Alhamdulillah, Allah has blessed us with a religion that is complete and perfect for all times and places. Whatever problem or issue a Muslim is facing, he returns back to Allah and His Messenger for guidance; there is nothing that happens in the life of a Muslim except that Islam has a solution to it. We recently heard about the coronavirus which is spreading to a number of countries, affecting the lives of many people, causing death to others.
There are a number of thoughts that should cross the mind of a Muslim when they hear something like this. Trials and tribulations are part of life, this is something that Allah informs us of and warns us so that when we are afflicted, we remember that it is ultimately Allah who controls our affairs. It is He who will provide help and His knowledge of our affairs surpasses our restricted intellect.
Allah puts us test to see how we will react and handle them. How are we going to respond? When you hear the news that your umrah trip is cancelled because of this virus, how will you respond? When you hear your flights have been cancelled, your loved ones have fallen ill, how will you respond? Allah says in the Quran:
“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? Allah tells us immediately after the previous ?yah: “Who, when disaster strikes them, say, ‘Indeed we belong to Allah, and indeed to Him we will return.'”. A Muslim is patient in trials; he knows Allah will never forsake him, nor will Allah burden him with a trial that is more than what he can handle.
This is not something new, Illnesses and viruses such as the coronavirus are not something new, nor is the fact that people are afflicted with illnesses.
Hazrat Muhammad (SAWS) said,The one who flees from the plague is like one who flees from battle,so whoever endure patiently will have the reward of a martyr. All good and bad is from All?h, as is mentioned in the Hadeeth of Jabir: ‘No slave of All?h will truly believe until he believes in al-Qadr; its good and bad from All?h, and until he knows that what has befallen him was not going to miss him and that what missed him was not going to befallen him.’
So how do we respond to a calamity? Allah tells us immediately after the previous ?yah, ‘Who, when disaster strikes them, say, Indeed we belong to Allah and indeed to Him we will return.’ A Muslim is patient in trials; he knows Allah will never forsake him, nor will Allah burden him with a trial that is more than what he can handle
Allah 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. Whenever there is a problem, a challenge, or any hardship which we can remove, overcome, solve, or minimise, we must do so. Many of the health guidelines given by the Ministry of Health are in fact normal practices for Muslims, some of which are as follows;
1. Washing hands: this is a part of ablution, a Muslim’s daily ritual of purity.
2. General cleanliness: The Prophet (peace be upon him) said:”Cleanliness is part of faith”. Keeping our surroundings tidy, cleaning up after ourselves, and wiping surfaces down are all aspects of cleanliness which must be adhered to in these situations.
3. Covering your mouth when sneezing; The Prophet would cover his mouth when he sneezed. This basic can take big part in the stopping of the spread of viruses. “Whenever the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) sneezed, he would cover his mouth with his hand or a piece of cloth.”
4. Quarantine in times of viruses which can spread; The Prophet gave instructions on what to do if there is an outbreak. Messenger of Allah (PBUH) say: “If you hear that (the plague) is in a land, do not go there, and if it breaks out in a land where you are, do not leave, fleeing from it.” And alhumdulilah we Kashmiries have years of lockdown experience.
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 Allah 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: Always have a positive outlook regardless of the situation you’re in, this is what our Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) taught us.
We Kashmiris have a problem of being Turram Khans. We will face every thing by thinking that the worst can be death. We are not afraid of death so, we come with open chests to fight a bullet or a virus. We should also not blame others or ridicule them because they are from a certain country or they have come from a part of the world that has been affected by the virus. Unfortunately, we have seen physical attacks on people, racist remarks made, and people making a joke and mocking the situation people are in.
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