The Fiqh of Coronaviruses
Towards an Islamic Biocentric Approach to COVID-19
Abstract
COVID-19, a disease caused by a novel coronavirus, is widely believed to have originated in animals. In the Islamic worldview, animals, including those suspected to be reservoirs of coronavirus or other zoonotic viruses, are divine creations, guided by divine command and sustained through divine provisions. Based on content analysis of relevant literature in environmental sciences, humanities and social sciences, I provide an Islamic religious understanding (fiqh) of certain ecological functions and ecosystem services that support life on earth but could also be harmful to humans. The objective of the study is to contribute to the discourse on biocentric environmental ethics from an Islamic perspective. The biocentric environmental ethics I advanced is framed on al-takāful al-bī’ī (mutual guarantee among environmental components) and corroborated by the One Health approach to zoonotic diseases in which human health is intractably linked with the health of animals and ecosystems. The study concludes that the breakout of zoonotic diseases is often a result of the breakdown of ecological barriers precipitated by human actions.
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