“If one of you has worshipped Muhammad, Muhammad is no more. If you worshipped Allah, Allah is alive; He will never die, it is certain.”

This is the statement of Abubakar ◌ؓ, the most prominent disciple of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ. Hearing the news of the departure of the Prophet ﷺ, whom we love more than we do our own body, he had reached there from the region of Sunh on a horseback. After removing the blanket with which the mortal remains of the Prophet was covered from the part of his head and kissing on his sacred face with a sob, Abubakar ◌ؓ said the above lines. These words were addressed to the gathering of the followers, including Umar ◌ؓ, who had said, “if someone says that the Prophet has died, I will behead him.” The followers were desperate and grieving, unable to know what they had to do now. While narrating the incident, quoted by Imam Bukhari in his Sahih, Ayisha ◌ؓ, Prophet’s wife and Abubakar’s daughter, said that it was only then that they realised that the verse 144 of Al Imran was there in the Quran which Abubakar ◌ؓ recited after making the above statement. The meaning of the verse is this: “Muhammad is not but a messenger. [Other] messengers have passed on before him. So if he was to die or be killed, would you turn back on your heels [to unbelief]? And he who turns back on his heels will never harm Allah at all; but Allah will reward the grateful.”

I remembered this incident, seeing the social media posts complaining about the Fridays without Juma prayers. The sadness of those believers who regularly pray in congregation about its absence is quite natural. Their sadness stems from the worry about missing the spiritual reassurance and reward, which they derive from congregational prayers. Those who attend all Juma prayers inspite of all difficulties would be miserable, as Fridays without congregational prayers pass by. Their misery is that they cannot gather in a place, cannot remember God, cannot pray to him, cannot listen to Khutba and cannot attain the contentment of God. But should a believer be weakened by this sadness? Should s/he be disappointed, seeing the mosques locked and not being able to attend congregations? Should we not emboldened by the Qur’anic lesson that trials increase the Iman of believers? Are we not the followers of Prophet Mohammad ﷺ who taught that the contagious diseases which befall unbelievers as a punishment are blessings for believers? How could the believers be disappointed, as they are supposed to show gratitude when they are happy and forgive when they have afflictions?!

The demise of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ is, undoubtedly, a sad event. Nothing more depressing has ever occurred in the life of believers. But it was supposed to occur once. A believer is not someone whose mind is dead out of disappointment when it actually occurs. He worships not a dying Prophet; but Allah who is always alive. It is sad to see locked Masjids and Fridays without congregations. All Masjids were created once and will cease to exist once. But Allah whom we worship is not restricted into masjids. Almighty as He is, His Knowledge and abilities encompass everything in the universe. A believer’s relationship with Allah does not stop when a masjid is closed or Juma prayer is stopped. Wherever they are, believers will worship Allah; none but Allah; He is their Lord; the Lord of the Universe!! They were taught that “And to Allah belongs the east and the west. So wherever you [might] turn, there is the Face of Allah . Indeed, Allah is all-Encompassing and Knowing.” (2:115)

We should not forget that it is Allah who commanded us to perform Salah five times a day directed to shorten and combine prayers in certain circumstances. The Prophet taught us that virtue is to obey these instructions on due occasions. An authentic Hadith is reported in the collection of Tirmidhi that those who perform Rawatib prayers regularly will have a house in the heaven. However, in the collections of Bukhari and Muslim, there is the Hadith of Ibn Umar ◌ؓ criticising those who prayed Rawatib except in Fajr during journeys. We know the ruling that ablution with water is mandatory for Salat. However, there is easing of this regulation, when water is not available or if one is a patient who cannot use water. In those situations, one is supposed to perform Tayammum. The jurisprudential ruling is that if one is a patient who cannot use water, one should not perform ablution with water, but should do Tayammum. Just as we pray for Allah in regular times, we shorten them for Allah, as well. God’s containment remains in a healthy man doing ablution with water; but Allah likes a patient who cannot use water to rub one’s face and hands after striking the hands at the face of the earth. We should not forget that the rituals in Islam have such a flexibility, when we express our sadness at not being able to perform the prayer at the masjids. A believer should be motivated by the saying of the Prophet, “A person who is ill or travels will receive the same reward that he gets when he is at home or healthy.” (Bukhari narrated from Abu Musa Al Ash’ari)

The Prophet’s command is that all the menfolk in a region should gather in the masjid there. Jurisprudential texts also say that the congregational prayers should not be stopped, except on exigencies. It is mandatory for all men, except the travellers and patients, to perform the congregational prayer at noontime on Fridays. However, the law says that one is not supposed to go to the Masjid during inclement weather. This exception is applicable for Juma’a prayers too. The Prophet’s custom is that on such exceptional circumstances, even the calling of Azan for prayer can be altered accordingly. A Hadith has been narrated in Bukari and Muslim on the authority of Abdullah Ibn Abbas ◌ؓ, who says that he learned from the Prophet that during inclement weather, one should call out, “Pray at home,” instead of the phrase, “come forth for prayer.” Just as God likes us to pray in congregation at Masjids when we are safe, He has a liking for our not going to Masjids when we are not safe.

Contagion is more troublesome than inclement weather. Both Bukhari and Muslim reported a Prophetic saying, “one should not come to Masjids with the smell of onion and garlic in one’s mouth.” If one should not go to Masjid with unpleasant smell, how could one carrying a lethal virus be justified for going there? On the basis of the authentic Hadith, cited by Ibn Maja and Dara Qutni, saying, “Never harm and never cause harm,” believers have the responsibility to keep away from situations in which one cause harm on others and one is susceptible to harm from others. Muslim scholars asked Muslims to stop congregational prayers and to perform them at home, only to abide by the directions of the Prophets on occasions when one cannot determine people who carry viruses. The believers are taking heed of an authentic Hadith (reported by Imam Ahmad) which says that “those who remain inside their houses to safeguard oneself and others are under the protection of Allah.” If a believer feels spiritual sense of superiority by going to Masjids by heeding the command of the Prophet, S/he should feel the same sense of spiritual bliss when they do not go to Masjids by heeding his command. Why should the believers feel disappointed, when they observe the safeguards which Allah asks them to maintain?