Disaster, Calamity, and It’s Solution from the perspective of Qur’an and Sunnah
Earthquake, hurricane, tornado, landslide, floods, the avian influenza epidemic, the swine flu disease, and the latest is the Tomcat (the poisonous ant which used to befriend the farmer in getting rid of the pest, but now it turns against humans); these are a myriad of results from the sins and wickednesses that we planted with our own hands. We might forget that we’ve ever planted that “forbidden seeds”, but Allah never forget, moreover sleep, even for just a glimpse.
وَما أَصابَكُمْ مِنْ مُصِيبَةٍ فَبِما كَسَبَتْ أَيْدِيكُمْ وَيَعْفُوا عَنْ كَثِيرٍ
“Whatever misfortune befalls you is a consequence of your own deeds. But much of it He forgives.” (QS. Asy-Syuura/The Consultation: 30)
There are many verses in the Qur’an that confirm that sin and wickedness are the culprit that causes the long standing disasters, which afflicted men’s civilization for centuries. Imam Ibn al Qayyim (died in 751 H) said,
فَمَا الَّذِيْ أَخْرَجَ الأَبَوَيْنَ مِنَ الْجَنَّةِ، دَارُ اللَّذَّةِ وَالنِّعْمَةِ وَالْبَهْجَةِ وَالسُّرُورِ إلَى دَارِ الآلَامِ والْأَحْزَانِ وَالْمَصَائِبِ؟
What caused our both of our parents (Adam and Eve) to be expelled from Paradise, the land of pleasures, joys, happiness and delights, to the land full of sufferings, sorrows, and disasters?
وما الّذي أغرق أهل الأرض كلّهم حتّى علا الماء فوق رؤوس الجبال؟. وما الّذي سلّط الرّيح على قوم عاد حتّى ألقتهم موتى على وجه الأرض كأنّهم أعجاز نخل خاوية، ودمّرت ما مرّت عليه من ديارهم وحروثهم وزروعهم ودوابّهم حتّى صاروا عبرة للأمم إلى يوم القيامة؟
What causal that had drowned all of earth’s dwellers (the people of Noah), until the flood rose above the peak of the mountains? And what caused the wind that had devastated the people of ‘Aad up until they died scattered like the rotten date-palm tree? And destroyed whatever it passed in their country, their plants, their ranches, until they became a lesson for all nation until the Last Day?
وما الّذي أرسل على قوم ثمود الصّيحة حتّى قطعت قلوبهم في أجوافهم وماتوا عن آخرهم؟
And what invited the awesome upheaval to the people of Tsamud, that torn open their hearts inside of their bodies until they perished?
وما الّذي رفع قرى اللّوطيّة حتّى سمعت الملائكة نبيح كلابهم، ثمّ قلبها عليهم، فجعل عاليها سافلها، فأهلكهم جميعا؟ ثُمَّ أَتْبَعَهُمْ حِجَارَةً مِنَ السَّمَاءِ أَمْطَرَهَا عَلَيْهِمْ
And what caused the country of Lot to be raised, until the angels heard the howl of their dogs, and then it was turned upside down that perished them all? Then it was continued with the rain of stone from the sky upon them?
وما الّذي أغرق فرعون وقومه في البحر ثمّ نقلت أرواحهم إلى جهنّم، والأجساد للغرق، والأرواح للحرق؟
And what caused the Pharaoh and his followers to be drowned to the bottom of the sea, and their souls were moved to the Inferno hell. Their bodies were perished due to the drowning, whereas their souls were burned? (See: “Al-Jawaabul Kaafi”: 43)
The answer is concluded in a single phrase: “sin and wickedness”.
