An honored and respected elder wrote an article, “COVID-19: ALlah is not angry with the world”, as a response to those who claim ALlah is punishing the world for its unquantifiable sins. After reading, I felt it was necessary that I put into writing, my perspective of the matter.
Before delving into the subject of discourse, I think it is necessary to state that the decision to pen this is not to demean, insult, disrespect or belittle the author’s personality, perceptive, perspective and pen. The intent is to give a different perspective.
Is ALlah Angry With Us?
As a Muslim, the words of ALlah in the Qur’an are the basis of my sense of judgment especially in situations where there are little or no evidence(s). Allah’s says in the Qur’an,
“Surah Al-Jinn, Verse 26:
عَالِمُ الْغَيْبِ فَلَا يُظْهِرُ عَلَىٰ غَيْبِهِ أَحَدًا
“(He Alone) the All-Knower of the Gha’ib (unseen), and He reveals to none His Gha’ib (unseen).”
This verse and similar ones would make me not jump into a specific conclusion when and where evidences are scarce or missing. It is in light of this verse that I have argued that we cannot specifically link the Coronavirus outbreak to the evil of the Chinese Government against the Muslims.
LOGIC
My friend, the author rendered the idea that Coronavirus being a consequential effect of God’s wrath as an illogical conclusion. While I do not buy into the specific nexus, I will put forward my argument as a probability that the outbreak COULD be a result of Allah’s anger, logically speaking.
Allah says in the Qur’an,
Al-Anfal 8:25
وَٱتَّقُوا۟ فِتْنَةً لَّا تُصِيبَنَّ ٱلَّذِينَ ظَلَمُوا۟ مِنكُمْ خَآصَّةًۖ وَٱعْلَمُوٓا۟ أَنَّ ٱللَّهَ شَدِيدُ ٱلْعِقَابِ
And fear a trial which will not strike those who have wronged among you exclusively, and know that Allah is severe in penalty.
In a Hadith collected by Ibn Majah, Imam Ahmad recorded that Umm Salamah, the Prophet’s wife, said,
“I heard the Messenger of Allah saying,
إِذَا ظَهَرَتِ الْمَعَاصِي فِي أُمَّتِي عَمَّهُمُ اللهُ بِعَذَابٍ مِنْ عِنْدِه
If sins become apparent in my Ummah, Allah will surround them with punishment from Him.
I said, `O Allah’s Messenger! Will they have righteous people among them then?’
He said,
بَلَى
Yes.
Unarguably, if the injustice, evil and everything sin encompasses in this world were to be piled up, they won’t fill both Everest and Kilimajaro, reach up to the skies and sit comfortably on the planets.
If I were to start to write about these evils, I would have to write this article ‘forever’.
THE WRATH OF ALLAH
My good brother, the Author, did not contend against the evil in this world, though according to him, he “convincingly opines that Allah is not angry with this world”. He believes that the wrath of Allah is not upon us even though mount Kilimajaro grows green with envy at the size of our scandalous sins.
Citing the people of Prophet Nuh (Noah) and Lut (Lot) whose people were destroyed due to the wrath of ALlah, he argued that, if ALlah was truly angry with us, He would destroy us totally. He wrote,
“If COVID-19 is as a result of God’s wrath, it won’t be selective in infecting people. If COVID-19 is as a result of God’s wrath, there won’t be a treatment let alone cure for it. If COVID-19 is God’s way of wrecking his wrath upon us, no one in the world will be spared or there would have been more deaths than lives.”
As much as the author agreed that our sins are much, then, why would he think that ALlah is not angry with us? If He is, we would be utterly destroyed? After highlighting his arguments, I’ll go further in making clearer my perspective and answering some of the questions within the context of my perspective.
TEST AND TRIALS: A LINGUISTIC CONFUSION
Without a doubt, literary works may lose meaning when translated as translations are not always perfect. I further understood where the author might be making an innocent mistake, he wrote in a comment,
“If Allah said calamity would befall us from what we committed, does it mean Allah is angry with us? Did Allah say His testing us with fear, hunger, and mortality is out of His anger upon us?”
The author’s perception of calamity/test /trial is within the context of Qur’an 2:155 which reads;
وَلَنَبْلُوَنَّكُم بِشَىْءٍ مِّنَ ٱلْخَوْفِ وَٱلْجُوعِ وَنَقْصٍ مِّنَ ٱلْأَمْوَٰلِ وَٱلْأَنفُسِ وَٱلثَّمَرَٰتِۗ وَبَشِّرِ ٱلصَّٰبِرِينَ
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”
The test in this verse does not connote punishment or destruction. In clearer terms, tests like these do not come as a form of Allah’s wrath… Let us take a look at similar verses with “وَلَنَبْلُوَنَّكُم”
Al-Kahf 18:7
إِنَّا جَعَلْنَا مَا عَلَى ٱلْأَرْضِ زِينَةً لَّهَا لِنَبْلُوَهُمْ أَيُّهُمْ أَحْسَنُ عَمَلًا
Indeed, We have made that which is on the earth adornment for it that We may test them [as to] which of them is best in deed.
“لِنَبْلُوَهُمْ“… Allah testing us here is not a result of anger…
“Muhammad 47:31
وَلَنَبْلُوَنَّكُمْ حَتَّىٰ نَعْلَمَ ٱلْمُجَٰهِدِينَ مِنكُمْ وَٱلصَّٰبِرِينَ وَنَبْلُوَا۟ أَخْبَارَكُمْ
And We will surely test you until We make evident those who strive among you [for the cause of Allah ] and the patient, and We will test your affairs.”
