Malaysia referred to world-renowned ulama on fatwa over vaccination - Dr Zulkifli

Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Religious Affairs) Senator Datuk Dr Zulkifli Mohamad Al-Bakri said he had sent letters to several scholars over the matter, including the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar Sheikh Ahmed el-Tayeb, Egypt Mufti Shawki Allam and Chairman of the Fatwa Council of the United Arab Emirates Sheikh Abdullah Ben Bayyah.

"On average, they issued a fatwa of referring to the experts (in health) to ensure that this vaccine (COVID-19 vaccine) is safe and halal to use.

"One of the conditions of the fatwa is also to refer to experts (in their specialised fields)," he said when appearing on an Islamic affairs forum broadcast live on TV 1 yesterday.

The forum featured nine panelists comprising muftis, university lecturers, preachers and physicians.

Meanwhile, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) senior lecturer Assoc Prof Datuk Dr Mohd Izhar Ariff Mohd Kashim said there were three important aspects to determine whether something was halal (permissible) or haram (illegal), and this included referring to experts in the related fields if there was no clear evidence in the Quran and hadith.

"Besides that, it should also be studied on whether the vaccine contains sources from animals that are not slaughtered, or some other substances that can cause harm.

"In this regard, studies and experts in the field of health, namely the Ministry of Health Malaysia (MOH) have denied that it (vaccine) contains any of them," he said.

Meanwhile, Perlis Mufti Datuk Dr Mohd Asri Zainul Abidin said the Prophet Muhammad during his time also referred some of his companions to physicians for treatment.

"Prophet Muhammad would refer (the companions) to the physician Al-Harith ibn Kaladah, even though he was not a Muslim," he said.