Shirk: The Main Cause of Disaster
It is important to note that the most severe of wickedness in Allah’s view is the shirk. Where someone worshipping other beside worshipping Allah. Praying to other than Allah beside praying to Him. Hoping to and fear of other than Allah, beside to Him. Retreating beside the graves of the pious men beside praying in the mosque. Giving away offerings to the sea beside slaughtering. Having faith in the Messenger of Allah, but also believing in the shaman, the zodiac, and the feng-shui. These are the essence of shirk, as defined by a scholar of Shafi’iyya, Imam An Nawawi Ash Shafi’i -may Allah have mercy on him- (died in 676 H), when he said in his book, “al-Minhaj Syarh Shahih Muslim” (2/71, 2nd printing, Daar Ihyaa’ at-Turaats, 1392 H):
الشِّرْكُ وَالْكُفْرُ قَدْ يُطْلَقَانِ بِمَعْنًى وَاحِدٍ وَهُوَ الْكُفْرُ بِاللهِ تَعَالَى، وَقَدْ يُفَرَّقُ بَيْنَهُمَا فَيُخَصُّ الشِّرْكُ بِعِبَدَةِ الْأَوْثَانِ وَغَيْرِهَا مِنَ الْمَخْلُوْقَاتِ مَعَ اعْتِرَافِهِمْ بِاللهِ تَعَالَى
“Shirk and Kufr is sometimes referred implicitly to the same meaning, that is al kufru (infidelity) to Allah the Exalted. And sometimes both words are differed, hence the term shirk particularly means : worship of idols or other of the creatures, along with the recognition of (those slaves) of Allah The Exalted…”
Truly, the shirk is the end goal of the satan in misleading the descendants of Adam. Committing shirk means realizing the most favored thing of satan, and it is also a form of worship to him, that could elicit Allah’s wrath, as disclosed by Ibrahim -peace be upon him- when he enjoined his polytheist father:
يا أَبَتِ لا تَعْبُدِ الشَّيْطانَ إِنَّ الشَّيْطانَ كانَ لِلرَّحْمنِ عَصِيًّا (44) يا أَبَتِ إِنِّي أَخافُ أَنْ يَمَسَّكَ عَذابٌ مِنَ الرَّحْمنِ فَتَكُونَ لِلشَّيْطانِ وَلِيًّا
“Father, do not serve Satan, for Satan has indeed been a persistent rebel against the Most Compassionate Lord. Father, I fear that a punishment from the Most Compassionate Lord might strike you and you may end up as one of Satan’s companions?” (QS. Maryam/Mary: 44-45)
The cause of the doom of the previous nations due to the evenly torment, is none other but their rejection of the monotheistic teachings of the Apostles, and they wallow in permanent shirk. Thus, Allah’s torments were certain to fall on them. The ruins of their civilization are still seen until today, to be taken as a lesson by the generations after them. Allah decreed,
وَلَقَدْ بَعَثْنَا فِي كُلِّ أُمَّةٍ رَسُولًا أَنِ اعْبُدُوا اللَّهَ وَاجْتَنِبُوا الطَّاغُوتَ فَمِنْهُمْ مَنْ هَدَى اللَّهُ وَمِنْهُمْ مَنْ حَقَّتْ عَلَيْهِ الضَّلَالَةُ فَسِيرُوا فِي الْأَرْضِ فَانْظُرُوا كَيْفَ كَانَ عَاقِبَةُ الْمُكَذِّبِين
“We raised a Messenger in every community (to tell them): “Serve Allah and shun the Evil One.” Thereafter Allah guided some of them while others were overtaken by error. Go about the earth, then, and observe what was the end of those who rejected the Messengers, calling them liars.” (QS. An-Nahl/The Bee: 36)
Imam Ibn Katsir Ash Shafi’i -may Allah have mercy on him- (died in 774 H) interpreted how was the end of those who turned down the monotheistic enjoin in that verse with Allah’s verse (see: Tafseer Ibn Katsir, 4:570):
دَمَّرَ اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِمْ وَلِلْكَافِرِينَ أَمْثَالُهَا
“Allah utterly destroyed them. These unbelievers are doomed to the same end. “ (QS. Muhammad: 10)
Study and contemplation of the verses of the Qur’an also concluded that the wrath of Allah that came by surprise and stamped only affects those who do wrong. Allah decreed,
قُلْ أَرَأَيْتَكُمْ إِنْ أَتَاكُمْ عَذَابُ اللَّهِ بَغْتَةً أَوْ جَهْرَةً هَلْ يُهْلَكُ إِلا الْقَوْمُ الظَّالِمُونَ
“”Say: “If the chastisement of Allah were to overtake you suddenly or openly shall any except the wrong-doing people be destroyed?” (QS. Al-An’aam/The Cattle: 47)
If we relate the above verse to Allah’s verse in chapter Luqman, verse 13, it will be evident to us that the worst of wrongdoing is shirk:
وَإِذْ قَالَ لُقْمَانُ لابْنِهِ وَهُوَ يَعِظُهُ يَا بُنَيَّ لا تُشْرِكْ بِاللَّهِ إِنَّ الشِّرْكَ لَظُلْمٌ عَظِيمٌ
“And call to mind when Luqman said to his son while exhorting him: “My son, do not associate others with Allah in His Divinity. Surely, associating others with Allah in His Divinity is a mighty wrong.”
