Two or three days after the Haiti horrible quake, the BBC news magazine staged a question: "Why does God allow natural disasters?" (Type the question - Google will bring you the story) The writer, David Bain, spiritually empty as expected, began by quoting a so called great thinker David Hume who said:

"Is God willing to prevent evil, but not able? Then he is impotent. Is he able, but not willing? Then he is malevolent. Is he both able and willing? Whence then is evil?"!!!!!

David Bain, the writer, went ahead to venom out his intense spiritual bankruptcy when he attacked those who believe the disasters occour because of those who spread mischief on earth; the killers, prostitutes etc. He asked why the new born babies innocent with consensus are also wiped away in destruction for sins comitted by their seniors?

The Haiti saga, followed by Chile and now Uganda Landslides, have made me ask myself two questions: 1. Much as any Muslim can laugh at Sentamu, a ugandan York based christian clergy's ignorance of the answer to the reason why disasters happen, does the laughing Muslim know the answer? and whats the answer? 2. Have we learnt anything from this chain of horrible happenings?

"And whatever of misfortune befalls you, it is because of what your hands have earned. And He pardons much."

And He said in suurat Huud ayat 102:

"Such is the siezure of your Lord when He siezes the (population of) the towns while they are doing wrong, verily His siezure is painful, (and) severe."

In the first ayat, the Merciful creator informed us that our actions are the reasons for the misfortunes - call them disasters - that befall us. We are punished for our actions but, He pardons us much of what we wrong and He does not punish us immediately. The message in the second ayat is that when He eventually decides to send His punishments, severe indeed is the pain and horror of those punishment.

After understanding the main reason why disasters fall, we go to the second part of the question: Why are innocent people who don't involve themselves in evil and children also fall victims? To people like Bain, this is opression of the highest nature!

Alhamdulillah! Multiple answers in the Qur'aan and Sunnat exhuast this. A human being was warned to distance himself from the wicked lest, punishment will not spare him. This is clear in the ayat below:

"And incline not towards those who do wrong lest fire should touch you." (Huud 113)

He was also ordered to enjoin good and forbid evil. He has to try stop those who do evil and tell them to do good for him to be safe. The Lord of the maginificent throne said - Al Anfaal ayat 25:

"And fear the fitnat (affliction and trial) which affects not in particular (only) those of you who do wrong (but it afflicts all the good and the bad people) and know that Allah is severe in punishment."

The proof in the Sunnat is the narration of Aishat, the prophet's wife and mother of believers: The prophet said about an army that will attack the Kaabat (Allah's house in Macca), but as they reach an open land, Allah will destroy them from the first to the last. Aishat said: I asked the prophet: Why will all be destroyed indescriminately when some of them were only minded about the market and among them people who do not share with them their evil intentions? The prophet replied that Allah will destroy all of them and raise them on the day of judgement in accordance to the intention each of them had.

Many important issues can be got from this Hadiith but we are most concerned about only two in this place: 1. That Allah's punishment for evil ones does not spare a pius one who lives in company with them. 2. That even though this pius man or woman is not spared from the punishment in dunia, it doesn't necessarily mean that he is accountable for their evil deeds on the day of judgement.

After realising this reality, it becomes easy to understand that for a child or a goat to die in a tsunami, it doesn't mean that he (the child) is being punished. We see children knocked down by a car or dying of a chronical disease of other routes of death that are not tsunami related. So his death during a tsunami is a punishment for his devious and evil adults but for him its a mere death. The same is said about the buildings that do collapse and animals that die. All that is punishment for the sinner and I hope nobody doubts the safety of a building or a goat infront of Allah.

It's also very important to know, brothers and sisters in Islam that Allah sends signs and warnings be4 He punishes. Some of these warning signs are the Lunar and Solar Eclipse. Unfortunately, many Muslims today see these great and naturally terrifying signs and remain unshaken and without thinking about the islamic view of these great happenings. When nonbelievers see these signs, they jump with joy embracing happily what might be their total distruction. This is what happened in bududa as one of the survivors narrated. When they saw rain coming, they thought it was a normal rain that came to tame the draught and give them a good harvest etc. Little didi they know that landslides were to bury them in a little while ahead.

Allah, the Exalted, worthy of perfect praise, said:

"And we sent not the signs except to warn, and make them afraid (of destruction)." (Israa' 59)

This ayat explains how a Muslim should be if he see any sign from his creator. He must immediately think about destruction which prompts him to rectctify his relationship with his creator by hastening to make tawba etc. This is exactly what the noble prophet did when he saw an eclipse. He rushed to the Masjid fearing to be the end of the world. He prayed, cried, preached and ordered for repentence and swadaq and swalat. But a kaafir remains unbothered.

In conclusion, its very important to know that Allah spared me and you from these calamities so that we learn a lesson from those punished and return to Him. Its one of the reasons why He sends calamities on earth. He said in suurat Assajdat 21:

"And verily, We will make them taste of the near torment (ie the torment of the torment of this world, ie, disasters, calamities, etc) prior to the supreme torment (in the here after)in order that they may (repent and) return."

I request Allah to save us all from His wrath and give us Tawba before our death and join us all in al Jannat.
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