A Muslim group, League of Imams and Alfas of Yorubaland, has clarified its position on the use of alcohol-based sanitizer by Muslims as the world battles the COVID-19 pandemic.

In a statement issued by the spokesman for the league and Mudir Markaz (Arabic and Islamic College), Agege, in Lagos, the league said its stand that Muslims should rather use detergents than alcohol-based sanitizer was informed by the fact that the 60 per cent to 70 per cent alcoholic content in sanitizer which could kill the virus is definitely above permissible percentage agreed by most Islamic scholars for non-consumable alcoholic content.

The agreed percentage of non-consumable cannot be more than 3%.

“Since there is a better option in detergent which can kill any virus rather than bacteria which, according to experts consulted, sanitizer tackles, and detergent remain the better and preferred option,” the group said.

Also, according to the group, also known as Rabita, the fact that alcohol-based sanitizer can kill some useful cells and bacteria in the body system makes detergent a better option.

Commenting further, Rabita said that it is forbidden by Allah for anyone to seize the opportunity of the moment to arbitrarily increase prices of goods and commodities.

“Muslims must, therefore, desist from increasing prices of goods and commodities to cause additional inconveniences to the society,” the league said.

According to the league, hoarding or arbitrary price increase of goods, particularly at this moment, can attract the wrath of Allah as it is forbidden outright.

The group said,

“What is needed at this time is giving and helping others in distress, including pleading with Allah for forgiveness.

“We want to advise that any Muslim who dies of this coronavirus should be buried as a martyr, as “he should be buried in whatever container the corpse is delivered by medical experts with a limited number of people observing the janazat prayer on him.”

According to Rabita,

“We cannot bath for him in order to prevent further spread of the disease except there are people who could do that without being infected. May Allah protect the world and forgive our sins.”