Can a person who has a cold or a cough be prevented from attending prayers in congregation for fear of harm and infection?

We know that the Messenger (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him)
did not allow those who had eaten onions or garlic to attend prayers
in congregation, so what about those who have the flu, if their
attendingprayers in congregation will lead to others becoming infected
because of the spread ofgerms due to their continual sneezing? What
about those who have continual coughing, if they attend the khutbah on
Friday and keep coughing and disturbing the people around them so that
they cannot hear the khutbah because of that?.
Praise be to Allaah.
Firstly:
Al-Bukhaari (855) and Muslim (564) narrated from Jaabir ibn 'Abdillah
(may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (blessings and peace
of Allah be upon him) said: "Whoever eatsgarlic or onions, let him
keep away from us, or keep away from our mosque and stay in his
house."
Muslim (567) narrated that 'Umar ibn al-Khattaab (may Allah be pleased
with him) delivered a khutbah oneFriday in which, among other things,
he said: O people, you eat two plants which I find to be nothing but
repugnant, this onion and garlic. I remember the Messenger of Allaah
(blessings and peace of Allah be upon him), if he noticed their smell
coming from a man in the mosque, he would issue orders that he taken
out to al-Baqee'. Whoever eats them, let him cook them to death.
The fuqaha' have stated that it is makrooh for the one who has eaten
garlic or onions to attend the mosque and that it is mustahabb to
expel him therefrom. Some of them are of the view that it is haraam
for him to attend and it is obligatory to expel him. They added to
that one who has an offensive smell such as body odour or halitosis
and those who work in slaughterhouses and thelike, if they have a
smell that bothers other worshippers.
Ibn 'Abd al-Barr (may Allah have mercy on him) said in at-Tamheed (6/422):
The hadeeth mentioned also indicates that the one who has eaten garlic
should be kept away from the mosque and should be expelled therefrom,
because the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon
him) said: "He should not approachour mosque or our mosques because he
annoys us with the smell of garlic." If the reason for expelling him
from the mosque is that he causes annoyance, then by analogy anyone
who annoys his neighbour in the mosque because he has a sharp tongue
and insults the people in the mosque, or he has a foul odour because
of the nature of his work, or hehas a disease that may harm others
such as leprosy and the like, andanything that causes annoyance to
people if itis present in one of theirneighbours in the mosques and
they want to expel him from the mosque and keep him away from it, they
have the right to do that so long as the reason for doing so is
present, untilit is no longer present. Once that reason is no longer
present, he has the right to return to themosque. End quote.
Thus it is known that it isessential to ward off annoyance and harm
from the worshippers. If they are bothered by one who has a cold or a
cough, and that cannot be treated by means of medicines that would
reduce it and lessen the annoyance and harm – of which there are
manynowadays – then he should not attend the mosque until that which
is bothering other worshippers has gone away. If he can pray at the
edge of the mosque or in the courtyard, he may do so.
In the margin of Asna'l-Mataalib (1/262) it says: If he has an
offensive odour and he is able to stand outside the mosque in such a
way that he does not cause annoyance, then it is appropriate that he
should be obliged to attend Jumu'ah. End quote.
Secondly:
If a man has a sickness that Allah, may He be exalted, has made mixing
with people affected by it a cause of contracting that sickness, which
is what is called a contagious disease, then he is excused for not
attending Jumu'ah and prayers in congregation,lest he harm other
worshippers. In fact he may be prevented from entering the mosque
until his illness has gone away, because the Prophet (blessings and
peace of Allah be upon him) forbade bringing a sick individual among
healthy ones, as al-Bukhaari (6771) and Muslim (2221) narrated from
Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) that he said: The Prophet
(blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: "No sick one should
be put with a healthy one."
For more information onthe issue of contagion, please see the answer
toquestion no. 45694
Dr. Sulaymaan ibn Waa'ilat-Tuwaijri, a member offaculty at Umm al-Qura
University was asked about a man affected with a contagious disease
(such as measles)– is he obliged to pray inthe mosque with the
congregation?
He replied: One of the excuses that waive the obligation to pray in
congregation and to attend Jumu'ah is sickness, if recovery from this
sickness will bedelayed or if it will be made worse. That also
includes contagious diseases, the harm of which may be passed to
others. In this case the individual is excused and is not obliged to
pray in congregation because of his sickness and because of the fear
of contagion, because the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be
upon him) forbade the one who has eaten garlic or onions to come to
the mosque lest the people be bothered by his smell, and this one
(i.e. the one who is sick) is obviously more bothersome than one who
has eaten something that has an offensive smell. And Allah knows best.
May Allah send blessings and peace upon our Prophet Muhammad and upon
his family and companions.

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And Allah Knows the Best!

