Getting a jab of the COVID-19 vaccine will not break your fast, the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) said, after concerns were raised ahead of the holy month of Ramadan.
In addition to prohibitions for eating and drinking from dawn to dusk, among other established fasting rules for Muslims is that injections for nutritional purposes invalidate the fast.
The highest Islamic clerical authority in the country has stamped out any ambiguity in the rule by issuing a fatwa (religious edict) acknowledging that COVID-19 vaccines offer no nutritional value and therefore do not invalidate the fast.
“COVID-19 vaccines administered intramuscularly do not break the fast,” MUI Fatwa Division Chairman Asrorun Niam said in a press release today.
That said, MUI is recommending that Muslims, where possible, get their COVID-19 jabs in the evening when they’re not fasting, as getting vaccinated on an empty stomach during the day may lead to complications.
Ever since Indonesia began its mass vaccination program in mid-January, the predominantly Muslim country has gradually picked up its daily vaccination rate to around 250 thousand per day as it aims to vaccinate up to 1 million people per day. Concerns were raised that the rate may be hindered if Muslims decide not to receive the vaccine during Ramadan.
This year, Ramadan is expected to begin on April 12 and end on May 12.
