MUHAMMADIYAH.ID, YOGYAKARTA – Muslims may feel something missing when they cannot perform Eid al-Fitr prayer in an open field or mosque but at home due to a COVID-19 pandemic.

“Meanwhile, the prayer is sunnah, meaning that ones are not punished for not doing it,” conveyed the General Chairman of the Central Board of Muhammadiyah Haedar Nashir on Saturday (3/5).

He explained that people dwelling in green zones may need to consider preventing the spread of the coronavirus.

“Green zones show areas with zero confirmed cases till date or no infected travelers from red zones. However, there have been local transmissions and asymptomatic cases so that everyone must be vigilant,” asserted Haedar.

Some prevention can be undertaken in the green zones is raising public awareness of the risk of the COVID-19, applying health protocols such as physical distancing as well as social distancing, and maintaining physical hygiene.

“We do not discern how massive COVID-19 tests are carried out in the green zones so that we cannot noticeably track the coronavirus spread,” declared Haedar.

Thus, all people, particularly Muhammadiyah people, should obey and follow policies and edicts of the Central Board of Muhmmadiyah not to perform Eid al-Fitr prayer in an open field or mosque to break the chain of the COVID-19 transmission.

Being alert is in accordance with a principle of sadduẓ-ẓarīʻah (preventive actions) to avert us from throwing [ourselves] with our [own] hands into destruction as mentioned on Al-Qur’an (Al-Baqarah/2: 195) and to avoid harm as stated by Prophet Muhammad, from Ibn ‘Abbas: Rasulullah saw said “There is no harm to oneself and no harm to others [HR Mallik and Ahmad].