Dear Canadian Muslims,
Assalamu Alaikum Wa Rahmatullahi Wa Barakatuh.
May the peace, mercy and blessings of Allah be with you
Several jurisdictions across the country, including recently the Toronto and Peel regions in Ontario,
have introduced strict new capacity limits on places of worship as they work to get a handle on the surge
of COVID-19 cases. In Ontario, places of worship in lockdown regions will now be permitted
to only accommodate a maximum of 10 persons. As such, masajid in the affected areas should
be closed to the public with immediate effect, while continuing to maintain the rights of the masjid –
daily salaah will continue by staff and limited volunteers.
As Muslims, we believe that nothing, including this pandemic, happens without Allah’s permission. The
Qur’an states, Say, “Never will we be struck except by what Allah has decreed for us; He is our
protector.” And upon Allah let the believers rely (At-Taubah: 51). The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم also gave us these specific guidelines to navigate during a plague: Sa’d (R. A.) reported, the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said, “If you hear of a plague in a land, then do not go into it. If it happens in a land where you are, then do not go out of it.” (Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī5396, ṢaḥīḥMuslim 2218). Further, Abu Sa’eed al-Khudree (R. A.) reported, the Messenger of Allah صلى الله عليه وسلم said, “There should be neither harming (darar) nor reciprocating harm (dirar).” (40 Hadith Nawawi 32)
Finally, the general Muslim population is afforded a concession to be absent from Jumu’ah and
congregational prayers and instead to pray Dhuhr on Friday and the other five daily prayers in their
homes, out of fear of spreading the virus.
Given the above, if you are in an identified lockdown region, please adhere to the following:
1. Do not attend the masajid.
2. Do not travel to neighbouring regions not affected by a lockdown to attend masajid.
3. Do not complicate matters for masajid administrations by demanding an increased number of
prayers of smaller acceptable sizes, based on regional limits.
Canadian Muslim COVID-19 Task Force
cmcovidtf@gmail.com | www.cmcovidtf.com | @cmcovidtf
With special endorsement:
Canadian Council of Imams
Muslim Medical Association of Canada