Assalamu Alaikum wrwb,
The coronavirus is a reminder to us all of our weak state. Regardless of our social standing and our financial position, we are all helpless. Allāh says: “Mankind was created weak”. Situations like this remind us to turn back to Allāh. I wrote this poem a few days back-
With Corona Corona everywhere
the virus has ineed instilled in us fear
With Panic shopping
to Panic dreams
We all are hooked to news,
Very depressing it seems.Life is temporary,
not in our control.
Some gets killed,
some gets cured.
Is not there a lesson to learn?
Life is in the hands of Allah,
the most Powerful to whom we will return.Life is truth & death is truth.
Will we just die and not held accountable for
what we have done?
Either there will be disgrace or there will be fun.Death is not a destination,
Death is just a transition from one life to the next.
every one shall die and be raised up,
and be shown their answer of how they faired in their test.All we need to focus now
is not on the news of number of death.
But what we should focus
is on the pleasure of our Rabb.
We all want Jannah,
but wanting is not enough
We need to work towards it,
we need to work.
Yes, We need to turn towards Allah before we return.
As you know that I live in Saudi Arab and living in Saudi gives you high hope of doing Umrah and visiting Masjid Nabawi every few months. I was totally devastated with the news of Corona spreading its wing into Saudi Arab.We had invited our Parents for Umrah and had planned a longer stay in both the haramain this time. But by the will of Allah this didn’t happen. Initially we heard that Umrah was stopped and it was only open for Prayers and then a few days back even the gates of the two haramain closed.
The pictures of Masjid Nabawi getting closed brought tears into my eyes.I was not so grieved at my parents not visiting me but no one being able to visit Rasul Allah SAW was something that bothered me for days. The first time I went to Rawdah was me standing nervous at my chance to be allowed in.It was so jam-packed and every single person seemed to be reading Darud Sharif. I wonder If corona has already attacked our soul? Are we just spending our days counting the victim of Corona or are we sending enough Darood Sharif.
The Prophet (Sal Allaahu Alaiyhi wa Sallam) said:“Send blessings upon me for your greeting will reach me no matter where you are.” And he (Sal Allaahu Alaiyhi wa Sallam) said:“Allaah has angels who go around on earth, conveying to me the salaam of my ummah.”
I request you too to Please send Salam and Darood on our dear Prophet. If we send salaams on the Prophet (Sal Allaahu Alaiyhi wa Sallam) all the time, as much as we can then Allaah will return tenfold blessings on us.
We are in the state that even Masjids are Vacant. Only Adhan is being called out. There is no Congregationational prayer, We are advised to stay home and what are we doing? Are we using this time well enough to please our Lord? Are We?
The News of Corona Virus spreading fast and no progress in the development of any medicine is depressing us. But indeed we had indeed begun to take all our blessings for granted. We as a community were heading towards the Worst. We were plunging ourselves in nudity, to the so-called glamourous life, in amassing wealth, oppressing the Poor and torturing Muslims. We were heedless of the cry of the oppressed and the suffering of the poor. Our prayers lacked khushu and we didn’t had time to do “tafaqqu of deen” that is gain deep understanding of deen. I shivered when I realized that this is a communal Punishment which Allah had promised in the Quran, and in the Hadith
That is because Allah would not change a favor which He had bestowed upon a people until they change what is within themselves. And indeed, Allah is Hearing and Knowing.
ذَٰلِكَ بِأَنَّ اللَّهَ لَمْ يَكُ مُغَيِّرًا نِّعْمَةً أَنْعَمَهَا عَلَىٰ قَوْمٍ حَتَّىٰ يُغَيِّرُوا مَا بِأَنفُسِهِمْ ۙ وَأَنَّ اللَّهَ سَمِيعٌ عَلِيمٌ – 8:53
Our teacher advised us to do Immense Astaghfar on behalf of ourselves and on behalf of our Ummah and pray for hidayah of the Nonbelievers and also do as much of Sadaqah as possible for us.
Read- More than 20 Amal from Hadeeth through which we can seek forgiveness.
