On trials, testing and turning back: Part 1

On Testing, Trials and Turning Back   البلاء والرجوع

A translation from the original Arabic article البلاء والرجوع

In the name of Allah, the Most Compassionate, the Most Merciful,

I’d like to begin in the traditional way, by giving praise and thanks to Allah and asking Him to send peace upon his chosen servants, the messengers.  There is no comparison between Allah and anything else that is worshipped, obeyed or feared.  In fact, He is the only power, as the glories of creation bear witness.

These few pages contain a commentary on a paper I received this week discussing this current crisis, and an attempt to make sense of things. I ask Allah to help me set them out in a way that is both easy to understand and helpful.  If there are mistakes or errors in these ideas, they are mine, but if their source is the Most-Merciful, then I am confident that some people will find them very beneficial.

The first thing to observe is that this Corona virus crisis is a global one, affecting people regardless of culture, religion or way of life, highlighting our shared human vulnerability and interdependence, and indicating that it demands a response from all people.  To many, this is merely a random, unfair thing which just happened by chance, or human error, citing that epidemics and pandemics have long been a feature of human history.  Their response is to see it as an enemy to be conquered and overcome, and this enables them to define themselves as the good guys, the sensible guys, charging into battle in heroic mode to risk their lives to save the innocent victims of an evil enemy and get everything back to business as usual.  But what if this reassuring image of ourselves is not accurate? What if we aren’t actually good guys?  To the believer, to the poet, to anyone who sees a deeper meaning behind things, the question arises – what is this crisis trying to tell us?  Could this a trial sent to test us, or a warning, or a consequence of some of the bad things we have been doing all around the world?  If this is the case, then this trial, being sent to all people – Muslim, Buddhist, Jew, animist, Christian, atheist, agnostic, is a clear indication that none of us can afford to think that we have got things right, that we are the good guys, on the right track, and that Heaven is pleased with us.

Many modern people feel uncomfortable at the idea that disaster and misfortune is sent to them by a divine power because of their deeds, largely because those who retain a belief in a divine power, however defined, imagine it as always benevolent towards us, and perhaps because we like to see ourselves and others as largely well-intentioned and therefore innocent victims.  Even so, the belief remains in our society that there is a right response and a wrong response to this crisis, and we can see this in the contrasting scenes played out in the media – selfish shoppers coming to blows over toilet roll, versus people signing up to volunteer to help in hospitals and to do shopping for and care for the most vulnerable in society.

تبارك الذي بيده الملك و هو على كل شيئ قدير الذي خلق الموت والحيات ليبلوكم أيكم احسن عملا و هو العزيز الغفور الذي خلق سبع سماوات تباقا ما ترى في خلق الرحمن من تفاوت فارجع البصر هل ترى من فتور ثم ارجع البصر كرتين ينقلب إليه البصر خاسئ و هو حسير

“Blessed is the one in whose hand is all dominion, and who is over all things powerful.  The one who created life and death to test which one of you is the best in action, and he is the tremendous, the forgiving.  He who created the seven heavens in layers – do you see in the creation of the All-Merciful any flaw? Look around again, your vision will return to you humbled and exhausted.”

 

(Beginning of Surah Mulk)

Please note that whenever the Qur’an is expressed in English it is only an imperfect rendering of the clear Arabic meaning, as filtered through the constraints of the English language.  We ask Allah to help convey it to your minds and hearts so that you receive it in the spirit in which it should be read, with the best of interpretations, and that you follow what is the best of it, as Allah mentions in the Qur’an.

 

There are a number of Qur’anic verses, in  surahs A’raaf, Rum, Sajda, Zukhruf and Ahqaaf, which refer to punishment coming to people in this worldly life for a specific purpose: “لعلهم يرجعون”  “that they might return or turn back”.  Before going on to look at these verses in more detail, we just want to clarify the word for punishment in Arabic lacks some of the more violent connotation of revenge found in the English word, but means something which comes as a consequence of the bad things people do.   The idea of turning back or returning suggests that people have been going in the wrong direction, and most people today would agree that this can be said about our world, as images of fire, flooding, pollution, degradation, inequality, injustice, cruelty and war fill our screens every day.  It is interesting that this same verb is also used in the ayaat quoted above from Surah al Mulk, where it is used to mean to turn the gaze to look around at the world around us.

In the next verse, there is an ayat which refers to the Jews, but could be about anybody, and it is given in the Qur’an as an example to everybody.

و قطعناهم في الأرض أمما منهم الصالحون و منهم دون ذلك و بلوناهم بالحسنات والسيئات لعلهم يرجعون

“We divided them up in the earth into different nations.  Amongst them are good people and amongst them others who are not so good, and we tested them with good things and bad so that they may return.”

(A’raaf, 168)

It shows that the children of Israel were tested with بلاء , and that bala’ includes both good and bad things. This is really important, because a lot of people think that they deserve to have good things, or that if they get good things this is their reward for hard work and doing the right thing, and a sign that God is pleased with them, so they can complacently relax and indulge themselves.  However, the Qur’an makes clear here, and in a number of places, that people are also being tested when we get good things: we are tested to see how we will react, whether we will be grateful, and whether we will share with others the blessings bestowed upon us or whether we will become arrogant, boastful and stingy.  As for the bad things, then the test is to see if we will be patient, and turn back to our lord, and try to help people where we can, or if we will become angry and resentful and start complaining or blaming other people and using the difficulties as an excuse not to do good things.

