Calamities, The Divine Gifts
Allāh (SWT) decreed universal means to drive people back to Him. The most prudent are the ones who exploit such opportunity to acquire the utmost reward. Calamities are amongst Allāh’s ways to draw our attention to the purpose behind our existence and to keep us upon Allāh’s straight path.
Allāh, the Exalted, said:
(أَوَلَا يَرَوْنَ أَنَّهُمْ يُفْتَنُونَ فِي كُلِّ عَامٍ مَّرَّةً أَوْ مَرَّتَيْنِ ثُمَّ لَا يَتُوبُونَ وَلَا هُمْ يَذَّكَّرُونَ)
(Don’t they see that they are trialed every year once or twice, then they do not repent nor do they ponder) (At-Tawbah 9:126)
Additionally, calamities are means to increase our reward, abrogate our sins and elevate us in paradise; all that is contingent on displaying patience. The Prophet (PBUH) said: “Verily, the servant would have been assigned a high level by Allāh (i.e. in paradise), but his deed does not qualify him to reach that level. So, Allāh (SWT) trials him with what he dislikes until He makes him reach that level.” (At-Targheeb wat-Tarheeb declared sound by Al-Albani)
Certainly, each one of us has a personal story or knows others, who returned to Allāh (SWT) in repentance due to calamities. Many people nothing can return them back swiftly to Allāh but calamities. We need to realize because Allāh (SWT) loves us and wants good for us, He sends these calamities as reminders to bring us back to Him. Certainly, better to be trialed and reminded now and have a pleasing consequence in hereafter rather than indulge in continuous heedlessness and confront a dire ramification in hereafter.
But sadly, some, when afflicted by calamities tend to miss the point behind this affliction and go along a path, which diverge them from Allāh (SWT).
Allāh (SWT) reminded us in numerous occasions in the Qur’ān to return to Him and that He (SWT) is the one, who can genuinely alter our situation to a pleasant one; and that He is the true Disposer of affairs.
Allāh, the Exalted, said:
(أَمَّن يُجِيبُ الْمُضْطَرَّ إِذَا دَعَاهُ وَيَكْشِفُ السُّوءَ وَيَجْعَلُكُمْ خُلَفَاءَ الْأَرْضِ ۗ أَإِلَٰهٌ مَّعَ اللَّهِ ۚ قَلِيلًا مَّا تَذَكَّرُونَ)
(Is He [not best] who responds to the desperate one when he calls upon Him and removes evil and makes you inheritors of the earth? Is there a deity with Allāh? Little do you remember.) (An-Namel 27:62)
Allāh’s trials and calamities may befall individuals as well as communities.
Allāh, the Exalted, said:
( وَلَنَبْلُوَنَّكُم بِشَيْءٍ مِّنَ الْخَوْفِ وَالْجُوعِ وَنَقْصٍ مِّنَ الْأَمْوَالِ وَالْأَنفُسِ وَالثَّمَرَاتِ ۗ وَبَشِّرِ الصَّابِرِينَ
(155) الَّذِينَ إِذَا أَصَابَتْهُم مُّصِيبَةٌ قَالُوا إِنَّا لِلَّهِ وَإِنَّا إِلَيْهِ رَاجِعُونَ)
(And We will surely test you with something of fear and hunger and a loss of wealth and lives and fruits, but give good tidings to the patient, (155) Who, when disaster strikes them, say, "Indeed we belong to Allāh, and indeed to Him we will return.") (Al-Baqarah 2:155-156)
One contemporary example is the major devastating rampage in the Middle East and how it brought people back to Allāh (SWT) in masses.
On the contrary, we have observed people in such situations rushing to other than Allāh; presenting their agonies and pains and appealing to those, whom they assume, have authority and power such as rulers, politicians or other nations; hoping for their intervention and salvation, while neglecting presenting their grief to Allāh, the True Omnipotent, with full submission and trust in His majesty.
Allāh, the Exalted, said:
(وَإِن يَمْسَسْكَ اللَّهُ بِضُرٍّ فَلَا كَاشِفَ لَهُ إِلَّا هُوَ ۖ وَإِن يُرِدْكَ بِخَيْرٍ فَلَا رَادَّ لِفَضْلِهِ ۚ يُصِيبُ بِهِ مَن يَشَاءُ مِنْ عِبَادِهِ ۚ وَهُوَ الْغَفُورُ الرَّحِيمُ)
(And if Allāh should touch you with adversity, there is no remover of it except Him; and if He intends for you good, then there is no repeller of His bounty. He causes it to reach whom He wills of His servants. And He is the Forgiving, the Merciful) (Younus 10 :107)
Hence, how can we lose hope in Allāh, when we hear ahadith (prophetic statements) such as: “verily, Allāh is Modest and Generous; He is shy, when His servant raises his hands (i.e. in supplication) to return them empty (i.e. unanswered).”? (Abu Dawood & At-Tirmidhi: declared sound by Al-Albani)
With all this well-established belief in Allāh (SWT) in our hearts, how can we neglect Him in our quest for salvation from these worldly agonies and calamities?
