In the Name of Allah, the Gracious the Merciful
ALLAH'S WRATH?
It was a devastating earthquake that hit
Kashmir, and areas around, on
the 8th of October, 2005. It left nearly a hundred thousand people
dead, and over 3 million people homeless. The list of the injured ran
to over a hundred thousand, besides.
And the distinguishing feature of this earthquake was that almost all
the affected persons were Muslims!
Now the questions that arise for our discussion, in Qur'aanic light,
are:
1. Are such natural calamities indicative of Allah's wrath?
2. If yes, then didn't this calamity clearly indicate that Allah is not
pleased with those who call themselves Muslims?
3. What are the reasons for this divine displeasure?
1. Are such natural calamities indicative
of Allah's wrath?
The secular type of education, which
mankind generally receive in today's world, pre-conditions the human
mind to atheistical thinking. If anyone says that such natural
calamities could occur to punish a section of mankind for spreading
corruption on earth, he/she is likely to be condemned as being
superstitious and ignorant. They tend to think that the calamities
happen because of some malfunctioning of the forces in nature. Their
minds are averse to the concept of an Intelligent Entity that could
control and manoeuvre these forces to punish a recalcitrant group of
people.
But the religion of Islam, on the other hand, is based on the one
fundamental belief that there is one, and only one, Intelligent Entity,
which it calls Allah, that creates, controls and manages everything in
the entire universe. The Qur'aan tells us that
"...not a leaf falls, but He knows
it..." [6.59]. When Allah is aware of the smallest of small things
happening, He is certainly aware of a big thing like the Kashmir
earthquake happening. HE is not merely aware, but He made the
earthquake happen!
HE is the Cereator; He can do and undo anything. And nothing can ever
happen without His leave. HE can make no mistakes, and there is no
question of any accident happening in Nature. Everything is consciously
done with a design/purpose.
We have examples galore in the Qur'aan
of natural calamities visiting people that lived before the
revelation of the divine Book. Examples like the great Flood that
drowned Noah's people and the earthquake that destroyed Lot's. But,
invariably in every case, the people were destroyed because of their
transgressions. And we are specifically informed that persons,
from among them, who
believed and who abstained from transgressions, were saved
from the destructions caused by the calamities.
The Qur'aan further declares that "...no change will you find in
Allah's sunnah
(way of dealing)..."[35.43], and that "...your Lord would never destroy
human settlements wrongfully, while those who lived therein were good
people."[11.117]. Therefore, there is no room for any doubt that, in
Qur'aanic light, the 8th October 2005 earthquaqke was a demonstration
of Allah's Wrath. Every person, good or bad, has to die; but the deaths
and destructions by means of natural calamities have to be
construed as His punishment in the light of the above two Qur'aanic
verses.
2. If yes, then didn't this calamity
clearly indicate that Allah is not
pleased with those who call themselves Muslims?
But the apparent paradox of the
divine Wrath, witnessed on the 8th of October last, was that its
victims were a section of the very people who have inherited the
incorruptible last Message of Allah for mankind! The victims were a
section of the very people who claim Islam, perfected and chosen for
mankind by Allah Himself, to be their religion!! And the
Qur'aan emphatically asserts, "...your Lord would never destroy
human settlements wrongfully, while those who lived therein were good
people."[11.117]. There is therefore no doubt, in Qur'aanic light, that
the people, who lived in settlements that were destroyed on the 8th of
October, had incurred their Lord's displeasure, notwithstanding the
claims that they were believers in Allah and in His last message, the
Qur'aan.
3. What are the reasons for this divine
displeasure?
When
Adam & Eve were sent down to this earth, they were given a message:
"...if there comes to you guidance from Me, then whoever follows My
guidance shall neither go astray, nor fall into distress and misery.
But whosoever turns away from My Remembrance/Reminder, surely then is
there for him a life of hardship, and We shall raise him up blind on
the Day of Resurrection." [20.123,124]
It is an open secret that Muslims, the custodians of Allah's last Book
of Guidance for mankind, have generally, all over the world, failed to
follow the divine Book, in letter and spirit. The Qur'aan asks them to
do one thing; they do quite the other. And the divine Message handed
over to Adam & Eve has come true so far as Muslims are concerned.
They find themselves in distress and misery everywhere. It is as if the
Protecting Guardian has forsaken them.
The Muslims are apt to protest. They question why those who reject the
divine Guidance outright are much better off. They (Muslims) at least
nominally believe in the Qur'aan.
The Muslims tend to forget that they are the custodians of the
Qur'aan. Allah expects the custodians to be exemplary in demonstrating
to others the way of life the Qur'aan projects. In Indian films, Muslim
characters are shown as visiting graves of saints to pray to them
there for worldly benefits. Leave alone films. The Muslim President of
a
Muslim country was recently shown, with much fanfare, visiting the
grave of a saint, ostensibly to pray there for peace in the
sub-continent. Thus the Muslims here, right from a head of State to a
pauper on the street, have been depicting a life-style quite contrary
to what the Qur'aan repeatedly advocates. Could Allah be happy with
such a community, which miserably failed in its appointed duty of being
a torchbearer for other communities? Doesn't the community deserve -
and deserve more than do the other communities - to be selectively
punished to warn others in the community and remind them of their duty?
Conclusions
The Kashmir Earthquake was a demonstration of Allah's Wrath
particularly against the Muslims for leading lives contrary to
teachings in the Qur'aan.
Mohammad Shafi
(islam-n-interest.com)
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{Invite (mankind, O Muhammad ) to the Way of your Lord (i.e. Islam) with wisdom (i.e. with the Divine Inspiration and the Qur'an) and fair preaching, and argue with them in a way that is better. Truly, your Lord knows best who has gone astray from His Path, and He is the Best Aware of those who are guided.}
(Holy Quran-16:125)
{And who is better in speech than he who [says: "My Lord is Allah (believes in His Oneness)," and then stands straight (acts upon His Order), and] invites (men) to Allah's (Islamic Monotheism), and does righteous deeds, and says: "I am one of the Muslims."} (Holy Quran-41:33)
The prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "By Allah, if Allah guides one person by you, it is better for you than the best types of camels." [al-Bukhaaree, Muslim]
The prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) also said, "Whoever calls to guidance will have a reward similar to the reward of the one who follows him, without the reward of either of them being lessened at all."
[Muslim, Ahmad, Aboo Daawood, an-Nasaa'ee, at-Tirmidhee, Ibn Maajah]
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