When Wickedness Becomes A Culture
Wickedness that carried openly without warning let alone rejection, is a sign that sin has become a culture of life. When this phenomenon occurred, just wait for Allah’s chastisement that will spread evenly, in various forms, that will destroy a civilization indiscriminately. May Allah protect us from it. The Messenger of Allah said,
مَا ظَهَرَتِ الْفَاحِشَةُ فِيْ قَوْمٍ قَطُّ يُعْمَلُ بِهَا فِيْهِمْ عَلَانِيَةً إلَّا ظَهَرَ فِيْهِمُ الطَّاعُوْنُ وَالْأَوْجَاعُ الَّتِيْ لَمْ تَكُنْ فِيْ أَسْلَافِهِمْ وَمَا مَنَعَ قَوْمٌ الزَّكَاةَ إلَّا مُنِعُوْا الْقَطْرَ مِنَ السَّمَاءِ وَلَوْلَا الْبَهَائِمُ لَمْ يُمْطَرُوْا وَمَا بَخَسَ قَوْمٌ الْمِكْيَالَ وَالْمِيْزَانَ إلَّا أُخِذُوْا بِالسِّنِيْنَ وَشِدَّةِ الْمُؤْنَةِ وَجَوْرِ السُّلْطَانِ وَلَا حَكَمَ أُمَرَاؤُهُمْ بِغَيْرِ مَا أَنْزَلَ اللهُ إلَّا سَلَّطَ عَلَيْهِمْ عَدُوُّهُمْ فَاسْتَنْقَذُوْا بَعْضَ مَا فِيْ أَيْدِيْهِمْ وَمَا عَطَّلُوْا كِتَابَ اللهِ وَسُنَّةَ نَبِيِّهِ إلَّا جَعَلَ اللهُ بَأْسَهُمْ بَيْنَهُمْ
“Indecency is not rampant in a nation, which is practiced openly in their midst, but certainly the devastating plague and disease that never existed among the previous generation will spread. And a nation does not hold their zakat, but they will be prevented from having drops of water from the sky; if it is not for the cattle, they would not have any rain. And a nation does not commit any trickery (foul play in trading, by) reducing the measure and the weight, but they will be afflicted by a long drought and hardship of life, and the evil of the ruler.
