MUI: COVID-19 Patients Exempted from Ramadan Fasting
Translator
Editor
12 April 2021 19:13 WIB
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) stated that COVID-19 patients or people with severe symptoms were not required to fast during Ramadan based on doctor's considerations.
The MUI’s head of edict or fatwa, Asrorun Niam Sholeh, said that if the condition of people carrying coronavirus may worsen if they fast or if it may cause negative impacts on their health, it is permissible not to fast. Meanwhile, those who have been confirmed positive for the disease and do not develop symptoms are still able to fast and perform prayers in quarantine sites.
They are not allowed to participate in congregational worship because they have the potential to transmit the virus to others. “Those who are exposed to COVID-19 can carry out prayers in a place where they are isolated. Within certain limits, it is forbidden for them to carry out worship activities that have the potential to infect others,” said Asrorun.
According to him, patients who decide not to fast can replace it in another month or when they have recovered. “But if under certain conditions, the patient does not recover and dies before replacing the fast (qada), the person does not commit a sin. He/she is in a position where he/she is not subject to legal burdens,” Asrorun explained.
Muhammadiyah, one of the two largest Islamic organizations, meanwhile, said that COVID-19 patients, including those without symptoms, were not obliged to fast during Ramadan. Health workers are also exempted from fasting.
Read: Jakarta Bars 'Sahur on the Road' during Ramadan
ANTARA