AMPSA- STATEMENT ON COMPULSORY JABS
In the days and weeks to come, we are likely to see an increased drive from certain quarters in society to render compulsory one, two or even more doses of the Pfizer and other trial injections that are marketed as vaccines.
Accepting for the moment that these injections indeed constitute vaccinations as traditionally understood in the world of science (a hypothetical proposition that is in reality fundamentally problematic) , we are duty bound to respond to the issue of mandatory vaccinations. We cannot now bury our heads in the ground like ostriches and then seek to claim later- as a large number of white South Africans did post 1994- that we were unaware of the oppression that was occurring in our midst.
APMSA opposes mandatory vaccinations. It opposes any attempt to discriminate against, or prejudice, any person who chooses not to be vaccinated. It supports the right of every person to bodily and psychological integrity, including the right of every person to security in and over his/her body and the right not to be subjected to medical or scientific experiments without his/ her informed consent.
From a Shari’ah perspective, we should be deeply mindful of the following:
The physical body is an Amaanat (trust). The essence of a person is the Rooh (soul), which was created by Allah Ta’ala and kept in a different realm. Thereafter, at the appointed time, when a person was conceived within the womb of his mother, the Rooh was introduced into the body. The body serves as a vehicle during this worldly life. Upon death, the Rooh continues with the journey whilst the physical body, in general, disintegrates and perishes. Nonetheless, during this worldly life, the body is entrusted to the person. For a Muslim, the body is an important medium granted as a favour from Allah Ta’ala. Accordingly, a Muslim has a duty to see to the well-being of his/her body. Such carries with it an obligation to take all reasonable and necessary steps to ensure the well-being of the body. By way of illustration, a person is not permitted to consume poison as this will bring harm to the body.
Each person is responsible for his/her own actions. A person is duty bound to make rational decisions based on the information available to him/her. If a person is convinced that a particular substance is harmful, it is his duty to abstain from such substance.
Where a person is actually ill or suffers from some disease, it is permissible to adopt treatment and medication. However, the important point to be kept in mind is that from an Islamic perspective it is not obligatory to resort to the use of medication. The use of medicine simply remains in the category of that which is permissible (‘mubah’).
The broader principles of the Shari’ah espouse the maxim that merely permissible acts cannot and should not be peremptorily imposed or enforced.
When this is the case where a person who is already ill or suffering from a disease cannot compulsorily be subjected to the imposition of medical treatment or the taking of any medicines, a fortiori, where a person is healthy and well, it can never be obligatory on him/her to take a substance
merely upon the basis that he could possibly, in the future, contract a particular disease.
Our position is informed by the following considerations:
The Shari’ah dimension adumbrated above.
There are genuine concerns about the safety of the vaccines – it is dishonest for sectors in society to underplay the injuries and deaths that are attributable to the vaccines. Reports abound, both locally and internationally, about vast numbers who have suffered severe, and in some cases, fatal ill effects as a direct consequence of having been vaccinated.
Many ulama (locally and internationally) have issued fatawa in which they have declared it impermissible for a Muslim to take the vaccines, based on their ruling that the vaccines contain ingredients that are haraam.
Yielding to compulsory vaccination sets a dangerous precedent. Once the Ummah succumbs and allows an un-Islamic deviant authority or the private sector to dictate what must be inserted into our bodies, what chance will we have when they dictate what may or may not be spoken about, what may or may not be eaten, what may or may not be taught to our children, what may or may not take place in our homes, what may or may not take place in our masaajid, the mode of our prayers, even the possible shaping of every other facet of our lives.
It is completely dishonest for the proponents of compulsory vaccination to proclaim that it is a “social responsibility” to vaccinate. There has been an orchestrated campaign, a campaign that unfortunately and regrettably finds support among elements within the Ummah, to use fear of illness/death and guilt attributable to one “causing” the illness of the other, to unduly influence people to take the vaccines and to support compulsory vaccinations .Even if one, for purposes of argument, were to accept the secularists’ narrative that contagion exists, their own studies reveal that the Pfizer and other MRNA vaccines that they tout do not prevent transmission of, or infection by, the corona virus .The new “need” for a booster injection , followed possibly by a series of further booster injections, plainly warrants the very plausible inference that there is an ulterior purpose behind the drive to force vaccinations on the world’s population.
More worrisome is the spectre of a two tier, discriminatory society that will likely result (and in some instances has already resulted) from this “vaccinate” hysteria.
The state, supported by the media and a host of organisations, including organisations from within the Ummah, has craftily misrepresented the true issues.
In order to drive the “vaccinate” hysteria and to spread the belief that unvaccinated people are a threat or danger, or - worse still - are impediments to the restoration of normality, they have peddled the narrative that lockdowns will occur unless people are vaccinated.
Elements within the corporate private sector have already introduced compulsory vaccinations. In some cases, they disguise this oppression by presenting a “choice” to employees - either vaccinate or, at the employee’s cost, take (the now known to be) meaningless, obscenely over-priced PCR test weekly, or with even greater frequency, to prove he/she is “covid free”. Others have an “exemption policy”, in terms of which an employee must apply to be exempted – conveying the impression that the employer, out of its largess, kindness and mercy, may exempt an employee, with a demonstration of gratitude by the latter. All of these are variants of a profoundly oppressive policy of compulsory vaccination.
It is a serious indictment against our Ummah that it has now become commonplace for invitations to social gatherings, and even close family gatherings, to proclaim boldly and shamelessly that only vaccinated people are welcome. Reports also abound that children don’t visit their unvaccinated parents and vice versa. As Muslims, we should hang our heads in shame!
We simply cannot afford to divide this Ummah on such spurious, contrived, baseless and prejudicial grounds.
We cannot remain silent in the face of such dhulm (oppression). We have no authority to impose that which Allah Ta’ala and his Rasool ( صلى الله عليه وسلم) have not ordained.
Although the duplicity of Europe and North America in the manner in which they dealt with the so called “omicron” variant of the corona virus has rightly been criticised, and their neo-imperialism and racism exposed, such should not be allowed to distract us- our attention should not be diverted from the real problem - the dhulm (oppression) of compulsory vaccinations.
Unfortunately, many have not been able to correctly characterise the issue at hand. The core issue is not whether one considers the vaccine permissible or not. Rather, the present critical issue is respect for other individuals’ viewpoints and choices. It is to effectively say that although I consider the vaccine as permissible and beneficial, and I am even vaccinated, I respect the next person’s right to hold a contrary view. Those who take an alternative stance should have the right to act in accordance with their conscience and conviction. No one should be compelled against their will. Therefore, while there may be differing views on the question of permissibility, there ought not to be any difference on the issue of compulsion. We should, as an Ummah, stand united in respecting every person’s right to decide what may and what may not enter that person’s body.
We call on the Ummah to resist compulsory vaccinations!
We are answerable to Allah for our actions and our inaction.
May Allah imbue in us the courage to remain firm on Haqq, to stand firmly for justice and to resist injustice and oppression!
Electronically issued by AMPSA SHURA COUNCIL
