The king asked, "O Shaykh, why Allah has sent on humanity affliction?" Shaykh Abdul Jaleel said, "No person can define why Allah has sent on humanity affliction.These are the wisdoms of Allah, He can only specify.
O my king, sickness is a sign of purification in Islam, when the Prophet (ﷺ) would enter the home of a sick person to visit, he would say,
Although, sickness in a land can be purification, it can also be a sign of Allah’s displeasure due to sin or oppression. Amir al-Mu'minin, Abu Bakr Al Siddiq, radhiyallahu 'anhu, said,لاَ بَأْسَ طَهُورٌ اِ نْ شَآ ءَ اللّهُ“No harm, it is purification, if Allah wills.”
He (ﷺ) said, “the example of the believer, when he is afflicted by illness or fever, is that of a piece of iron placed in fire; its defects vanish and its good remains.” He said, "Visit the sick. Follow funeral processions. Remind yourselves of the next life." Read the kindness of the Beloved Messenger (ﷺ) who heard that a woman in his community was sick, asked about her, and her absence was noticed for him to seek to visit her, offer his prayers, and give her comforting words and presence. Umm al-Ala said, The Messenger of Allah(ﷺ) visited me while I was sick. He said, "Be glad, Umm al-Ala', Allah removes the sins of a Muslim for their illness as fire removes the defects of gold and silver.” And the Beloved (ﷺ) said, "No calamity befalls a Muslim except that Allah removes sins from them because of it, even if it they were pricked by a thorn."
"O you people! You recite this verse,Allah ultimately judges every person that is afflicted based on their own intentions. Any person afflicted should have good suspicion of their Rabb. They should also hold their own soul accountable. The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "An army will raid the Ka'bah and when it reaches a desert land, all of them will be swallowed up by the earth." Aisha, radhiyallahu 'anha, asked; "O Messenger of Allah! Why all of them?" He answered, "All of them will be swallowed by the earth but they will be raised for Judgement according to their intentions." Aisha said she asked the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) about plagues and he (ﷺ) said, “It is a punishment that Allah sends upon whoever He wills, but Allah has made it a mercy for believers. Any servant who resides in a land afflicted by plague, remains patient and hoping for reward from Allah, knowing that nothing will befall them except what Allah has decreed, will be given the reward of a martyr.”
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا عَلَيْكُمْ أَنْفُسَكُمْ ۖ لَا يَضُرُّكُمْ مَنْ ضَلَّ إِذَا اهْتَدَيْتُمْ ۚ إِلَى اللَّهِ مَرْجِعُكُمْ جَمِيعًا فَيُنَبِّئُكُمْ بِمَا كُنْتُمْ تَعْمَلُونَ"O you who have believed, upon you is [responsibility for] yourselves. Those who have gone astray will not harm you when you have been guided. To Allah is your return all together; then He will inform you of what you used to do." - [QS.5:105]
But I have heard the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) saying, "When people see an oppressor but do not prevent them (from their oppression and evil), it is likely that Allah will encompass them all with a punishment."
Sickness, and more specifically epidemics, brings about a sense of anxiety. The sense of the unknown afflicting sickness on us may give many feelings of uncertainty and some even helplessness. It is in these times that we build emotional and spiritual resilience. Among the beliefs core to our faith, which our faith is founded on, is believing that nothing befalls a person except that is the will of Allah and has divine purpose even if we may not understand it. Allah has purpose and wisdom that we may perceive, and some cases we may not. Yet our faith is ingrained in the ultimate trust we have that all is from Him and He is the Almighty, All wise.