There is another thing which we need to remind ourselves.Indeed with the fear of Allah there is also a hope in his mercy.
The Prophet ﷺ gave an incentive like no other. He said: ”Plague was a punishment which Allah used to send to whom He wished, but Allah made it a blessing for the believers. None (among the believers) remains patient in a land in which plague has broken out and considers that nothing will befall him except what Allah has ordained for him, but that Allah will grant him a reward similar to that of a martyr.” (Bukhari)
The reward of the shuhada (the martyrs) is amongst the greatest rewards of all in Islam and it is given to the one who is patient and does not leave the area of plague. This is tied with Islamic concepts of tawakkul (trust in Allah) and knowing that life and death lie solely in His ﷻ hands.
Allāh also says in the Qur’ān: “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”.So how do we respond to a calamity? Allāh tells us immediately after the previous āyah: “Who, when disaster strikes them, say, ‘Indeed we belong to Allāh, and indeed to Him we will return.’”. A Muslim is patient in trials; he knows Allāh will never forsake him, nor will Allāh burden him with a trial that is more than what he can handle.
We as Muslims believe in Qadr. This concept is extremely important for a Muslim to understand. When incidents such as the coronavirus occur, a Muslim should know that this is what Allāh had decreed 50,000 years before the creation of the universe. The Prophet (peace be upon him) explained: “Allāh had written the ordained measures (and due proportions) of the creation, fifty thousand years before the creation of the heavens and the earth”.
قُل لَّن يُصِيبَنَا إِلَّا مَا كَتَبَ اللَّهُ لَنَا هُوَ مَوْلَانَا ۚ وَعَلَى اللَّهِ فَلْيَتَوَكَّلِ الْمُؤْمِنُونَ
:Say, “Never will we be struck except by what Allah has decreed for us; He is our protector.” And upon Allah let the believers rely.
All good and bad is from Allāh, as is mentioned in the Hadeeth of Jabir: ‘No slave of Allāh will truly believe until he believes in al-Qadr; it’s good and bad from Allāh, and until he knows that what has befallen him was not going to miss him and that what missed him was not going to befall him.’
Allāh will never harm us nor does he want evil to befall us. We may think something is bad for us due to our restricted view of life, but there is always good in a situation.
Allāh also tells us that “perhaps you hate a thing but it is in fact good for you, and perhaps you love a thing when in reality and it is bad for you, yet Allāh knows while you know not”.
But this also doesn’t mean that we should not take the necessary Precaution because it is our responsibility to not to cause harm to ourself and prevent us from harming others.
You too Please stay at home.
One day Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), noticed a Bedouin leaving his camel without tying it. He asked the Bedouin, ‘Why don’t you tie down your camel?’ The Bedouin answered, ‘I put my trust in Allāh’ The Prophet then said, ‘Tie your camel first, then put your trust in Allāh’.
We also find in the incident of Khalifa Umar ibn al-Khattab taking necessary precautions is a must when you know of harm or potential danger that could afflict you. Umar ibn al-Khattab was traveling with a group of companions during his reign. They approached a town in which it was said had a contagious/infectious disease. Umar asked his group whether they should proceed or return (to Madinah). The majority of the companions said they should go back but some said they should proceed. Then one companion said he knew a hadith where the Prophet (peace be upon him) said, “If you hear that this disease exists in a country, do not travel to that country.” So Umar decided that they should go back. Another companion asked him whether he was running away from qadar. Umar replied that they were moving away from one qadar to another qadar.
The Prophet (PBUH) also taught us how to protect ourselves by maintaining our duas from the Sunnah. One such dua that he taught us was:“In the name of Allāh with Whose name nothing can harm on earth or in heaven, and He is the All-Hearing, All-Knowing”.
Being positive and having an optimistic outlook is what our Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) taught us, when he told us, “Amazing is the affair of the believer, verily all of his affairs are good and this is not for no one except the believer, if something of good/happiness befalls him, he is grateful and that is good for him, if something of harm befalls him, he is patient and that is good for him.”
How are you doing? Do Share how you are feeling these days?