And their leaders do not arbitrate with the law than the law of Allah, but Allah will make their enemy master them, and rob some of their possessions. And they do not reject (not performing) the Book of Allah and the sunnah of His messenger, but Allah will make dispute or enmity among themselves. ” (See: “Shahiih at-Targhiib wat Tarhiib”, no. 2187)
Solutions from Shari’a
When the Qur’an and sunnah explained to us about the causes of the torments and disasters, at the same time, we could infer a formula to repel the coming of that torments and disasters:
First: Repent to Allah
The first step that we must do is to return and repent to Allah. Imam Ibn al Qayyim -may Allah have mercy on him said (in his book “Miftah Daris Sa’adah, 1:287),
وَمَا نَزَلَ بَلَاءٌ قَطُّ إلَّا بِذَنْبٍ وَلَا رُفِعَ إلَّا بِتَوْبَةٍ
“It is not a disaster’s down but because of sin, and nor will it be raised but by repentance.” (See: “Mausu’ah Nadhrotin Na’im”, 1:18)
Imam Al Qurthubj (died in 671 H) said,
وَالِاسْتِغْفَارُ وَإِنْ وَقَعَ مِنَ الْفُجَّارِ يُدْفَعُ بِهِ ضَرْبٌ مِنَ الشُّرُورِ وَالْأَضْرَارِ
“”Istighfar (Seeking forgiveness) if being said by (even by) the bad guys, can reject the bad things and be able to ward off various hazards.” (See: “Tafsir al-Qurthubi”, 7:399)
Second: Uphold the Tawheed, abandon the shirk
By the upholding of tawheed and the lost of shirk in a country, it will certainly be peaceful and prosper. This is what Allah has promised in His verse:
وَعَدَ اللَّهُ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا مِنْكُمْ وَعَمِلُوا الصَّالِحَاتِ لَيَسْتَخْلِفَنَّهُمْ فِي الأرْضِ كَمَا اسْتَخْلَفَ الَّذِينَ مِنْ قَبْلِهِمْ وَلَيُمَكِّنَنَّ لَهُمْ دِينَهُمُ الَّذِي ارْتَضَى لَهُمْ وَلَيُبَدِّلَنَّهُمْ مِنْ بَعْدِ خَوْفِهِمْ أَمْنًا يَعْبُدُونَنِي لا يُشْرِكُونَ بِي شَيْئًا
“”Allah has promised those of you who believe and do righteous deeds that He will surely bestow power on them in the land even as He bestowed power on those that preceded them, and that He will firmly establish their religion which He has been pleased to choose for them, and He will replace with security the state of fear that they are in. Let them serve Me and associate none with Me in My Divinity. Whoso thereafter engages in unbelief, such indeed are the ungodly.” (QS. an-Nur/The Light: 55)
Third: Revive the sunnah of the Messenger of Allah and Continuously Seek repentance
Making the sunnah of the Prophet as an inseparable part of life among our society is one of the most effective shield to repel the chastisement and disaster. Allah decreed,
وَما كانَ اللَّهُ لِيُعَذِّبَهُمْ وَأَنْتَ فِيهِمْ وَما كانَ اللَّهُ مُعَذِّبَهُمْ وَهُمْ يَسْتَغْفِرُونَ
“”But Allah was not to chastise them while you are in their midst; nor was Allah going to chastise them while they sought His forgiveness.” (QS. Al-Anfal/The Spoils of War: 33)
In the previous verse (chapter Al Anfal:32), Allah told us about the infidels of Mecca who challenged the coming of the promised chastisement, if the treatise of Muhammad was indeed a truth. But Allah didn’t torment them because of the existence of the Prophet and the believers who still lived among them.
