A photo showing a few individuals bringing their slippers inside a mosque in Sarawak while waiting for their turns to get vaccinated went viral on social media recently, much to the displeasure of local netizens.
For the uninitiated, the “issue” was first brought to light by a Twitter user known as Delilah (@dellilah27) yesterday (Tuesday, 22nd June). She then proceeded to call the Religious Affairs Minister, Datuk Dr. Zulkifli Mohamad Al-Bakri, out to share his thoughts on the matter.
The female netizen’s statement had also prompted Dr. Zulkifli to issue his response in order to clear the air on the situation. “This picture was taken at the Darul Hana Mosque in Kuching, Sarawak. The slippers and shoes belonging to the vaccine receivers were put inside a plastic and were brought along into the mosque,” he wrote on his official Twitter account.
The local politician further clarified, “Bringing along footwear inside the mosque is a common atmosphere in the Masjidil Haram as well as the Al Masjid An-Nabawi (the Prophet’s Mosque). In this case, if there’s no unclean stuff attached, then it’s not considered as dirty/impure. The fiqh method states: ‘Confidence is not dispelled by suspicion (doubt)’.”
A few commentators on Twitter also chimed in to air their two cents about the matter. Most of them pointed out that a rather similar situation has been happening not only in Malaysia, but also in several other countries across the continent. Check out what they said below:
✅ Jika tidak ada ‘ain najis, maka tidak dikira bernajis. Kaedah fiqh menyebut:
اليَقِين لَا يُزَالُ بِالشَّكّ
Maksudnya : Keyakinan tidak dihilangkan dengan syak (keraguan).— Dr. Zulkifli Mohamad Al-Bakri (@drzul_albakri) June 22, 2021
Other than that, the Twitter user was also heavily criticised by netizens for spreading slanderous rumours on social media.