Allah says,
Even though we may not understand all the wisdoms behind adversity, hardships, universal change, and moments of struggle – in their passing, we witness our need to the Almighty and the reality of our neglect. The neglect of the soul. The neglect of its attachment to the Divine. Not that we necessarily need difficulty to learn, but it helps to reflect of some of its wisdoms as no one is saved from hardship, but we are all in need of faith to overcome them.مَآ أَصَابَ مِن مُّصِيبَةٍ إِلَّا بِإِذْنِ ٱللَّهِ ۗ وَمَن يُؤْمِنۢ بِٱللَّهِ يَهْدِ قَلْبَهُۥ ۚ وَٱللَّهُ بِكُلِّ شَىْءٍ عَلِيمٌ"No disaster strikes except by permission of Allah . And whoever believes in Allah - He will guide his heart. And Allah is Knowing of all things." - [QS.64:11]
Moments of difficulty teach us empathy. A person who has gone through strife can empathize even more personally with someone worse than them. In these moments, we witness acts of compassion and service to humanity that we draw lessons from and binds us that only faith can teach us. The power of sacrifice is strongest when one has little to give, but in that moment, gives for the benefit of another, these are lessons taught to us by the Divine and His Beloved. The selfishness of humanity dwindles when they are collectively weak and learn that their only solution is turning to one another and calling to the One that binds them.
In reality, we learn that the true preparation we need is a spiritual one. The washing and purification we need is of the heart. The quarantine we need is quarantining our ego, desires, and addiction to sins. Faith teaches us that the most desperate times – teach us more about our vulnerability and true selves. We watched as many of us were told, there is a temporary ban from going to the most sacred and holiest of places, Makkah and Madinah. Yes, a sign of faith is not only being sad at not being able to visit, but how many of us asked if the spirit of the sacred rests in our hearts? Does the sanctity of Allah found in the Ka’bah in Makkah rest as well in our chest? Does the love, peace, tranquility, and solace we find in City of our Beloved and following his way concern us just as much? We may reflect on the temporary ban, but may we never be banned from the mercy of Allah. May we never be withheld from the visitation of Our Beloved Prophet(ﷺ), by following his example and embodying his message that he was sent as a mercy to all creation. May we never feel so attached to this world that we cling to it fighting over its dirt, when to the dirt is our final return.
Plans may have changed, money has been lost, but true faith prepares you for this kind of adversity, it doesn’t necessarily remove it. In loss of wealth, especially you will see the mark of a believer. Everything given or taken is from the Most High, Most Giving, and Most Appreciative. If you feel loss now, think of the one who has nothing. Being thankful in times of struggle, makes it easier to do so in enrichment.
The king asked, "O Shaykh, how scholars viewed plagues?" The Shaykh said, "As for epidemic disease being sent, the hadith of the Prophet (ﷺ) refers to a clear distinction of how scholars viewed plagues. Among Universal Wisdoms applicable to different people, according to their intentions and how Allah willed for them, first, sign – it is a sign for reflecting over the universal power of the Almighty and returning to Him. Second, blessing and mercy – as the Prophet (ﷺ) said. Third, cause – their time and date they were destined to pass away has come and this was a cause, if it wasn’t the Corona virus, it would have been something else. Fourth, punishment – to oppressors and those who reject.
Furthermore, this goes into the realm of Islamic theodicy that explains the levels at which a servant of Allah understands a calamity. Either it is, elevation – a test in which God raises the status of those whom He loves; purification – of sins that were committed and it is better for them that they are cleansed in this life than the next; reflection – of signs delivered to a person to come back to their Rabb; or affliction – punishment for sins and rejection.
We don’t have a universal reading of a prophetic statement which clearly depends on the person and condition of the person being afflicted. Only Allah judges individuals and the exact wisdoms for why they are afflicted are specific to them. The aforementioned hadith again highlights the universal wisdoms we have mentioned and types of afflictions a person holds themselves accountable for. All are raised and accorded their own intention. Aisha, radhiyallahu 'anha, asked, "O Messenger of Allah! Why all of them?" He (ﷺ) answered, "All of them will be swallowed by the earth but they will be raised for Judgement according to their intentions."