Ibn al Qayyim -may Allah have mercy on him- commented that verse with a beautiful saying of him:
إذَا كَانَ وُجُودُ بَدَنِهِ وَذَاتِهِ فِيهِمْ دَفَعَ عَنْهُمْ الْعَذَابَ وَهُمْ أَعْدَاؤُهُ، فَكَيْفَ وُجُودُ سِرِّهِ وَالْإِيمَانِ بِهِ وَمَحَبَّتِهِ وَوُجُودُ مَا جَاءَ بِهِ إذَا كَانَ فِي قَوْمٍ أَوْ كَانَ فِي شَخْصٍ؟، أَفَلَيْسَ دَفْعُهُ الْعَذَابَ عَنْهُمْ بِطَرِيقِ الْأَوْلَى وَالْأَحْرَى؟
“”If the physical existence of Allah’s messenger among them (the infidels of Mecca) was able to prevent the coming of chastisement to them, whereas they were his enemies, then what if his presence within a man or a nation, is realized in the form of love and faith in him, and in the establishment of what he brought (the sunnah)? Aren’t they the more prominent and worthy to be spared from the wrath?” (See: “I’lamul Muwaqqi’in”, 1:173, studied by: Muhammad Abdissalam Ibrahim)
Fourth: Enjoin all that is good and Forbid all that is evil
If a community wishes to be spared from Allah’s wrath, then the believers inside that community should advise each other to obey Allah and His messenger. They shouldn’t let free the wickedness to be happened around them. There must be a negation and attempt to change that wickedness as much as possible, surely through the ways affirmed by shari’a. if not, then this is what will happen to them:
مَا مِنْ قَوْمٍ يُعْمَلُ فِيهِمْ بِالْمَعَاصِي ثُمَّ يَقْدِرُونَ عَلَى أَنْ يُغَيِّرُوا ثُمَّ لَا يُغَيِّرُونَ إِلَّا يُوشِكُ أَنْ يَعُمَّهُمُ اللَّهُ بِعِقَابٍ
“Wickedness doesn’t occurred among a nation, then they do not eliminate such wickedness, whereas they are able to do it, but in the short time, Allah will inflict His torment upon them evenly.” (The status is valid, see:” Misykaatul Mashaabiih”, 5142)
Allah also decreed,
وَمَا كَانَ رَبُّكَ لِيُهْلِكَ الْقُرَى بِظُلْمٍ وَأَهْلُهَا مُصْلِحُونَ
“”And your Lord is not such as would wrongfully destroy human habitations while their inhabitants are righteous.” (QS. Huud: 117)
Fifth: Hope and Pray to Allah
As only Allah is able to inflict the punishment to His servant, He is also The Only One that is capable of lifting or reject such torment. The Messenger of Allah said,
إنَّ الدُّعَاءَ يَنْفَعُ مِمَّا نَزَلَ وَمِمَّا لَمْ يَنْزِلْ فَعَلَيْكُمْ عِبَادَ اللهِ بِالدُّعَاءِ
“Indeed prayer is beneficial to anything that has happened (in the form of misfortune, etc.) and useful in anything that has not happened. Thus it is compulsory for you to pray, O the slaves of Allah!” (Valid, see: “Shahih at-Targhiib wat Tarhib”, no.1634)
In another hadith, the Messenger of Allah explained that a prayer might reject an unwanted thing to be happened to His slaves.
لَا يَرُدُّ الْقَدَرَ إلَّا الدُّعَاءُ
“No one is able to resist destiny except prayer.” (See: “Shahiih at-Targhiib wat Tarhiib”: 1638)
Ibn al Qayyim -may Allah have mercy on him – said,
وَالدُّعَاءُ مِنْ أَنْفَعِ الْأَدْوِيَةِ، وَهُوَ عَدُوُّ الْبَلَاءِ، يَدْفَعُهُ، وَيُعَالِجُهُ، وَيَمْنَعُ نُزُولَهُ، وَيَرْفَعُهُ، أَوْ يُخَفِّفُهُ إِذَا نَزَلَ، وَهُوَ سِلَاحُ الْمُؤْمِنِ
“Prayer is among the most effective drug. It is an opposite of calamity, that may repel it, repair it’s bad effect, prevent it’s coming, lift away that calamity, or lighten it if it has been descended, and it (the prayer, -ed) is the weapon of a believer.” (See: “Jawabul Kafi”, 1:10)
Therefore, all prayers and hopes that this country will be spared of Allah’s wrath, should only being said to Him. This is the meaning of Ali Ibn Abi Thalib’s saying,
لَا يَرْجُوَنَّ عَبْدٌ إلَّا رَبَّهُ وَلَا يَخَافَنَّ إلَّا ذَنْبَهُ
“A servant does not hope but to his Lord only, and does not fear except his sins.” (see: “Al-Fatawa al-Kubra”, 5:231, Ibn Taimiyya)
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Author: Johan Saputra Salim (Abu Hurairah Islamic Boarding School, Lombok – NTB)
This article has been read and corrected by:
Ustadz Zahid Zuhendra, Lc. and Ustadz Jamaluddin, Lc.(Abu Hurairah Islamic Boarding School, Lombok – NTB)
Article of www.whatisQuran.com