Can the Power of Prayer Alone Stop a Pandemic Like the Coronavirus?

Editor

The COVID-19 pandemic is forcing governments and news sources to provide the most accurate and                                helpful advice to the world's population, as the disease is indeed global in reach. Health care                                        professionals  are in high demand and so too are scientists who study the transmission and the effect                                        of pandemics. 

Experts like immunologist Dr. Anthony Fauci and medical reporter Dr. Sanjay Gupta are saying that                                            good hygiene and quarantining, or the practice of isolating from others in the hope of preventing the                                      spread of contagious diseases, are the most effective tools to contain COVID-19.

Do you know who else suggested good hygiene and quarantining during a pandemic?

Muhammad, the prophet of Islam, over 1,300 years ago.

While he is by no means a "traditional" expert on matters of deadly diseases, Muhammad nonetheless                                   had sound advice to prevent and combat a development like COVID-19.

Muhammad said: "If you hear of an outbreak of plague in a land, do not enter it; but if the plague                                      outbreaks out in a place while you are in it, do not leave that place."

He also said: "Those with contagious diseases should be kept away from those who are healthy."

Muhammad also strongly encouraged human beings to adhere to hygienic practices that would keep                                      people safe from infection. Consider the following hadiths, or sayings of Prophet Muhammad:

"Cleanliness is part of faith."

"Wash your hands after you wake up; you do not know where your hands have moved while you sleep."

"The blessings of food lie in washing hands before and after eating."

And what if someone does fall ill? What kind of advice would Muhammad provide to his fellow human                                  beings who are suffering from pain?

He would encourage people to always seek medical treatment and medication: "Make use of medical                            treatment," he said, "for God has not made a disease without appointing a remedy for it, with the                                      exception of one disease—old age."