It’s from among Allah’s universal principles that even if this punishment were to befall it could encompass others based on the intentions and wisdoms as mentioned above and it doesn’t differentiate between believer, nonbeliever, innocent, or oppressor. And Allah says,
Rather it’s incumbent on every believer to take the means necessary to protect themselves from it, medically, physically, and not to forget of course spiritually, and take preventative measures for themselves and others.وَاتَّقُوْا فِتْنَةً لَّا تُصِيْبَنَّ الَّذِيْنَ ظَلَمُوْا مِنْكُمْ خَاۤصَّةً ۚوَاعْلَمُوْٓا اَنَّ اللّٰهَ شَدِيْدُ"And fear a trial which will not strike those who have wronged among you exclusively, and know that Allah is severe in penalty." - [QS.8:25]
With that being said, the divine wisdoms of an affliction encompassing people is mentioned by Zaynab bint Jahsh, radhiyallahu 'anha, with her who reported that the Prophet (ﷺ) came out one day to her in a state of fear and said, “La ilaha illa Allah (i.e. None is truly worthy of worship but Allah). Woe to the Arabs from of an imminent evil that will strike. Today an opening of this size has been made in the barrier restraining Ya’juj and Ma’juj (Gog and Magog).” And he made a circle with his thumb and index finger. Zaynab said, “O Messenger of Allah, will we perish while there are righteous people among us?” He replied: “Yes, if wickedness spreads, prevails.”
The overarching reality of divine decree that is mentioned in these hadith, of an epidemic, that may strike the world at once, and groups of people in particular – are from among the signs of Allah that He sends to creation. Signs of the reality of the pervasive hand Allah has over His creation, that oppressors cannot escape His grasp, and that to Him belongs all dominion and to Him is final return. Ultimately the wisdom of Allah transcends the limited scope of our view of understanding and only the Almighty has perfect essence in His wisdom, sublime in His decree, and subtle in His effect. These are just some wisdoms enumerated from our Divine texts and others include wisdoms such as protecting you from something even greater, or a wakeup call to reflect on one’s own mortality and turn to God, and simply awareness of not spreading disease through better hygiene. Allah says,
The Muslim philosophy of dealing with hardships then, is to reflect over the universal wisdoms and ask oneself “what can I do?” rather than questioning an unseen paradigm and justifying being paralyzed by one’s own theological misgivings, “why did Allah do?”اِنَّمَا مَثَلُ الۡحَیٰوۃِ الدُّنۡیَا کَمَآءٍ اَنۡزَلۡنٰہُ مِنَ السَّمَآءِ فَاخۡتَلَطَ بِہٖ نَبَاتُ الۡاَرۡضِ مِمَّا یَاۡکُلُ النَّاسُ وَ الۡاَنۡعَامُ ؕ حَتّٰۤی اِذَاۤ اَخَذَتِ الۡاَرۡضُ زُخۡرُفَہَا وَ ازَّیَّنَتۡ وَ ظَنَّ اَہۡلُہَاۤ اَنَّہُمۡ قٰدِرُوۡنَ عَلَیۡہَاۤ ۙ اَتٰہَاۤ اَمۡرُنَا لَیۡلًا اَوۡ نَہَارًا فَجَعَلۡنٰہَا حَصِیۡدًا کَاَنۡ لَّمۡ تَغۡنَ بِالۡاَمۡسِ ؕ کَذٰلِکَ نُفَصِّلُ الۡاٰیٰتِ لِقَوۡمٍ یَّتَفَکَّرُوۡنَ"The example of [this] worldly life is but like rain which We have sent down from the sky that the plants of the earth absorb - [those] from which men and livestock eat - until, when the earth has taken on its adornment and is beautified and its people suppose that they have capability over it, there comes to it Our command by night or by day, and We make it as a harvest, as if it had not flourished yesterday. Thus do We explain in detail the signs for a people who give thought." ― [QS. 10:24]