When adversaries of Islam plot for an ambush against us, to whom do we recourse for safety?
Allāh, the Exalted, said:
(الَّذِينَ قَالَ لَهُمُ النَّاسُ إِنَّ النَّاسَ قَدْ جَمَعُوا لَكُمْ فَاخْشَوْهُمْ فَزَادَهُمْ إِيمَانًا وَقَالُوا حَسْبُنَا اللَّهُ وَنِعْمَ الْوَكِيلُ)
(Those to whom hypocrites said, "Indeed, the people have gathered against you, so fear them." But it [merely] increased them in faith, and they said, "Sufficient for us is Allāh, and [He is] the best Disposer of affairs.") (AAl Imraan 3: 173)
And the outcome of their sound reaction is stated in the subsequent verse:
(فَٱنقَلَبُواْ بِنِعۡمَةٍ۬ مِّنَ ٱللَّهِ وَفَضۡلٍ۬ لَّمۡ يَمۡسَسۡہُمۡ سُوٓءٌ۬ وَٱتَّبَعُواْ رِضۡوَٲنَ ٱللَّهِۗ وَٱللَّهُ ذُو فَضۡلٍ عَظِيمٍ)
(So they returned with Grace and Bounty from Allâh. No harm touched them; and they followed the good Pleasure of Allâh. And Allâh is the Owner of Great Bounty.) (AAl Imraan 3: 174)
To correlate this to our status quo, I’d like to remind Muslims in general and my fellow Muslim brothers and sisters in India in specific; we ought to reflect profoundly to what goes around us and extrapolate productive lessons. The state of turbulence, which many of the Arab countries are experiencing, is the consequence of repelling against Allāh’s injunctions. We saw how people came out to the streets singing, dancing, where women intermingling with men and clashing with soldiers!
Now, does this behavior yield us closer to Allāh? And does it qualify us to earn Allāh's salvation and victory?
Allāh, the exalted, said:
(وَلَوْ أَنَّ أَهْلَ الْقُرَىٰ آمَنُوا وَاتَّقَوْا لَفَتَحْنَا عَلَيْهِم بَرَكَاتٍ مِّنَ السَّمَاءِ وَالْأَرْضِ)
(And if only the people of the cities had believed and were mindful of Allāh, We would have opened upon them blessings from the heaven and the earth;) (Al-A’raaf 7:96)
If all these people came back to Allāh (SWT) with sincere repentance; corrected their belief in Him; adhered to the Sunnah of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH); performed prayer on time; and enjoined the good and forbid evil, will Allāh forsake them?
Allāh, the Exalted, said: (وَأَلَّوِ ٱسۡتَقَـٰمُواْ عَلَى ٱلطَّرِيقَةِ لَأَسۡقَيۡنَـٰهُم مَّآءً غَدَقً۬ا)
(If they had believed in Allâh, and went on the Right Way We would surely have bestowed on them water (rain) in abundance.) (AlJin 72:16)
AlFudhail ibn Eyadh (RA) looked to the people supplicating and crying the night of Arafah, he said: “Do you think if all these people went to a man and asked him to give them 1/6th of a Dirham, will he turn them back?” They said: “No!” He said: “By Allāh, Allāh’s forgiveness is much easier to acquire than that man’s respond to give them 1/6th of a Dirham!” (Lata’if Alma’rif for Ibn Rajab P.287)
نظر الفضيل تسبيح الناس وبكاءهم عشية عرفة، فقال: أرأيتم لو أن هؤلاء ساروا إلى رجل فسألوا دانِقًا -يعني سُدس درهم- أكان يردهم؟ قالوا: لا، قال: واللهِ للمغفرة عند الله أهون من إجابةِ رجلٍ لهم بدانِق.
Whenever we are afflicted by calamities and we stand before Allāh in prayer, especially night prayer, shed tears and persist in our supplication while displaying full trust in Him alone, do you think Allāh (SWT) will disregard all that?
