The Muslims Rights Concern (MURIC) has urged Muslim communities in Nigeria to take the COVID-19 vaccination without any fear.

The pro-Muslim non-governmental group said vaccination would help to curb the spread of the Coronavirus.

MURIC Director Ishaq Akintola gave the advice on Friday in a statement made available to newsmen in Abuja.

“COVID-19 vaccine is designed to give protection to those who take it by making their bodies produce substances known as antibodies whose function is to fight disease.

“We have seen our leaders both at the federal and state levels taking the injections, this is to build confidence in us.

“We urge Nigerian Muslims and the rest of the citizenry to embrace the vaccine. Let us obey our leaders as enshrined in the Glorious Qur’an (4:59)’’, he said.

Akintola also reaffirmed the position of Islamic scholars on the importance of vaccination during pandemic.

“We reaffirm the position of scholars of Islam, especially that of the prolific Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah in his book Majmu‘ al-Fataawa .

“The scholars also cited the Hadith of the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) where he said ‘Seek medical treatment’.

“And it was the consensus of Islamic scholars that vaccination is halaal (permissible)” he said.

The MURIC director called on cynics to have a rethink and accept the vaccine for the benefit of their health.

“We are concerned with the right of every Nigerian to live a healthy life free from any disease.

“We also believe that Nigerian lives matter as no Nigerian deserves to lose his life to any epidemic when a vaccine has been made available”, he said.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the country received four million doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine on March 2.

NAN also reports that the vaccination exercise has since begun as doses of the vaccine have been sent to all states.