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Published by :->
M NajimudeeN Bsc- INDIA

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Army of Elephants

The following incident ismentioned in Surah Feel of the Holy Quran and
it happened during the period of the birth-year of Prophet Muhammad
(peace be upon him). Abraha Al-Ashram was the governor of Yemen on
behalf of the king of Ethiopia. He (Abrahah) thought to build a
house(like the Kabah at Makkah) in Sana (the capital of Yemen) and
call the Arabs to performthe pilgrimage there in Sana instead of the
Kabah in Makkah, with the intention of diverting the trade and
benefits from Makkah to Yemen. He presented his idea to the king of
Ethiopia who agreed to it. So the house (church) was built and he
named it Al-Qullais; there was no church of its like at that time.
Then a man from the Quraish tribe ofMakkah came there and was
infuriated by it, so he relieved his nature (stools and urine) in it,
soiled its walls and went away. When Abrahah Al-Ashram saw that, he
could not control his anger and raised an army to invade Makkah and
demolish the Kabah.He had in that army thirteen elephants and amongst
them was an elephant called Mahmud which was the biggest of them. So
that army proceeded and none amongst the Arab tribes that faced them
(fought against them) but was killed and defeated, till itapproached
near Makkah. Then there tookplace negotiations between Abrahah
Al-Ashram and the chief of Makkah (Abdul Muttalib bin Hashim, the
grandfather of the Prophet), and it was concluded that Abrahah would
restore the camels of Abdul Muttalib which he had taken away, and then
he (Abrahah) would decide himself as regards the Kabah. Abdul Muttalib
ordered the men of Makkah to evacuate the city and go to the top of
the mountains along with their wives and children in case some harm
should come to them from the invading oppressors. Then that army moved
towards Makkah till they reached valley Muhassir. While the army was
marching towards Makkah, in the middle of the valley, suddenly it was
overtaken by flocks of birds, flocks after flocks, air-raiding that
army with small stones slightlybigger than a lentil seed.There never
fell a stone on a soldier except it dissolved his flesh and burst it
into pieces. So they perished with a total destruction. Abrahah
Al-Ashram fled away while his flesh wasbursting into pieces till he
died on the way (back to Yemen). Such was the victory bestowed by
Allah, (the All-Majestic, All-Powerful) to the people of Makkah and
such was the protection provided by Him for His House (Kabah in
Makkah).
Source: Extracted from Tafsir of Surah Feel (Surah 105) by Ibn
Kathiras found in Translation of the Noble Quran by Muhammad Muhsin
Khan.

Reward for Helping Others

Ibn Abbas narrated, OnceI was in a state of itikaaf in the Prophet's
Mosque (Medina). A certain person came to me and sat down. I said to
him, 'O so and so, you look sad'. He said, 'Yes of course, o fraternal
brother of the Prophet. So-and-so has his due onme, and by the one who
lies in eternal peace in the grave (i.e. Prophet Muhammad), I am not
able to pay the debt' I said, 'Should I not talk tohim about your
debt?' He said, 'You can do so if you like' There upon I put my shoes
on and went out of the mosque.The person asked him, 'Have you
forgotten the state you were in (i.e. itikaaf)?' I replied, 'Not at
all, but I have heard rom the one who lies in eternal peace in the
grave [saying this his eyes became filled with tears], said:
"One who moves to fulfill any need of his brother, and makes effort
for it, will find it better than itikaaf of tenyears; and one who
performs itikaaf for one day for the pleasure of Allah, he will create
a distance of three ditchesbetween him and the hell - and each ditch
has a width which lies between East and West, or between the heaven
and earth."
Source: Al Targhib Vol II p 272.
By the blessings of Allah, we are approaching another Ramadan. For
most of us, we feel a little taste of hunger during this month only.
But there are billions for whom it is a matter of daily life. Let us
get immense rewards by helping our needy brothers and sisters around
the world duringthis month of generosity.

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And Allah Knows the Best!

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Published by :->
M NajimudeeN Bsc- INDIA

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*Birthday of Imam Mahdi (ATFS) is the day of the Oppressed People of the World

The appearance of the Imam Mahdi (as) is Allah'sfavour for the
oppressed and the weak, and is a means of their coming to power and
gaining the promised divine succession of the world. Holy Qur'an says
"We have decided to grant favour to the suppressed ones by appointing
them leaders and heirs of the earth", (Al-Quran: Chapteral-Qasas,
28:5). The appearance of Imam Mahdi (as) means the realization of the
promise Allah (SWT) made to the righteous in Holy Qur'an. "Verily we
have written in the Psalms (zaboor) after the Torah had been
revealed:My righteous servants shall inherit the earth." (Al-Quran:
Chapter al-Anbia, 21:105)
This auspicious occasion of birth anniversary of Imam Mahdi (atfs)
surely revives our hopes for a better future ahead when Imam Mahdi
(as) reappears from the occultation. Additionally, it is a special
reminder to those suffering under oppression and tyranny that
resistance and resilience in the face of injustice will only serve
them in the long-haul. The belief in Imam Mahdi(as) is a manifestation
forglobal community that the battle between truth and falsehood will
culminate in favour of forces of truth once the Promised one returns.
The continuation of the occultation of Imam Mahdi (as) is meant to
preserve the vigilance and advance the cause ofjustice. It is
important that as part of our waiting of Imam Mahdi (as), we
persistently oppose all bullying powers (global, domestic,secular,
religious or in any other form or shape),and remain steadfast during
adversarial times. The global dominance of few arrogant and oppressive
powers has yielded two billion starved people across theglobe,
millions displaced due to warmongering policies and majority of
nations subservient. In such circumstances, the silver lining is the
belief in the eventual global just governance of the ultimate saviour.
It convinces human beings that the world status quomust be denounced
and wait for a turnabout in the living conditions of the humanity at
large. Hence, it is imperative and incumbent upon the well-wishers and
followers of Imam Mahdi (as) to lay the practical groundwork necessary
for his return in addition to the prayers.