One time a man came to a sheikh asking for his help while shedding tears and trying to draw his empathy. The sheikh told him: if you ask Allāh in the exact same manner you did with me, by Allāh, He will not turn you back!
But, sadly, when we stand before Allāh in supplication, we are not showing the due respect that He deserves. Yes, we are raising our hands asking Him, but our hearts and minds are not attentive; rather, they are roaming around looking, among the people we know, for the one who might help us!
We read the Qur’ān and see stories on how Allāh (SWT) helped His servants through miraculous means. Allāh (SWT) mentioned how He helped not only prophets but also regular devoted righteous believers. We read the story of alKhadhir and Musa (AS) in surat Al-Kahf and how Allāh, the Exalted, sent these two prophets (AS) in a very long trip just to rebuild a wall for two young boys in order to safeguard their treasure, which was buried for them by their righteous father.
Allāh, the Exalted, the creator of everything can change the universal laws instantly just to relief His distressed servants. He splitted the sea to save the people of Israel from the Pharaoh; and made the fire cold and secure for Ibrahim (AS).
When Ibrahim left his wife Hajir and son Ismael (AS) in the place of the Ka’bah, in a region where there was no trace of any form of life, Hajir asked him: to whom are you leaving us here? And Ibrahim (AS) did not respond to her. She said: Did Allāh order you to do that? He said: Yes! She responded with full trust in Allāh (SWT): then, He will not forsake us. (The story is in Al-Bukhari)
Can you imagine the level of trust in Allāh this poor woman displayed! And how Allāh changed the entire region for her sake! This mountainous and desert region became the qibla of mankind and provision is delivered to it from everywhere since then and until today!
Similarly, the books of Sunnah are full of stories for the companions and their followers and how they walked on water and how they defeated their enemies despite their enemies’ armies are almost ten times more than theirs.
Allāh the exalted said:
(أَمَّنْ هَٰذَا الَّذِي هُوَ جُندٌ لَّكُمْ يَنصُرُكُم مِّن دُونِ الرَّحْمَٰنِ ۚ إِنِ الْكَافِرُونَ إِلَّا فِي غُرُور)
(Or who is it that could be an army for you to aid you other than the Most Merciful? The disbelievers are not but in delusion.) (Al-Mulk 67:20)
The greater the trust in Allāh the more swift His victory is.
Allāh, the Exalted, said :( يَـٰٓأَيُّہَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوٓاْ إِن تَنصُرُواْ ٱللَّهَ يَنصُرۡكُمۡ وَيُثَبِّتۡ أَقۡدَامَكُمۡ)
(O you who believe! If you help (in the cause of) Allâh, He will help you, and make your foothold firm.) (Muhammad 47:7)
Calamities are inevitable and salvation lies in returning to Allāh.
Allāh, the Exalted, said:
(وَلَنَبۡلُوَنَّكُم بِشَىۡءٍ۬ مِّنَ ٱلۡخَوۡفِ وَٱلۡجُوعِ وَنَقۡصٍ۬ مِّنَ ٱلۡأَمۡوَٲلِ وَٱلۡأَنفُسِ وَٱلثَّمَرَٲتِۗ وَبَشِّرِ ٱلصَّـٰبِرِينَ (155) ٱلَّذِينَ إِذَآ أَصَـٰبَتۡهُم مُّصِيبَةٌ۬ قَالُوٓاْ إِنَّا لِلَّهِ وَإِنَّآ إِلَيۡهِ رَٲجِعُونَ (156) أُوْلَـٰٓٮِٕكَ عَلَيۡہِمۡ صَلَوَٲتٌ۬ مِّن رَّبِّهِمۡ وَرَحۡمَةٌ۬ۖ وَأُوْلَـٰٓٮِٕكَ هُمُ ٱلۡمُهۡتَدُونَ)
(And certainly, We shall test you with something of fear, hunger, loss of wealth, lives and fruits, but give glad tidings to the patient (155) Who, when afflicted with calamity, say: "Truly! To Allâh we belong and truly, to Him we shall return." (156) They are those on whom are the Salawât (i.e. who are mentioned) from their Lord, and (they are those who) receive His Mercy, and it is they who are the guided-ones.) (AlBaqrah 2:155-157)
Finally, let's be prudent enough not to be inattentively dragged by the masses' counter reactions without deeply reflecting upon how God pleasing it is. We ought to realize that our life and death is for Allāh, hence, let us not forget this fact in our quest to Allāh.
May Allāh guide us, bestow His mercy upon us and shed His peace and tranquility upon this ummah (nation).
