The recent Earthquake in Christchurch was a great tragedy for the whole of New Zealand. It is impossible to describe the horror feeling during the quake.
Being disabled and a wheel chair bound paraplegic, I could not run out of my house when the quake struck and I saw the whole house was swinging from one side to another. I thought the house would fall on me. I did not realise until after the quake had stopped that I was constantly screaming, “Allah, Allah!”
Alhamdulillah! Allah saved me, my wife, child and about half a million people in Christchurch. But the quake did not leave everyone alive. A monumental tragedy resulted in loss of lives, grief, horror and terrible destruction of infrastructure.
My heart goes to all victims and their families and I am constantly praying like many others that may Allah save the City and grant His mercy on its people.
The tragedy has triggered questions to many minds. Is it fair that so many people have been killed and so many made to suffer? Where is the Mercy of God?
Every little or big happening on this earth has great reasons, some of which are mentioned in the Holy Quran.
“And We gave the nations suffering and poverty that they may learn to be humble” (Verse 6.42).
From this verse we find the following facts (1) Everything in this world is under the control of Almighty Allah (2) Only Allah provides good time and bad time for a great purpose (3) Often people become arrogant by their achievement and think it is all their making and not that of Allah (4) People spread greed, selfishness and corruption and (5) Allah therefore makes them realise their mistakes and correct them.
So every tragedy is a learning curve and men must use it for positive outcome.
We find in our daily life the same thing. When a child learns how to ride a bicycle, the child makes mistake, stumbles and learns from the mistake and ride better in next attempt. The merciful Allah grants respite for mankind to learn and change for a better future, for prosperity.
What is Fair?
We depend on accurate information and evidence to understand what is fair. In a court, a judge tries to get as much information as possible through available evidence and witnesses. The same theory applies in the question of fairness about Earthquake tragedy in Christchurch. Do people have the full knowledge to determine what is fair and not fair about natural calamities?
The answer is ‘No.’
The Holy Quran teaches the simple fact that only the Creator has full knowledge and only He knows what is fair.
“And with Him are the keys of the Unseen, the treasures that no one knows but Him. He knows whatever is in land and in sea. Not a leaf falls without His knowledge: There is not a grain in the darkness of neither the earth, nor anything fresh or dry, except what is written in a clear record” (Verse 6.59).
How do we understand the context of the Christchurch tragedy?
We are not qualified to question Allah’s decision. We do not know enough to challenge Allah’s justice. We believe Allah never does anything unfair to His creation but our knowledge is limited. We believe there is great wisdom and benefit behind this Christchurch tragedy and Allah knows best about it.
The above article appeared in Muslim News, an official publication of the Wellington based Federation of Islamic Associations of New Zealand.
