It's a sin for parents to reject vaccines, exposing children to danger - Perlis Mufti

Rejecting the use of vaccines to prevent contagious disease infections which threaten lives is a sin in Islam, according to Perlis Mufti Dr Mohd Asri Zainul Abidin.

He said Islam enjoined its believers to look after health to save lives, and this precept applied in the context of vaccine usage.

"Islam forbids mankind from wastefully destroying themselves, as decreed by Allah in the Al-Baqarah chapter, verse 95 which means 'don't you throw yourself into destruction'.

"This verse clearly urges us to protect ourselves from any danger.

Therefore, actions that are detrimental for us should be avoided," he told reporters after a forum on 'Appreciating Ramadan' organised by the Perlis Civil Defence Department, here, today.

Mohd Asri said parents who chose not to allow their children to be given vaccines without taking other preventive measures proven to be more effective were also committing a sin by putting their children in danger.

Thus, he advised the anti-vaccine group to speak based on facts and knowledge instead of making their own assumptions that using vaccines would have side effects.

"It's alright if they (anti-vaccine group) have better alternatives for disease prevention but this is not the case. It would be more detrimental to health without vaccine use, unless they can prove otherwise," he said.

Mohd Asri said the use of vaccines which contained unclean (in the context of Islam) substance was permissible in the absence of other methods.