A Moment of Reflection on Natural Disasters
On Friday March 11, 2011 who did not witness over the news or via any other media source the wreckage and damage caused by the recent earthquake and tsunami which struck Japan?
A mere few seconds of tremors with a destructive tsunami and the whole region was reduced to ruins, homes and buildings swept away, hundreds of people perished, devastation of property and infrastructure plus overwhelming damage.
If we truly observe, we will notice that recently, the environment has changed more frequently than ever before. Infact, these changes have had huge impact on human lives. For instance, there are more multitudes of earthquakes, tsunamis, floods, and others disasters. Both human lives and properties are lost in the process.
But we could ask why do such things happen at a particular place, affecting a certain community or country, and not others? Indeed, these disasters are tests for one's faith and patience. These disasters also call upon us to self-reflect and remind us not to do things against the teachings of Allah or are destructive to our lives. If we have forgotten Allah and we have been negligent in our duties, these disasters are wake-up calls for us to reinforce our faith in Allah.
Not too long ago in the past year we have all witnessed a range of various forms of natural catastrophes throughout the world and many were just a few months apart.
According to many news sources some of the major disasters that made headlines in the year 2010/2011 were:
Haiti 7.0 Earthquake
A 7.0 earthquake struck the capital city, Port-au-Prince, Haiti on January 12, 2010 resulting in the deaths of 200,000 to 250,000 persons. The quake and the aftershocks leveled the city and surrounding area. Immediate relief efforts were drastically hampered by devastating damage caused to the ports, airport and roads.
Iceland Volcano Eruption
Amidst seismic rumblings recorded since December 2009, the Icelandic volcano erupted March 20, 2010. A second explosion followed on April 14, 2010. Air traffic across Northern Europe was grounded stranding millions of passengers. Aviation losses mounted into the millions of dollars due to canceled flights. Airlines did not fully recover from the aviation disaster until complete operations resumed after May 17, 2010.
Pakistan Flood Crisis
The flooding which swept through Pakistan beginning July 26, 2010 was the worst ever to hit that country. Fatalities in the floods reached almost 200,000 persons and further affected 20 million people The Pakistan flood relief effort is not over yet. The infrastructure damage was staggering. Nearly 10,000 schools and 1.7 million houses were destroyed and need to be rebuilt along with miles and miles of road, railway and infrastructure.
Australian Floods
A series of floods hit Australia, beginning in December 2010 and running into January 2011, primarily in the state of Queensland including its capital city, Brisbane. The floods forced the evacuation of thousands of people from towns and cities. At least seventy towns and over 200,000 people were affected and houses have been completely submerged
New Zealand Earthquake
A strong quake hit New Zealand's second-biggest city of Christchurch on 22 February, 2011, toppling buildings, causing multiple fatalities, trapping people beneath rubble and sparking fires.
So what is the duty of a Muslim at the time of such events and happenings? What are our responsibilities? What should be our reaction and attitude towards such catastrophic occurrences?
Let us refer to the different references established in the Quran and Ahadith relating to natural disasters and learn what a Muslim's approach and reaction should be towards such events.
First we have to understand that Allah controls the universe and operates it the way he deems appropriate. The Quran tells us that whatever occurs in the world happens only by the will of Allah.
مَآ أَصَابَ مِن مُّصِيبَةٍ إِلاَّ بِإِذْنِ ٱللَّهِ وَمَن يُؤْمِن بِٱللَّهِ يَهْدِ قَلْبَهُ وَٱللَّهُ بِكُلِّ شَيْءٍ عَلِيمٌ
Allah says in the Quran "no calamity occurs, except by the leave of Allah, and whosoever believes in Allah, He guides his heart. and Allah knows all things. (Taghabun 64:11)
Therefore as Muslims we must believe that Allah is all Wise and All Knowing and everything that Allah does is just and fair and only Allah knows fully His Will.
Second we have to recognize the power and might of Allah through such events and attribute these happenings towards Allah. Occurrences of natural disasters are proofs of Allah's powers. Allah, with these disasters, makes evident to us that the sovereignty of the earth and the heavens is only in His Hands.
On numerous occasions many of us regard these natural happenings as a result of some natural or scientific phenomenon, and because of this it simply does not have any impact on us, resulting in absolutely no transformation or change in one's life.
