Analysis, South Asia

Abolish the Failed System in Pakistan which Led to a Choice between Coronavirus Disease and Hunger

The extension of the lock down, with some relaxation, has thrown Pakistan into heated debate regarding the dangers of the disease versus the financial hardship of the lock down. However, the problem was created by the rulers’ deviation from Islam and their blind adherence to the failed Capitalist system.

Islam obliges quarantine of the geographical area where the outbreak begins. RasulAllah ﷺ, «إِذَا سَمِعْتُمْ بِالطَّاعُونِ بِأَرْضٍ فَلَا تَدْخُلُوهَا وَإِذَا وَقَعَ بِأَرْضٍ وَأَنْتُمْ بِهَا فَلَا تَخْرُجُوا مِنْهَا» If you get wind of the outbreak of plague in a land, do not enter it; and if it breaks out in a land in which you are, do not leave it.” [Bukhari] However, Pakistan’s regime did not quarantine the Taftan area strictly, releasing the infected prematurely, thus allowing the disease to spread to all corners of the country. They also left air travel open for too long, as a route for the virus to enter into the country.

Islam’s guidance regarding contagious disease is that the sick must be separated from the healthy. RasulAllah ﷺ said, «لاَ تُورِدُوا المُمْرِضَ عَلَى المُصِحِّ»Do not put the diseased with the healthy.” [Bukhari]. The diseased must be kept far away from the healthy, or there must be physical barriers between them, or both. However, Pakistan’s rulers are negligent, which has led to the spread of the virus within the communities, as well as within the medical staff.

Islam has also given guidance about the large numbers of silent carriers, who have the infection but not the disease, which led to the rapid and large outbreak. Islam obliges the state to be a caring guardian for the affairs of the people. RasulAllah ﷺ said, «كُلُّكُمْ رَاعٍ، وَكُلُّكُمْ مَسْؤولٌ عَنْ رَعِيَّتِهِ، فَالأَمِيرُ الَّذِي عَلَى النَّاسِ رَاعٍ» “All of you are shepherds and each of you is responsible for his flock. The Amir of a people is a shepherd and he is responsible for his flock.” [Bukhari, Muslim] So, the state can undertake mass testing, to the order of millions of tests in a country the size of Pakistan, so as to detect the silent carriers in time.

In this way, Islam ensures that the state minimizes the outbreak from the beginning, controlling it as it rises and preventing it from overwhelming the country, to the point that it forces a complete lock down, as has occurred in many capitalist states, including the United States. Indeed, the complete lock down only adds to the problem of the virus, by creating the problem of worsening hunger. So, adhering to Islam ensures that life can continue, allowing Muslims to fulfill all the Islamic obligations, with precautions in place, such as earning, providing for the family, seeking education and performing Salah in congregation in the Masajid.

O Muslims of Pakistan! The rulers of Pakistan have failed us in crisis as they have failed us in normal times. They inflated the crisis through their deviation from Islam and then left us with the choice of death through disease or hunger. It is enough now. The blessed month of Ramadhan, with its abundant favors, is indeed the time for us all to strive for the re-establishment of the Khilafah (Caliphate) on the Method of Prophethood, by calling for it, in the case of the common Muslim, and by granting the Nussrah to Hizb ut Tahrir for its immediate implementation, in the case of the Muslims in the armed forces.

 

Media Office of Hizb ut Tahrir in Wilayah Pakistan

Friday, 24th Sha’ban 1441 AH

17/04/2020 CE

No: 1441 / 54