The recurrence of natural disasters and violent climate phenomena has left many people with some very difficult questions that demand balanced answers which are free of emotional biases. How can one reconcile God’s mercy with the scale of destruction of such disasters? Is it a coincidence or a divine plan that poor nations are targeted the most? Are these disasters an indication of divine punishment for human transgression, or are they tests and tribulations that result in more empathy among members of the human family? Should we blame ourselves for having abused this planet so much that we are currently harvesting the fruits of our own labour? Is the high frequency of such disasters the prelude that will usher the inevitable Day of Judgement? These questions and many more have been circulating as the result of the horrible images of devastation that resulted from the major earthquake that hit Haiti and filled the airwaves and flooded internet sites.
To answer the above questions, one needs to have a good understanding of what life is all about. As Muslims, we firmly believe that life does not end with death. Life extends beyond the grave, and as such, death becomes a pre-requisite for the continuation of life. Humans always dreaded death and considered it as the ultimate measure to terminate life. Thus the death penalty was always referred to as the capital punishment, beyond which there is no other punishment. Islam teaches that death is not a punishment but a passage of sorts. God willed that such a passage is not a factor of one’s age; some people die young while others may die very old. One reads in Surat Al-Hajj (22:5), ‘And among you there is he who dies young, and among you there is he who is brought back to the most abject time of life, so that, after knowledge, he knows nothing.’ The interesting fact is that once we pass away from this life we become free of the influence of time. Then and only then, we will realize that the difference in time between someone who dies when he is ninety and someone who dies when he is nine is negligible. God tells us in Surat Al-Mu’minoon (23:112-114), ’He will say: How long tarried you on Earth, counting by years? They will say: We tarried but a day or part of a day. Ask of those who keep count! He will say: You tarried but a little if you only knew.’
After creating Adam and Eve and briefly making them experience perfection in all its dimensions, God willed that they would descend from Paradise (Jannah) to a transient home on Earth, ‘We said: Fall down, one of you a foe for the other! There shall be for you on Earth a habitation and provision for a time (2:36).’ This home, planet Earth, is far from being perfect. No more than 40 kms under our feet there is a core of molten iron and nickel that are pressurized, and end up making their way every now and then to the surface through the craters of volcanoes. There are also plates that move against each other causing earthquakes that bring with them destruction. Extreme weather conditions are often accompanied with forest fires, hurricanes, tornadoes, etc. The Earth is also subjected to attacks from outer space. Occasionally, meteorites penetrate the atmosphere and cause appreciable destruction. These elements of potential death are constant reminders that life on Earth is not an end, but rather a passage. If our divinely chosen planet is immune to the above mentioned occurrences, children of Adam and Eve will have no reason to think of the Hereafter. Even with such death causing disasters, there are some humans who do not believe in any life after death. They look at death as a “dead end.”
God created us and assigned Earth for us as a training ground. We are constantly tried and tested. says in Surat Al-Insan (76:2), ‘We created man from a drop of thickened fluid to test him.’ Tests vary in form, quality, severity, and duration. Humans have no say in the kind of test that comes their way. A person who accepts God’s tests with a true spirit of submission is one who demonstrates a clear understanding of what life is all about. One should never compare his tests with those of others and wish he is in another person’s shoes. A true believer knows that tests are allocated by God for a reason only known to Him. True submission (Islam) requires that one never questions the wisdom of God. We are His creation and He has the full power to direct our destiny. Faith in destiny, good or bad, is one of the six pillars of faith. One has to be certain that even in the most difficult of times, God never abandons us and He is looking after our interests, even though things may not seem like it. God comforts us in the Qur’an by telling us in Surat Al-Baqara (2:216), ‘It may happen that you hate a thing which is good for you, and it may happen that you love a thing which is bad for you. God knows, and you know not.’
The Cherokee Indians relate a legend about youth’s rite of passage. The father takes his blind folded son into the forest and leaves him alone. The boy is required to sit on a tree stump the whole night. He cannot remove the blind fold until the rays of the morning sun shine through it. Moreover, he cannot cry out for help from anyone. If he survives the night, he is declared a man. The boy is naturally terrified because of all kinds of noises. He imagines that he is surrounded by wild beasts. He may think that some evil humans may come and harm him. Even the wind scares him because it blows through the grass and shakes the tree stump. A strong young man sits stoically and never removes the blindfold because this is his only means to become a man. Finally, after a horrific night the sun appears and he removes his blindfold. It would be then that he discovers his father sitting on the stump next to him. Indeed the father has been beside his son for the entire night to protect him from any harm.
We, humans, are never alone. Even when we do not realize it, God is watching over us. Even when we feel that we are surrounded by danger from every corner, God is there to provide protection. When trouble comes, all we have to do is reach out to Him. Just because we cannot see God, does not mean He is not there. “ For we walk by faith, not by sight.”