We have to remember that associating these events to anything other than Allah is a sign of rejecting Allah. That is why we find a Hadith of the Prophet wherein he states:
حدثني يحيى عن مالك عن صالح بن كيسان عن عبيد الله بن عبد الله بن عتبة بن مسعود عن زيد بن خالد الجهني أنه قال صلى لنا رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم صلاة الصبح بالحديبية على إثر سماء كانت من الليل فلما انصرف أقبل على الناس فقال أتدرون ماذا قال ربكم قالوا الله ورسوله أعلم قال قال أصبح من عبادي مؤمن بي وكافر بي فأما من قال مطرنا بفضل الله ورحمته فذلك مؤمن بي كافر بالكوكب وأما من قال مطرنا بنوء كذا وكذا فذلك كافر بي مؤمن بالكوكب
One night it rained and Allah's messenger led us in the Fajr prayer at Hudaibiyah and after completing it, he turned to us and said," Do you know what your Lord has said?" We replied, "Allah and His Messenger know best." He said, "Allah says "Some of my slaves get up believing in me, and others disbelieving in me. Those who say: We have been given rain through Allah's mercy, choice, and Allah's blessing, then he is a believer in Me, and has rejected the star. And whoever said: We have been given rain because of such-and-such star, then he is a believer in the star, and has rejected Me."
Yet in another hadith the Prophet highlights the related subject in a different way.
حدثني يحيى عن مالك عن هشام بن عروة عن أبيه عن عائشة زوج النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم أنها قالت خسفت الشمس في عهد رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم فصلى رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم بالناس فقام فأطال القيام ثم ركع فأطال الركوع ثم قام فأطال القيام وهو دون القيام الأول ثم ركع فأطال الركوع وهو دون الركوع الأول ثم رفع فسجد ثم فعل في الركعة الآخرة مثل ذلك ثم انصرف وقد تجلت الشمس فخطب الناس فحمد الله وأثنى عليه ثم قال إن الشمس والقمر آيتان من آيات الله لا يخسفان لموت أحد ولا لحياته فإذا رأيتم ذلك فادعوا الله وكبروا وتصدقوا
Yahya related to me from Malik from Hisham ibn Urwa from his father that A'isha, the wife of the Prophet said, "There was an eclipse of the sun in the time of the Messenger of Allah and the Messenger of Allah led the people in prayer. He stood, and did so for a long time. Then he went into ruku, and made the ruku long. Then he stood again, and did so for a long time, though not as long as the first time. Then he went into ruku, and made the ruku long, though not as long as the first time. Then he rose, and went down into sajdah. He then did the same in the second rakaah, and by the time he had finished the sun had appeared. He then gave a khutbah to the people, in which he praised Allah and then said, 'The sun and the moon are two of Allah's signs. They do not eclipse for anyone's death or for anyone's life. When you see an eclipse, invoke Allah, glorify Allah by saying "Allah is the greatest" and give sadaqah.
It becomes apparent from these Ahadith that the clouds which bring heavy rains, events of natural disasters or unnatural occurrences in the universe are from Allah alone. Allah is the one who creates them and releases them. So when one attributes these events to nature or any astronomical and scientific phenomenon or anything else, then one is at stake in regards to his faith in Allah.
Our faith teaches us that such occurrences, to which man has no control, occur by the authorization and order of Allah.
Third a Muslim should take events of natural disasters and other such signs as warning from Allah and hurry to repent, remember Allah and ask forgiveness from Him as disasters and calamities are an outcome of our escalating evil deeds and disobedience to Allah.
The Ahadith are full of warnings that certain actions will bring certain definite conditions. In other words these particular actions are a cause which will bring about a consequence. In a concise Hadith of Tirmidhi narrated by Abu Hurairah (R.A.) the Messenger is reported to have said:
حدثنا علي بن حجر حدثنا محمد بن يزيد الواسطي عن المستلم بن سعيد عن رميح الجذامي عن أبي هريرة قال قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم إذا اتخذ الفيء دولا والأمانة مغنما والزكاة مغرما وتعلم لغير الدين وأطاع الرجل امرأته وعق أمه وأدنى صديقه وأقصى أباه وظهرت الأصوات في المساجد وساد القبيلة فاسقهم وكان زعيم القوم أرذلهم وأكرم الرجل مخافة شره وظهرت القينات والمعازف وشربت الخمور ولعن آخر هذه الأمة أولها فليرتقبوا عند ذلك ريحا حمراء وزلزلة وخسفا ومسخا وقذفا وآيات تتابع كنظام بال قطع سلكه فتتابع
1. "When others possessions will be regarded as personal property.
