Self-imposed isolation
This past week has been strange, to say the least. We are living in unprecedented times. My family and I spent a week apart (some 200miles away) so I have been living in a kind of ‘self-imposed’ isolation for a week. Second, I missed (deliberately) my first Jumu’ah since I could remember and that feels very odd; the days of the week have somehow blurred into one. And suddenly Coronavirus has become very real for us. If you are anything like me, you may have experienced shock, numbness, brain fog, anxiety, fear, uncertainty, confusion, anticipation, preparation for the unknown, concern for loved ones, detachment, disconnection, a massive urge to go shopping then followed by disappointment at finding supermarket shelves empty of essential toiletries.
Simply put, the Coronavirus has been an assault on all fronts. My attention and consciousness has become all thing relating to Coronavirus, even when I sit down to work, I am distracted and bombarded with news feeds, updates on the financial market collapse, airline companies going out of business, latest death toll, the spread of infection, Whats-app discussions, articles, documentaries, podcasts and the endless memes and comical sketches with toilet rolls. Normality has been put on pause, events cancelled, and social gatherings with friends and family have been put on hold.
It’s hard to make sense of it, here I am, trying to make some sense of it all, and this is the second of my reflections.
The world is crying for reformers
A catalogue of disasters
It seems like we are walking from one disaster into another. Wars, famine, floods, drought, climate change and a countless list of man-made problems. Add to that corruption is widespread. Allah says:
“Corruption has appeared in the land and the sea on account of what the hands of men have wrought, that He may make them taste a part of that which they have done, so that they may return.” [Ar-Rum: 30:41]
“And when it is said to them, ‘Do not corrupt on earth,’ they say, ‘We are only reformers.” [Al-Baqarah:2:11]
We even see distortion in their answers, they are not willing to admit what is obvious. And the corruption is not restricted to natural resources, but in all spheres human endeavours from politics, finance, trading, administration, personal, social and even religion.
Consequence of inaction
We as Muslims need to be at the forefront in restoring equilibrium and balance. We cannot allow corruption to spread, as it has a consequence. If we turn a blind eye to world affairs, we will face ruin. Umm Salama, the wife of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) asked him.
“‘O Messenger of Allah (ﷺ)! Shall we be destroyed while there are people who are Saleh [righteous] among us?’ The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, ‘Yes, if there is much wickedness.’” [Muwatta Al-Malik]
In another tradition, Hudhaifah bin Al-Yaman narrated that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said:
“By the One in Whose Hand is my soul! Either you command good and forbid evil, or Allah will soon send upon you a punishment from Him, then you will call upon Him, but He will not respond to you.” [Tirmidhi]
In relation to the recent Coronavirus pandemic, which by the way is not the first but the second such outbreak in less than 20years. The last one being the SARS pandemic of 2003. How did these new diseases arise?
Initially, Chinese officials allowed the poor and famished people of China to hunt local wildlife and sell them in the wet-markets in a bid to provide for themselves and their family. But soon, instead of the local people hunting local wildlife, it quickly became a profitable business. Wild animals were captured and farmed on an industrial scale in the most inhumane manner. Then more and more exotic and endangered species started to make their way into the market. Animals were bought and sold without regard for animal welfare or hygiene or the danger they posed in their consumption. What started out as an exception (and out of necessity) became the commercialised, unregulated and quickly corrupted to be the norm.
Fast forward to 2019, we have the second Coronavirus outbreak. All this because officials saw profit over regulations and good practice. If lessons are not learnt and these practices are not changed, there will be more such outbreaks and epidemics in the future. That’s not an if or maybe, that is given.
Reformers are not passive
To command what is good and forbid what is evil is not going to be easy, there will be people who do not like it, but we have to call it out for it is. And there are three levels of engagement. Abu Sayd Al-Khudri narrated that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said:
“Whoever among you sees an evil and changes it with his hand, then he has done his duty.
Whoever is unable to do that, but changes it with his tongue, then he has done his duty.
Whoever is unable to do that, but changes it with his heart, then he has done his duty,
and that is the weakest of Faith.” [Sunan An-Nasa’i]
So we have to be active against corruption and mobilise our family and community to take steps in changing the tide in a concerted effort through legitimate and wise means.
People who are loved by Allah
Remember Allah loves the doers of good and he does not love the corrupter.
“Allah does not love corrupters.” [Al-Maida: 5:64]
“And cause not corruption upon the earth after it has been set right. And call Him in fear and hope. Indeed, the mercy of Allah is near to the doers of good.” [Al-Araf: 7:56]
May Allah make us from the people Whom he loves. May Allah grant us to help restore justice, balance and equilibrium to a fragmented earth.
