Basics of Islam - Allah’s Wrath

It was a devastating earthquake that hit Kashmir, and areas around, on the 8th of October, 2005. It left nearly a hundred thousand people dead, and over 3 million people homeless. The list of the injured ran to over a hundred thousand, besides.

And the distinguishing feature of this earthquake was that almost all the affected persons were Muslims!

Now the questions that arise for our discussion, in Qur'aanic light, are:
1. Are such natural calamities indicative of Allah's wrath?
2. If yes, then didn't this calamity clearly indicate that Allah is not pleased with those who call themselves Muslims?
3. What are the reasons for this divine displeasure?

1. Are such natural calamities indicative of Allah's wrath?

The secular type of education, which mankind generally receive in today's world, pre-conditions the human mind to atheistical thinking. If anyone says that such natural calamities could occur to punish a section of mankind for spreading corruption on earth, he/she is likely to be condemned as being superstitious and ignorant. They tend to think that the calamities happen because of some malfunctioning of the forces in nature. Their minds are averse to the concept of an Intelligent Entity that could control and manoeuvre these forces to punish a recalcitrant group of people.

But the religion of Islam, on the other hand, is based on the one fundamental belief that there is one, and only one, Intelligent Entity, which it calls Allah, that creates, controls and manages everything in the entire universe. The Qur'aan tells us that "...not a leaf falls, but He knows it..." [6.59]. When Allah is aware of the smallest of small things happening, He is certainly aware of a big thing like the Kashmir earthquake happening. HE is not merely aware, but He made the earthquake happen! HE is the Cereator; He can do and undo anything. And nothing can ever happen without His leave. HE can make no mistakes, and there is no question of any accident happening in Nature. Everything is consciously done with a design/purpose.

We have examples galore in the Qur'aan of natural calamities visiting people that lived before the revelation of the divine Book. Examples like the great Flood that drowned Noah's people and the earthquake that destroyed Lot's. But, invariably in every case, the people were destroyed because of their transgressions. And we are specifically informed that persons, from among them, who believed and who abstained from transgressions, were saved from the destructions caused by the calamities.

The Qur'aan further declares that "...no change will you find in Allah's sunnah (way of dealing)..."[35.43], and that "...your Lord would never destroy human settlements wrongfully, while those who lived therein were good people."[11.117]. Therefore, there is no room for any doubt that, in Qur'aanic light, the 8th October 2005 earthquaqke was a demonstration of Allah's Wrath. Every person, good or bad, has to die; but the deaths and destructions by means of natural calamities have to be construed as His punishment in the light of the above two Qur'aanic verses.

2. If yes, then didn't this calamity clearly indicate that Allah is not pleased with those who call themselves Muslims?

But the apparent paradox of the divine Wrath, witnessed on the 8th of October last, was that its victims were a section of the very people who have inherited the incorruptible last Message of Allah for mankind! The victims were a section of the very people who claim Islam, perfected and chosen for mankind by Allah Himself, to be their religion!! And the Qur'aan emphatically asserts, "...your Lord would never destroy human settlements wrongfully, while those who lived therein were good people."[11.117]. There is therefore no doubt, in Qur'aanic light, that the people, who lived in settlements that were destroyed on the 8th of October, had incurred their Lord's displeasure, notwithstanding the claims that they were believers in Allah and in His last message, the Qur'aan.

3. What are the reasons for this divine displeasure?

When Adam & Eve were sent down to this earth, they were given a message: "...if there comes to you guidance from Me, then whoever follows My guidance shall neither go astray, nor fall into distress and misery. But whosoever turns away from My Remembrance/Reminder, surely then is there for him a life of hardship, and We shall raise him up blind on the Day of Resurrection." [20.123,124]

It is an open secret that Muslims, the custodians of Allah's last Book of Guidance for mankind, have generally, all over the world, failed to follow the divine Book, in letter and spirit. The Qur'aan asks them to do one thing; they do quite the other. And the divine Message handed over to Adam & Eve has come true so far as Muslims are concerned. They find themselves in distress and misery everywhere. It is as if the Protecting Guardian has forsaken them.

The Muslims are apt to protest. They question why those who reject the divine Guidance outright are much better off. They (Muslims) at least nominally believe in the Qur'aan.

The Muslims tend to forget that they are the custodians of the Qur'aan. Allah expects the custodians to be exemplary in demonstrating to others the way of life the Qur'aan projects. In Indian films, Muslim characters are shown as visiting graves of saints to pray to them there for worldly benefits. Leave alone films. The Muslim President of a Muslim country was recently shown, with much fanfare, visiting the grave of a saint, ostensibly to pray there for peace in the sub-continent. Thus the Muslims here, right from a head of State to a pauper on the street, have been depicting a life-style quite contrary to what the Qur'aan repeatedly advocates. Could Allah be happy with such a community, which miserably failed in its appointed duty of being a torchbearer for other communities? Doesn't the community deserve - and deserve more than do the other communities - to be selectively punished to warn others in the community and remind them of their duty?

Conclusions

The Kashmir Earthquake was a demonstration of Allah's Wrath particularly against the Muslims for leading lives contrary to teachings in the Qur'aan.

Mohammad Shafi
( http://www.islam-n-interest.com/ - islam-n-interest.com )