Haram Vaccination in the Prophet Muhammad’s Treatment Perspective

Vaccination has become a controversial discourse among Indonesian people, especially Muslims who have their own rules on the use of prohibited elements. The main reason for prohibiting vaccines is the hadith ‘Walātadāwaw bi ḥarām’. This study will analyze the understanding of the hadith by the ‘ilmuma‘ani al-hadiṡ through textual, intertextual and contextual interpretation techniques, and using an integrative hadith approach. This research shows that the statement of the Prophet about the ability and forbidden treatment with illicit (ḥarām) and unclean (najs) substances are not a contradictory statement, but interrelated. The hadith contains irsyādī in the form of values and ethical instructions in maintaining health, not just the halal and haram realms. Alternative healing with something that is forbidden is a test for Islamic pharmaceutical experts in an attempt to find alternative vaccines and halal drugs. Utilization of the latest science and technology to create halal vaccines and drugs is a necessity because illicit treatment facilities that have been transmitted will continue as long as no alternative halal is found. The universal principle of the Prophet’s respect must be revealed and eliminate the dichotomy between the practice of the Sunnah and the development of science and modern human civilization.