Q405 :Can we say that frequent occurrences of
natural disasters such as floods and cyclones are manifestations of
Allah’s anger with some people and He punishes them with these
disasters? As it is understood from the Qur’an, when Allah chooses to
inflict a collective punishment on some people, there is a definite
purpose to be served by that punishment. Can we determine such a
purpose in what happens these days? If not, can we still consider such
disasters as the working of Allah’s wrath, or “ghazab” ?
A405 : Allah mentions in the Qur’an that He has
caused a Pharaoh and his people to suffer a number of natural
disasters, including floods and attacks by waves of locusts and other
insects. He described those events as clear and detailed signs of His
power, but the Pharaoh and his people continued to be arrogant and
maintained their criminal practices. It is noteworthy that these events
are described in the Qur’an as “clear and detailed signs.” A sign is
sent to a people in order to remind them of Allah’s existence and
power so that they may nete to believe in Him. We cannot equate such a
sign with what you have termed “ghazab” or collective punishment
visited on some people. A sign is sent in order to make people respond
positively. Therefore, the positive response is the one sought for. A
collective punishment is bound to defeat that purpose, particularly if
it leaves a netmunity in total ruin. It is also mentioned in the
Qur’an that Allah had destroyed netplete nations with natural disasters
or some other form of punishment because they arrogantly refused to
follow the prophets and the messengers sent to them. The people of
Noah, for example, were destroyed with the flood, while the people of
Aad were destroyed by winds, and the people of Thamud by an earthquake
acnetpanied by a heart piercing sound. The fact that Allah mentions
these punishments to us serves as a reminder that He is able to inflict
similar punishments on us if we defy His orders and continue to do so
unrepentantly. We should always be in fear of Allah and try our best to
please Him. Exerting such effort is certain to spare us the collective
punishment. Having said that, I should explain that volcanoes,
cyclones, floods and other forms of natural disasters take place as a
result of natural laws which Allah has set in operation. They may be
caused when the fine balance Allah has set in the universe as a whole
is upset. However, when a cyclone hits certain areas, we cannot say
that the people of that area have earned such a punishment by Allah.
How can we tell? After all, cyclones regularly hit parts of Bangladesh
when the people there are certainly better than those who live in other
parts of the world. Allah is the most just of judges. If He punishes
some people, His punishment is just. It does not follow that those were
the only people who deserved punishment. Allah may choose to delay the
punishment of others until the Day of Judgment. No one who disobeys
Allah may escape punishment, unless He chooses to forgive him or her.
Therefore, we should always be in fear of incurring Allah’s anger, lest
His punishment takes us unawares. The Prophet used to appeal to Allah
for protection against natural disasters. For example, when the Prophet
heard thunder or a thunderbolt, he used to say: “My Lord, do not kill
us with Your wrath and do not send us to perdition by inflicting
suffering on us. Spare us all that, our Lord.” In short, we should
always maintain a balance between realization that Allah controls all
natural laws and He can easily inflict on us any type of punishment He
may choose. His punishment is always just. On the other hand, we do
not feel happy to see any netmunity smitten by a natural disaster, even
though it is an unbelieving netmunity. As Muslims, we would much better
have that netmunity respond to Allah’s call than to see it smitten by
His anger. What we should guard against is to appoint ourselves as
judges of others, claiming that a particular netmunity deserves
punishment by Allah while another netmunity has not reached that stage.
Allah alone judges people in accordance with what He knows of their
situation and their intentions.
Our Dialogue ( Source : Arab News – Jeddah )