The sure hands of God Almighty
Saturday, September 15, 2007
ON WEDNESDAY, a strong earthquake measuring 8.2 of the Richter scale, shook Southeast Asia, collapsing buildings, killing at least 10 people and injuring scores of others in Indonesia. That tremor triggered a small tsunami off the coastal city of Padang on Sumatra, the Indonesian island ravaged by the 2004 tsunami disaster.
On Thursday, a second powerful quake, measuring 7.8, rattled the same area of Sumatra and caused extensive damage in Padang. Thousands of frightened people piled in trucks to flee or sought shelter on higher ground. The latest powerful quake was also felt in Malaysia and in Singapore where tall buildings swayed. It triggered at least one strong aftershock.
Indonesia issued a tsunami warning, lifted it and then reissued it, creating even deeper fears among so many Indonesians, especially those who have experienced and witnessed the extent of damage inflicted upon them in the 2004 tsunami. The Muslims in the affected region began their Ramadhan pre-dawn meal of suhoor and the fast even as the more than 30 aftershocks continued to pound on them. It was a solemn opening into Ramadhan indeed.
What does one usually do when facing such a display of power? The first response would be to fear for one's life and to seek the divine help. One says, Astaghfirullah ( I beseech your forgiveness, O Allah). One naturally associates one's weaknesses with the Creator's might, and sees such a disaster as a test of one's faith as well as an attonement for one's sins. That would be the natural inclination, the fitrah , of a human being. One cannot help being awed and humbled. One may also see that the disaster was God's way to teach a lesson for a community immersed in wrongdoings.
In Indonesia, however, there have been attempts by some people who call themselves Liberal Muslim to convince people that such a response would be tantamount to either "blaming the victims" or "blaming God" when actually "no one knows for sure that there is an intervention of God in the disaster". This was their response when the tsunami hit Sumatra in 2004 killing hundreds of thousands of people and causing untold material loss. One of their activists wrote in a leading newspaper based in Jakarta, that "no one can prove that God has actively intervened in the tsunami".
The writing caused more than a stir among many Muslim groups in Indonesia. Since then, no other articles in the same tone has reportedly been written by the activist despite the fact that disaster after disaster, from earthquakes to landslides to flooding, have taken turns hitting Indonesia in rapid succession.
We in Brunei Darussalam, quite removed from the Ring of Fire that covers Indonesia, share the grief of those in Indonesia who suffer the loss of lives as well as material possession. We say, along with them, the words that Allah the Exalted Most High has taught us to say in the face of hardship: Innalillaahi wa inna ilayhi raji'un (everything belongs to Allah and will be returned to Allah.)
"Everyone shall taste death. And only on the Day of Resurrection shall you be paid your wages in full. The life of this world is only the enjoyment of deception (a deceiving thing)." (Quran, Surah 3: 185)
God does not need us to provide a reason to enter destruction into any of God's creation — all that is in the earth and the heavens belong to Allah so there really is no need for Allah to "intervene" as if Allah is an interloper.
God's sure hands are everywhere and the earthquake hitting our neighbour Indonesia can be a lesson, a test or whatever God wants it to be. Our position would be to find meaning to it and take heed in any manner possible. Physical and material preparation for the eventuality of a disaster is one, but the spiritual response is no less important.
On Thursday, a second powerful quake, measuring 7.8, rattled the same area of Sumatra and caused extensive damage in Padang. Thousands of frightened people piled in trucks to flee or sought shelter on higher ground. The latest powerful quake was also felt in Malaysia and in Singapore where tall buildings swayed. It triggered at least one strong aftershock.
Indonesia issued a tsunami warning, lifted it and then reissued it, creating even deeper fears among so many Indonesians, especially those who have experienced and witnessed the extent of damage inflicted upon them in the 2004 tsunami. The Muslims in the affected region began their Ramadhan pre-dawn meal of suhoor and the fast even as the more than 30 aftershocks continued to pound on them. It was a solemn opening into Ramadhan indeed.
What does one usually do when facing such a display of power? The first response would be to fear for one's life and to seek the divine help. One says, Astaghfirullah ( I beseech your forgiveness, O Allah). One naturally associates one's weaknesses with the Creator's might, and sees such a disaster as a test of one's faith as well as an attonement for one's sins. That would be the natural inclination, the fitrah , of a human being. One cannot help being awed and humbled. One may also see that the disaster was God's way to teach a lesson for a community immersed in wrongdoings.
In Indonesia, however, there have been attempts by some people who call themselves Liberal Muslim to convince people that such a response would be tantamount to either "blaming the victims" or "blaming God" when actually "no one knows for sure that there is an intervention of God in the disaster". This was their response when the tsunami hit Sumatra in 2004 killing hundreds of thousands of people and causing untold material loss. One of their activists wrote in a leading newspaper based in Jakarta, that "no one can prove that God has actively intervened in the tsunami".
The writing caused more than a stir among many Muslim groups in Indonesia. Since then, no other articles in the same tone has reportedly been written by the activist despite the fact that disaster after disaster, from earthquakes to landslides to flooding, have taken turns hitting Indonesia in rapid succession.
We in Brunei Darussalam, quite removed from the Ring of Fire that covers Indonesia, share the grief of those in Indonesia who suffer the loss of lives as well as material possession. We say, along with them, the words that Allah the Exalted Most High has taught us to say in the face of hardship: Innalillaahi wa inna ilayhi raji'un (everything belongs to Allah and will be returned to Allah.)
"Everyone shall taste death. And only on the Day of Resurrection shall you be paid your wages in full. The life of this world is only the enjoyment of deception (a deceiving thing)." (Quran, Surah 3: 185)
God does not need us to provide a reason to enter destruction into any of God's creation — all that is in the earth and the heavens belong to Allah so there really is no need for Allah to "intervene" as if Allah is an interloper.
God's sure hands are everywhere and the earthquake hitting our neighbour Indonesia can be a lesson, a test or whatever God wants it to be. Our position would be to find meaning to it and take heed in any manner possible. Physical and material preparation for the eventuality of a disaster is one, but the spiritual response is no less important.
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