UAE Fatwa Council permits use of COVID-19 vaccines

The UAE Fatwa Council, under the chairmanship of Shaykh Abdallah bin Bayyah, has issued a 'fatwa' allowing the COVID-19 vaccines to be used in compliance with Islamic Sharia’s objectives on the protection of the human body and other relevant rulings.

This comes in response to growing concerns among Muslims over the halal status of the vaccines and follows a request for an advisory opinion by Malaysia's Minister of Religious Affairs to the Council.

"Coronavirus vaccination is classified under preventive medicines for individuals, as recommended by the Islamic faith, particularly in times of pandemic diseases when the healthy happen to be prone to infections due to the high risk of contracting the disease, therefore posing risk to the entire society," the Council explained.

It added that even though the vaccine in question contains non-halal ingredients banned by Islam, it is permissible under the Islamic rule permitting the use of such products in cases where there are no alternatives.

The statement cited the highly contagious nature of the disease as a justification, owing to the dire consequences the pandemic has inflicted in terms of fatal physical and material damage.

The Council stated that concerned medical authorities and other competent experts are authorised to assess the side effects of the vaccine.

It's calling for everyone to cooperate with their respective governments to ensure the success of vaccination campaigns and respect for the preventive and precautionary measures taken in this regard.