HIV infections are rising at an alarming rate in Bangladesh. According to the government's latest report, 1,891 new HIV cases were detected in the country in a single year, the highest annual increase since 2000. During the same period, 254 people died. Nearly half of the newly infected are unmarried, and a large proportion are young.
Most worrying of all, reports are emerging from different parts of the country of rising infections among university students. The very young people who hold the future of the nation in their hands are now at risk from a silent killer. Health experts say that HIV cannot be prevented by the health department alone. It requires a joint effort by educational institutions, families, religious institutions and social organisations.
Why is it spreading?
According to experts, the main causes of HIV transmission are extramarital and unsafe sexual relations, sharing needles while injecting drugs, and receiving unscreened blood. The rise in infections among the young shows that free mixing, pornography and drug abuse have penetrated deep into our society.
Islam closed the door to this danger fourteen hundred years ago. Allah the Exalted says:
وَلَا تَقْرَبُوا الزِّنَىٰ ۖ إِنَّهُ كَانَ فَاحِشَةً وَسَاءَ سَبِيلًا
"And do not even approach adultery. Indeed, it is an immorality and an evil way." (Surah Al-Isra, 17:32)
Notice that Allah did not only forbid adultery; He forbade even approaching it. In other words, He told us to stay away from the paths, glances and environments that draw people towards indecency. In the same way, Islam has clearly declared all sexual relations outside lawful marriage between a man and a woman, including same-sex relations, to be forbidden.
The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, warned:
لَمْ تَظْهَرِ الْفَاحِشَةُ فِي قَوْمٍ قَطُّ حَتَّى يُعْلِنُوا بِهَا إِلَّا فَشَا فِيهِمُ الطَّاعُونُ وَالْأَوْجَاعُ الَّتِي لَمْ تَكُنْ مَضَتْ فِي أَسْلَافِهِمُ
"Immorality never appears among a people to the extent that they commit it openly, except that plagues and diseases spread among them that were unknown to their ancestors." (Sunan Ibn Majah, 4019)
Verify, don't spread rumours
On such a sensitive issue, many rumours are also spreading on social media. Spreading unverified news attached to the name of a particular institution or person is both unjust and sinful. Allah says:
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا إِن جَاءَكُمْ فَاسِقٌ بِنَبَإٍ فَتَبَيَّنُوا
"O you who believe, if a wrongdoer brings you news, verify it." (Surah Al-Hujurat, 49:6)
No hatred towards the sick
Not everyone with HIV is infected because of wrongdoing. Innocent people are infected through a husband or wife, through blood transfusions, and even from the mother's womb. And for those who went down the wrong path, the door of repentance remains open. Our hatred should be for the sin, not for the sinner. Encouraging those affected to seek treatment and standing by them is also our responsibility. Doctors say that with regular treatment, people living with HIV can lead normal lives for a long time.
What we must do
1. Parents should keep an eye on their children's company, movements and mobile phone use, and talk with them as friends.
2. Make marriage easy for children once they reach adulthood. When marriage is made difficult, the path to indecency becomes easy.
3. Imams and khatibs should regularly speak in their sermons about moral purity, guarding the gaze and the dangers of drugs.
4. Universities and colleges should strengthen moral education and awareness programmes.
5. Brothers returning from abroad should get tested if needed and keep their families safe.
6. Do not share any news without verifying it.
Disease spreads through ignorance and immorality; it is prevented through awareness and God-consciousness. May Allah protect our young generation from all forms of indecency and deadly disease. Ameen.
