Direction on Covid vaccine after ascertaining facts: Jamaat

New Delhi, Dec 31 (IANS) The Shariah Council of Jamaat-e-Islami Hind (JIH) on Thursday issued guidelines on the permissibility of using Covid-19 vaccines under Islamic law following some reports that pork fat was used in them.

"The source of ingredients of the popular vaccines, which have been made public, is not yet known with certainty. After becoming fully aware of it, guidelines regarding its use or non-use will be issued," the JIH said in a statement.

Noting that various pharmaceutical companies worldwide are finalising Covid-19 vaccines and even several countries have started their mass immunisation programmes, while Indian health authorities has also announced that vaccination will begin soon and multinational companies have requested the government to allow them to use the vaccine, it said that the reports of the extract of pork fat in vaccines have raised concerns among Muslims.

The guidelines, issued by Sharia Council's President Maulana Syed Jalaluddin Umari and Secretary Maulana Dr.Raziul Islam Nadvi, said that "according to some sources, the corona vaccine contains ingredients derived from pork fat. From an Islamic point of view, a pig is completely impure and unclean."

However, these noted that experiments are taking place in various countries and many companies are working on developing the vaccine, and it is not sure that pork fat is used in every vaccine. Muslims are too involved among the scientists and doctors who are preparing the vaccines, it said, citing the example of a doctor couple in Turkey.

Among other guidelines were that "Islam gives great importance to human life and also emphasizes on its protection", "Allah says: 'And do not kill each other or yourselves' (Quran- 4: 29), and that "Islam instructs proper treatment of illness."

"Islam has clearly outlined limits of permissible and impermissible things. It is mandatory to abide by these limitations even during ailments or while taking precautionary measures. That is why the use of any forbidden substance as a medicine is prohibited."

"If an impermissible object is transformed into another thing, totally different in properties and characters, may be considered as clean and permissible. On this basis, the use of Gelatine derived from the body part of a haram animal has been considered to be permissible by Islamic jurists. Same is the opinion of some jurists about pork Gelatine."

"Even those jurists who disagree with the above transformation rule, too sanction a vaccine which contains prohibited substances in case of unavailability of halal vaccines, in dire and emergency situations to protect human life," said the guidelines.



--IANS

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