for fear of people getting sick because of contacting others. The masjid was closed so that the Jamāʿah would be suspended so that people would not get sick. So what is an obligation upon the people to do in these times when the Jamāʿah is no longer established in the masjid, is to pray at home. This is a commandment that has come down because of the advice of the People of Knowledge and the Scholars of Islām, and so there is a wisdom in doing so. And that is, applying the principle that we have in Islām, which was worded by the Messenger (صلى الله عليه وسلم), “There is no harm, initiating or reciprocating.”
So by gathering together there is a potential harm of one person being sick and getting everyone else sick, and so we are only breaking up the Jamāʿah for the best interest of the people.