2. When trust will be treated like booty (violated)
3. When Zakaat will be regarded as a burden i.e. to discharge zakat will become difficult
4. When learning will be acquired for other than a religious purpose
5. When a a man will obey his wife and is unkind towards his mother, he brings his friend near and drives his father far off. (The father will be treated like a stranger)
7. When voices will be raised in the Masajid
8. When the most impious will become leaders.
9. When the leader of a people will be the most worthless among them.
10. When a person will be honored merely out of fear for his evil.
11. When singing and musical instruments will become widespread.
12. When liquor will be consumed.
13. When the latter generations of this Ummah will curse their former ones.
THEN AWAIT VIOLENT WINDS, EARTHQUAKES, PEOPLE BEING SWALLOWED UP BY THE EARTH, DISFIGUREMENT, PELTING RAINS FROM THE SKY AND OTHER SIGNS WHICH WILL FOLLOW ONE AFTER ANOTHER LIKE BEADS OF A NECKLACE FOLLOWING ONE AFTER ANOTHER WHEN THE STRING IS CUT"
Thus, we should persistently fear Allah and seek His pardon for one's shortcomings and whenever we come across or experience such events we should ask ourselves have we violated any law of Allah? Could it be a punishment? If it is, let us repent and amend our ways.
Similarly, these disasters remind us all, that our lives today are very uncertain. Anything can happen. So, we should not postpone, nor delay, good things that we have to to do. Do them as soon as you can.
The Prophet has mentioned in a hadith by saying:
أخرجه الحاكم " أن النبي - صلى الله عليه وسلم - قال لرجل وهو يعظه اغتنم خمسا قبل خمس شبابك قبل هرمك وصحتك قبل سقمك وغناك قبل فقرك وفراغك قبل شغلك وحياتك قبل موتك
" Take advantage of five matters before five other matters: you're youth, before you become old; and your health, before you fall sick; and your richness, before you become poor; and your free time before you become busy; and your life, before your death." Likewise, if we have the intention to stop committing sins, mistakes and all bad acts, and we all know what they are, then we should not delay in abandoning them.
Fourth it is imperative that we provide support to those who have been affected with such disasters; therefore we should renew our commitment to human values and charity which is an integral part of our faith and offer to these victims such help and aid which will alleviate their difficulties and sufferings. When we see people in pain and suffering we should pay extra attention to their difficulties as it has been emphasized in an extremely touching Hadith narrated by Abu Hurairah (R.A.)
حدثني محمد بن حاتم بن ميمون حدثنا بهز حدثنا حماد بن سلمة عن ثابت عن أبي رافع عن أبي هريرة قال قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم إن الله عز وجل يقول يوم القيامة يا ابن آدم مرضت فلم تعدني قال يا رب كيف أعودك وأنت رب العالمين قال أما علمت أن عبدي فلانا مرض فلم تعده أما علمت أنك لو عدته لوجدتني عنده يا ابن آدم استطعمتك فلم تطعمني قال يا رب وكيف أطعمك وأنت رب العالمين قال أما علمت أنه استطعمك عبدي فلان فلم تطعمه أما علمت أنك لو أطعمته لوجدت ذلك عندي يا ابن آدم استسقيتك فلم تسقني قال يا رب كيف أسقيك وأنت رب العالمين قال استسقاك عبدي فلان فلم تسقه أما إنك لو سقيته وجدت ذلك عند
Abu Huraiyrah (R.A) states, "The Messenger of Allah, said, 'Allah, the Mighty and Exalted, will say on the Day of Rising, 'Son of Adam, I was ill and you did not visit Me.' The man will say, 'O Lord, how could I visit You when You are the Lord of the worlds?' He will say, 'Do you not know that my slave so-and-so was ill and you did not visit him? Do you not know that if you had visited him, you would have found me with him? O son of Adam, I asked you for food and you did not feed me?' He will say, 'O Lord, how could I feed you when you are the Lord of the worlds?' He will say, 'Do you not know that my slave so-and-so asked you for food and you did not feed him? Do you not know that if you had fed him, you would have found that with Me. O son of Adam, I asked you for water and you did not give it to Me.' He will say, 'O Lord, how could I give You water when You are the Lord of the worlds?' He will say, 'My slave so-and-so asked you for water and you did not give it to him. Do you not know that if you had given him water, you would have found you would have found me with him"
Finally, it is the responsibility of every Muslim to reflect upon these events and take a lesson, also ask forgiveness for all shortcomings from Allah, be thankful to Him and recognize all the blessings which He has favored us with and express this gratitude by utilizing these blessings in compliance with the directives of Allah and not taking them for granted or being wasteful or extravagant.
May Allah protect us from every form of tragedy and assist those who have been affected and alleviate their sufferings and may we become those who are truly grateful to Allah for all His favors and blessings
( Ml Muhammad Badat- Canada)
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