One of Saudi Arabia's top Islamic scholars said recently it is permissible to delay Haj and Umrah due to the outbreak of swine flu. Sheikh Saleh Bin Fowzan Al-Fowzan, member of the the Permanent Committee of Islamic Research and Verdicts and member of the Council of Senior Ulema, said on Aug. 9 that “this is a form of protection,” as reported by Madeenah.com, when asked about leaving off acts of worship like performing Umrah in Ramadan for the fear of swine flu. “There is no harm (in leaving them) if you fear catching a contagious disease. The Prophet (peace be upon him) ordered people not to enter a land that has an epidemic, nor to exit from it (if one is in that land). So if a disease spreads in a certain country, one should not travel from that country so as not to spread that disease, nor should a person travel to the country that has that disease... and this is a form of protection,” Sheikh Fowzan said. “So there is no harm in doing so if it is established that there is a disease in the country during Haj or Umrah. If it is established that there is a contagious disease, then do not travel. Delay your Haj or Umrah to a later time. There is no problem in doing so. This is a way of protecting oneself.” __