” وَلَنَبْلُوَنَّكُمْ“, again, being tested here is not out of the anger of Allah. So, to answer his question, Allah did not say tests are a result of His wrath, however, tests may come from His wrath. The translation is the cause of the confusion.
While the author had focused on and seemingly confused with, “وَلَنَبْلُوَنَّكُمْ” which means, “We (Allah) will test you (plural), he mixes it up “فِتْنَةً” which is, trial, affliction, which could be a punishment and many times translated as test. Allah says,
Al-Anfal 8:25
وَٱتَّقُوا۟ فِتْنَةً لَّا تُصِيبَنَّ ٱلَّذِينَ ظَلَمُوا۟ مِنكُمْ خَآصَّةًۖ وَٱعْلَمُوٓا۟ أَنَّ ٱللَّهَ شَدِيدُ ٱلْعِقَابِ
And fear a trial which will not strike those who have wronged among you exclusively, and know that Allah is severe in penalty.”
He argued that, “With the coming of Prophets Isa (Jesus) and Muhammed, peace remains with both, to the world, God has ceased to unleash His wrath upon the world, no matter how humongous the sins. God won’t destroy the world in a hurry”
While it is upon the author to provide a proof that with the coming of the two prophets he mentioned, Allah may punish people for their wickedness without necessarily destroying the world and the punishment would be a result of His wrath.
In Qur’an 8:25 quoted above,
Allah warns His believing servants of a Fitnah, trial and test, that encompasses the wicked and those around them. Therefore, such Fitnah will not be restricted to the sinners and evildoers. Rather, it will reach the others if the sins are not stopped and prevented. While such punishment may engulf both the believers and the unbelievers, it does not mean the world would be destroyed.
Imam Ahmad recorded from Hudhayfah bin Al-Yaman that the Messenger of Allah said,
وَالَّذِي نَفْسِي بِيَدِهِ لَتَأْمُرُنَّ بِالْمَعْرُوفِ وَلَتَنْهَوُنَّ عَنِ الْمُنْكَرِ أَوْ لَيُوشِكَنَّ اللهُ أَنْ يَبْعَثَ عَلَيْكُمْ عِقَابًا مِنْ عِنْدِهِ ثُمَّ لَتَدْعُنَّهُ فَلَا يَسْتَجِيبُ لَكُم
By He in Whose Hand is my soul! You will enjoin righteousness and forbid evil, or Allah will send a punishment upon you from Him; you will supplicate then to Him, but He will not answer your supplication.
Therefore, I beg to disagree that a pandemic or natural disaster cannot be a punishment from Allah. Allah’s wrath is not limited to just destroying the world.
We have seen the evil going on in the world. Today, we have more than about a hundred genders. We sleep soundly while Syria burns. The infant of Gaza is orphaned while we nurture our babies. What do we say of Kashmir or Uyghur? The sins in our world today is enough to call for Allah’s punishment.
Imam Ahmad recorded that Jarir said that the Messenger of Allah said,
مَا مِنْ قَوْمٍ يُعْمَلُ فِيهِمْ بِالْمَعَاصِي هُمْ أَعَزُّ وَأَكْثَرُ مِمَّنْ يَعْمَلُونَ ثُمَّ لَمْ يُغَيِّرُوهُ إِلاَّ عَمَّهُمُ اللهُ بِعِقَاب
Every people among whom sins are being committed, while they are mightier and more numerous than those who do wrong, yet they did nothing to stop them, then Allah will surround them all with punishment.
PUNISHMENT AND THE FATE OF BELIEVERS
Now that it has been proved that ALlah can punish us for our sins, believer or no believer, one who stands upright with ALlah has nothing to fear as it was recorded in the Hadith,
Imam Ahmad recorded that Umm Salamah, the Prophet’s wife, said,
“I heard the Messenger of Allah saying,
إِذَا ظَهَرَتِ الْمَعَاصِي فِي أُمَّتِي عَمَّهُمُ اللهُ بِعَذَابٍ مِنْ عِنْدِه
If sins become apparent in my Ummah, Allah will surround them with punishment from Him.
I said, `O Allah’s Messenger! Will they have righteous people among them then?’
He said,
بَلَى
Yes.
I asked, `What will happen to them?’
He said,
يُصِيبُهُمْ مَا أَصَابَ النَّاسَ ثُمَّ يَصِيرُونَ إِلَى مَغْفِرَةٍ مِنَ اللهِ وَرِضْوَان
They will be stricken as the people, but they will end up with Allah’s forgiveness and pleasure.”
Lastly, whether the COVID-19 is a biological weapon or not, ALlah does whatever he intended that He could destroy a man with his own hands. We cannot merely rely on scientific approach to some issues. Scientifically, ALlah did not create us, do we buy that? If it is proven that it is a biological weapon or not, it is still in place to suggest that it is one way ALlah wants to punish us. When the signs of the last days come, the unbelievers will continue to look at it from a scientific angle. Man is ignorant yet, arrogant.
CONCLUSION
With great respect to the author, I seek forgiveness for where I might have come harshly. I am a man and not infallible.
While giving my perspective, I have tried to argue that those who think the COVID-19 is a punishment from Allah may not be ill-informed, misinformed and misguided as the author suggests. It may not be an illogical conclusion after all.
However, I consider the author and those who specifically say the COVID-19 is a punishment from Allah as brothers at two ends. Each arriving at a specific conclusion when there are other possibilities.
If our argument is within the context of Islam, then, it is more logical that we maintain a balance. It could be a punishment from ALlah, it might not be. ALlah know is best.
Bashir Lucas Samson Lukman (Knowislam Project – Knowislam.com.ng)
English 
