KUALA LUMPUR: Special Muzakarah Committee of the National Council for the National Council for the Islamic Religious Affairs has agreed that the use of Covid-19 vaccine is compulsory (wajib) for groups that have been identified by the government and permissible (harus) for others.
Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Religious Affairs) Datuk Seri Dr Zulkifli Mohamad Al-Bakri said the decision made by the committee which convened its 10th meeting on Dec 3, also presented its decision to Conference of Rulers.
"I would like to call upon all Malaysians especially the Muslims to adhere (to the decision made by the committee on the use of the Covid-19 vaccine) and give their full trust in the government to help curb the spread the pandemic through the use of the vaccine," Zulkifli said in a statement today.
The use of vaccine to protect humans from dangerous diseases is not new in the view of syarak (Islamic law), he said, citing six decisions made by the committee from 1988 and 2013 including for rubella immunisation (1988) and the Menveo (meningitis vaccine) in 2013.
"At the international level, the world fatwa institutions have issued edicts on the use of the vaccine.
"Among the institutions included al-Azhar al-Sharif through Hai'ah Kibar 'Ulama al-Azhar and Majma' al-Buhuth al-Islamiyyah that is chaired by Syeikh al-Azhar Syeikh Dr. Ahmad al-Tayyib1; the Fatwa Council of the United Arab Emirates's government that is chaired by Syeikh Abdullah Ben Bayyah as well as the United States' Majma' Fuqaha' al-Shari'ah, whose members included Syeikh Dr. Muhammad al-Zuhaily," he said.
Zulkifli also said he would elaborate and explain the matter related to the use of the vaccine in the seventh series of the Prime Minister's Department (Religious Affairs) online publication, Majalah al-Bayan soon.
"The use of the Covid-19 vaccine is the decision made by the government in a matter that is regarded 'maslahah' (for the best interest of the public), after taking into consideration factors and views from groups and experts and those with authority," he said.