The unfortunate Coronavirus (COVID-19) is spreading and gaining momentum with the passage of time. More and more countries are going under lockdowns while affecting hundreds of people daily. However, in spite of the fact that the COVID-19 infection has been declared as a pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the healthcare experts around the world are asking people to follow the instructions and take all the precautionary measures, there are still those who are neither following the instructions fully nor are taking precautionary measures with alacrity to save themselves and others around them. Most out of them take refuge in religion.
Hence, apart from scientific aspects, there is a dire need to raise awareness among people with respect to their religious faiths and believes. Because religion and religious interpretations have been playing a vital role in dealing the crucial situations all along. Today, amid the severe crisis to fight the monster of COVID-19, the role of religions have become unprecedented. As science and religion are not rivals.
“Science investigates; religion interprets. Science gives man knowledge, which is power, religion gives man wisdom, which is control. Science deals mainly with facts; religion deals mainly with values. The two are no rivals.”- Martin Luther King Jr.
And, this is how Iqbal puts it:
“Mankind’s deliverance lies in the unity
Of those who rule the body and those who rule the soul.”
Here, the engrossing questions are: Why religious beliefs and faiths are important in fighting the pandemic? What do religions around the world suggest during the outbreak of a pandemic? Which religious scriptures genuinely guide us about how to react during a pandemic? And what should be the multi-religion strategy to fight the globally-drenched pandemic ahead to save humanity?
Religion is an organized collection of belief and cultural systems, and world views that relate humanity to spirituality and, sometimes, to moral values. Many religions also have narratives, symbols, traditions and sacred histories that are intended to give meaning to life and henceforth can help in bolstering the morale and fostering the attitude to fight the pandemic. Religions also tend to derive morality, ethics, religious laws or a preferred lifestyle, which can help defeating the menace of COVID-19. In numerous countries, religion guides social behaviour and plays a significant role in daily life.
Apart from that, religion can be a catalyst in making people follow instructions ingenuously with alacrity and remain sublime towards taking precautionary measures because of the fact that there are billions of people around the world who follow one of the religions. Today, according to most scholars’ estimates, there are roughly 4,200 actively practised religions in the world. Nearly 86% of the world’s population is religious, including all religions. And the great majority of these fall under twelve classical religions—Baha’i, Buddhism, Christianity, Confucianism, Hinduism, Islam, Jainism, Judaism, Shinto, Sikhism, Taoism, and Zoroastrianism. While more than 75% of the world’s population practices one of the five most influential religions of the world: Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, and Judaism.
Regarding the role religious scholars need to play amid the coronavirus pandemic firstly requires genuine, moderate and intellectually aboveboard religious scholars to come forward and cripple down all the suspicious and dubious information being spread on social media and other media networks. On Vatican News Media, Pope Francis- who is playing an influential role for billions of people who follow Christianity has already called to the virtual audience that the leaders of all the Christian churches, communities and confessions worldwide, as well Christians everywhere to maintain a required distance in-between and pray to implore God to rid the world of the coronavirus pandemic that is wreaking havoc everywhere.
“In these days of trial, as humanity trembles at the threat of the [coronavirus]pandemic, I would propose that all Christians join their voices together to heaven,”-Pope
Secondly, there is a need for the relevant authentic religious scriptures to be prevailed in the society to convince public’s otherwise mindset. The following are some authentic religious instructions taken from valid references of major religions.
Islam provides detailed overhauling measures for such crisis through advices from the Prophet Mohammad (pbuh) during an epidemic/pandemic outbreak such as COVID-19. The following Hadith especially focuses on the importance of quarantine and maintaining distance.
Narrated from ‘Abd ar-Rahmaan ibn ‘Awf (may Allah be pleased with him) that: I heard the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) say: “If you hear of an outbreak of plague in a land, do not enter it; if the plague breaks out in a place while you are in it, do not leave that place,” [Al-Bukhari # 5739 & Muslim # 2219]
With regard to faith in optimism and not be panic-smitten, Christianity suggests taking such crisis as a test. It says that suffering is a test for our faith and strengthens it: “My brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of any kind, consider it nothing but test, because you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance,” [Letter of James in the New Testament]
The Jewish faith provides detailed instructions for such pandemics. The Talmud gives a number of ways in which the sages would avoid infection, which may seem obvious to us.
- Rabbi Yochanan would announce: Be careful of the flies found on those afflicted with ra’atan (a type of infectious disease), as they are carriers of the disease.
- Rabbi Zeira would not sit in a spot where the wind blew from the direction of someone afflicted with ra’atan.
- Rabbi Elazar would not enter the tent of one afflicted with ra’atan.
- Rabbi Ami and Rabbi Asi would not eat eggs from an alley in which someone afflicted with ra’atan lived.
There is also a need for unity and inter-faith harmony amid such crisis. Allah (swt) says in the Holy Quran in Surah Al-Imran verse 64: “O people of the book come to the common terms as between us and you.” While with regard to charity, welfare, philanthropy, altruism, benevolence and humanitarian exercises that ought to be practiced amid coronavirus pandemic, the primary teachings of every religion are:
- Islam: Not one of you truly believes until you wish for others what you wish for yourself. (The Prophet Muhammad (صلى الله عليه وسلم), Hadith). “Every act of Kindness is Charity.”- Prophet Mohammad ((صلى الله عليه وسلم)
- Christianity: “In everything, do unto others as you would have them do to you; for this is the law of the prophets” (Matthew 7:12)
- Judaism: What is hateful to you, do not do to your neighbor. This is the whole Torah; all the rest is commentary. (Hillel, Talmud Shabbat 31a)
- Hinduism: This is the sum of duty; do not do to others what would cause pain if done to you (Mahabharata 5:1517)
- Buddhism: Treat no others in ways that you yourself would fin hurtful (Udana-Varga 5.18)
- Sikhism: I am a stranger to no one; and no one is a stranger to me. Indeed I am a friend to all (Guru Granth Sahib, p.1299)
- Taoism: regard you neighbor’s gain as you own gain, and your neighbour’s loss as your own loss (T’ai Shang Kan Ying P’ien 213-218)
There is absolutely no religion in the world that restricts its followers from following precautions or asks them to solely rely on God without making any efforts of protecting themselves. Conclusively, there is a need to fight the Coronavirus with unbreakable unity, unshakeable faith, unyielding persistence, indomitable optimism, unrelenting determination and unflagging resolve. And, for the sake of humanity asseverate the following quote of Thomas Pine at least for the time being:
“The world is my country, all mankind are my brethren, and to do good is my religion.”- Thomas Pine
With a combined vision:
“I have no country to fight for; my country is the earth; I am a citizen of the world.” – Eugene V. Debs
And Moto:
“Bani Adam (the Children of Adam)”
بنی آدم اعضای یک پیکرند
که در آفرينش ز یک گوهرند
چو عضوى به درد آورد روزگار
دگر عضو ها را نماند قرار
تو کز محنت دیگران بی غمی
نشاید که نامت نهند آدمی
“The sons of Adam are limbs of each other,
Having been created of one essence.
When the calamity of time affects one limb
The other limbs cannot remain at rest.
If you have no sympathy for the troubles of others,
You are unworthy to be called by the name of a Human.”
Because:
“The earth is what we all have in common.”
– Wendell Berry
