The Nation Of 'Aad: Atlantis Of The Sand

Thamud - The Perished Nation

 

What is The Difference Between Major & Minor Sins?

 

Conversations with Kanwal S3 | Episode 07 | Mom Shaming

 

Is Coronavirus in China a punishment from Allah?

We do hear people mention that coronovirus in China is a punishment from Allah for the things the communist party has been doing to Uyghurs Muslims. We do not agree with that. Here is a statement from Shaykh Dr. Yasir Qadhi that we came across regarding this issue.

A lot of people are forwarding messages from scholars (or others) who are claiming that the coronavirus spreading in the city of Wuhan is a Divine Punishment upon the Chinese people for what is happening to the Uighurs.

This type of categorical declaration is not only unbefitting from a theological perspective, it is also unbecoming from a humanitarian perspective.

No one amongst us is qualified to speak on behalf of Allah. We are not in a position to declare why something is happening, or to link a general tragedy to a specific evil. And we are not demonstrating mercy when we claim all the people being subjugated to this are being punished for a crime most of them have nothing to do with. Imagine if (may Allah protect all of us!) something happened in your city and to your family, and others said this was because of something your government did!

Rather, we say as the Prophet (salla Allah alayhi wa sallam) said, when our mother Aisha (ra) asked him about plagues: "This is a punishment that Allah sends upon whoever He wishes, but Allah has also made it a mercy for the believer. So whoever is afflicted with a plague in his town, and he remains in it, patient, expecting Allah to reward him, knowing that nothing shall happen to him except what Allah has decreed, shall be rewarded the rewards of a martyr!" [al-Bukhari].

So we learn that yes, every single disaster, personal or communal, can be a result of sins, and has the potential to be a punishment, but we don't link it to any one sin or crime. And we also give hope to those who are in such places: turn to Allah, seek His help, be patient, and know that nothing happens except with the Decree of Allah. We do not cause them to feel bad or claim they are all being punished or - God forbid - gloat over their tragedy as some seem to be doing.

Every single disaster, personal or national, has the potential to be a punishment, or a means of mercy. It is how we respond that dictates which of the two it falls into.

And Allah knows best.

Note: It's actually sad that I need to make this disclaimer but some people always read in the worst: my support for the Uighurs has been loud and vocal, and I have given khutbahs, raised awareness, and made qunut for them. Of course we are enraged by what the government is doing, but we do not gloat over any communal disaster as a response to our anger.

Hadiith of the day

The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: "After my time, governors will arise whose falsehood will be believed and who will be assisted in their oppression by those who enter their presence. They have nothing to do with me and I have nothing to do with them. . .But those who do not enter their presence, believe their falsehood and help them in their oppression, they belong to me and I belong to them." Al-Tirmidhi

The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: "The people before you were destroyed because they inflicted legal punishments on the poor and forgave the rich." Sahih Al-Bukhari

Morocco repeals 'rape marriage law'

Morocco's parliament has unanimously amended an article in the penal code that allowed a rapist to escape prosecution if he married his underage victim.

The amendment to Article 475 of the penal code, first proposed by the country's Islamist-led government a year ago, was amended by lawmakers on Wednesday, parliamentary sources said.

The article in question made international headlines in March 2012 when Amina al-Filali, 16, was forced to marry a man who had allegedly raped her.

After seven months of marriage to the 23-year-old man, she committed suicide in 2012. Her parents and a judge had forced the marriage to protect the family honour.

The incident sparked calls for the law to be changed. The traditional practise of forced marriage can be found across the Middle East and in countries such as India and Afghanistan, where the loss of a woman's virginity out of wedlock puts a stain on a family's honour.

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Is the Tsunami a Punishment?

Question

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I am not sure how does it feels like in Pakistan, but here in Australia quite a few Muslims, khateebs, tell us that Tsunami is a punishment for those living in Indonesia, Sri Lanka etc!. They mostly quote the Ahadith regarding the "day of judgment" talking about the frequency of earthquakes, and the punishment given to the nations of prophet Lot (AS), Noh (AS) and others mentioned in the Qur'an. I was just wondering what are your views on the "general trend"? The fact that there are places around the world that, by the same standards, are worse then those areas suffered and that nearly 50 thousand of the dead were children( UNICEF estimate) makes it unconvincing to believe that it was a punishment, let alone the " Qanoon-e-etmame Hujjah". My understanding of the qanoon is that Allah punishes the nation of a rasool (only rasool not nabi) only after the message is delivered and the non-believers are declared as rejecter (not accepting the message despite convinced that is the truth). Am I right? So, how can somebody be so sure that people in the areas suffered as a nation were "rejecters" hence punished? As far as I know Muslims in Aceh in general are "conservative" and by the standards of the "khateebs" does not deserve any punishment! I guess a sum up question would be "Are all disasters, especially with such a toll, punishments?"

Regards

Question from Australia

Answer

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In this world we witness many things but only from our tiny lenses. What we deem tragedies or disasters may ultimately be something good but far beyond our comprehension. Indeed the human suffering and death toll from the tsunami is a calamity for the human experience but as we know these are natural occurrences caused by the very make up of the planet. These events have always happened and it may seem that they are occurring more frequently because more people populate the earth and information is easier to come by. Add to that the technology to record such events and it may seem that these things happen all the time. However, these natural events have always existed. Ever since humanity was placed on earth these forces of nature have caused what seems to be catastrophic incidents. Moreover, ever since people have witnessed these some have used them or interpreted them as a result of people's actions. The Prophet in many ahadith tried to educate people that natural events were just that and not because of things that were going on with humanity. When his son Ibrahim died people thought the Sun was eclipsed because of this. He corrected this misconception.

Those who preach that the tsunami in Indonesia and other places are signs of the wrath of God have to substantiate their claims upon something solid other than just opinion. No one knows the heart of an individual much less a community or nation. Those who claim that this is a punishment of sorts are only placing themselves upon a pedestal above others and taking upon themselves the judgment of God. They may not be doing this with those intentions but it could be their ignorance that drives them to such baseless condemnation. You have pointed out correctly that there are many places whose population take part in great sin and have no afflictions. No one is given prior knowledge of who is being punished and who is not and to attribute such a tragedy to punishment merely adds insult to injury. The concept of Itmam al-Hujjah is as you have correctly stated that a prophet of God needs to be present for such a punishment to be meted out. Hence, this and any other natural disaster after the Prophet's time does not fall under the scope of said concept.

One should keep in mind that such incidents are nevertheless a great reminder of the vulnerability of human life and the lack of control we have over it. If we hold that closely as we live our lives we may find that it may help us remain humble in our ways. Another thing to remember is that we should be extremely careful in passing a judgment about why a nation or an individual is faced with a traumatic situation; a wrong attitude on our part will greatly hinder not only our taking the right lessons from such incidents but also in giving the suitable responses to such incidents;

It is clear that those claiming anyone is being punished for any reason really have no basis for their assumptions. It is a wonder how they determine what tragedy is a punishment from God and why.

I hope I have clarified the issue.

God knows best.

Ronnie Hassan
January 25, 2005

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