In both cases, the things which happen to us in life, whether good or bad, are reminders to us to see our lord behind them. rather than thinking that we, or those around us, are the sole cause of all these things. It says in the Qur’an that nothing will happen to us except what Allah has written for us. (surah Taubah, 51) If we really absorb this meaning, then this could be a lot better for our mental health, because if we think that our choices could make or break it for us, and affect our whole future, then this leads us to get overly stressed about the decisions we make in life in case we make the wrong one and ruin everything,  and  also to get mad at those around us when they make mistakes.  However, this is ascribing far too much power to other people.  To the traditional Muslim, this is short-sightedness; Al-Ghazali likens this to someone who thinks that a pen is doing the writing, without seeing the writer who is holding the pen.  This is something which can be understood through life experience but which is difficult to explain through reason, and this essay is not the place to go deep into philosophy, and free-will and determinism, and even if I did, what would be the benefit?

Rather let us agree that this is the teaching given to us in the Qur’an and by the Prophet, to see Allah behind events, and that I do not at all mean that people’s choices do not matter, because clearly they do, when we are judged by them.  Rather, we should be concerned in our choices to do the right thing in the eyes of Allah and leave the final outcome of affairs in the hands of Allah and trust in Him.  And when somebody harms us, rather than reacting in anger and fear, we should remember that there is no power in this earth but Allah, and that this is also a test for us, to see how we should respond to this person, and whether we will do the right thing, and stop the cycle of wrongs being returned for wrongs, and stop accumulating wrongs in our record of deeds, and stop the person who harmed us from piling up yet more wrongs himself.  If we can do this, this will help us to become calmer people who are less reactive, and less prone to panic and stupidity when things go wrong.

و كذلك نفصل الأيات لعلهم يرجعون

And in this way, we gave them (a series of) signs so that perhaps they might return.

There have been so many signs given to us in the last few years, we don’t really need to list them here,  but here are just a few to give you the idea without depressing you too much: global warming, tsunami, huge fires in Australia, global financial meltdown, plagues of locusts, drought and flooding, the great Pacific and Atlantic plastic garbage patches millions of square kilometres in area.

(Surah A’raaf, 174)

 

ظهر الفساد في البر والبحر بما كسبت ايدي الناس ليذيقهم بعض  الذي عملوا لعلهم يرجعون

Corruption has appeared in land and sea by what people’s hands have earned, to let them taste some of what they have done so that they may perhaps return.

(Surah Rum, 41)

The early Tafsir commentators were confused about the meaning of this ayat, because they could not imagine how corruption could appear on the sea.  We can see this when we look at the tafsirs (Quran commentaries) where they give the land and the sea derived rather than literal meanings, for example saying, “In the land means the son of Adam when he killed his brother, and In the sea the one who seized every ship unlawfully.”  Or “When the rain declines, so will diving.” Sadly, in our age, the meaning of this ayat is so very clear and plain that nobody will argue about it or question it.

And when Allah says, to let them taste some of what they have done, it shows that this test or punishment is not complete, because it is only for some of what they have done.  In a number of places in the Qur’an, Allah mentions that were He to take people to task in this world for everything they have done, no one and nothing would be left on the face of the earth.  Rather it is to let them taste some of what they have done so that they will become aware of what they have done and refrain from it, returning to Allah.

ليذيقنهم من العذاب الادنى دون العذاب الأكبر لعلهم يرجعون

To let them definitely taste some of the lesser punishment instead of the greater punishment that they may return.

(Surah Sajdah, 21)

 

And it is also clear that this lesser, or lower, or worldly punishment is partial, for some of what they have done, and fortunately for us, the goal is not to destroy those who are punished completely, but has a goal which is that they change direction, turn back from the wrong path they were taking, and return to Allah.

و ما نريهم من اياة إلا هي أكبر من أختها و أخذناهم بالعذاب لعلهم يرجعون

And we do not show them a sign except that it is greater than the previous one, and we seize them with the punishment so they may return.

(Zukhruf, 18)

 

When they do not take a warning from an ayat in the sense of acknowledging Allah’s right to be worshipped, and his Lordship over them, He seizes them with a punishment until the reality of our relationship with Allah becomes clear; whatever delusions of grandeur we may suffer from about our civilisation, our freedoms, and our achievements, He has total power and authority over us and over the world and we are his servants, who are dependent on Him completely for everything.

و لقد أهلكنا ما حولكم من القرى و صرفنا الأياة لعلهم يرجعون

And we have destroyed the civilisations round about them and have shown them our signs, that they may perhaps return

(Ahqaaf, 27)

And this is about taking a warning from what is happening to people in other places, and the intelligent person should take notice of things like natural disasters or misfortunes happening to others and not think of them as having no connection to their own lives just because they live in a place with a different climate or circumstances.

I would like to mention something here from the  tafsir (Qur’an commentary) of Fakhr-ud-Din Al-Razi.  The first point that he makes is that all fasaad  فساد(corruption) occurs because of shirk شرك. Now shirk has the broad meaning of worshipping anything else besides Allah.  So, we might ask ourselves, hearing this, how does a polluted planet come from worshipping other than Allah?    The first thing to note  is that the concept of worship in Arabic (‘uboodiya) includes not only belief and prayer, but obedience to Allah’s commands and an acknowledgement that you are God’s servant.

So it means that we see bad things in the earth when people do stuff they know is wrong, maybe through following their desires, or because they thinks they have no choice because the system is making them do it or its leaders are, or that is just the way the world is (if you can’t beat them, join them).  Shaitan also likes to make people despair and give up, so they feel depressed and that there is no point trying, so they seek to distract themselves and cheer themselves up in the short term, even though it is very destructive in the long term.

However, it is also because the person’s faith is weak and the belief isn’t really real to them, meaning that Allah’s reality is veiled from them so day to day, they don’t really think much about Allah. If a person’s heart is filled with tawhid (a pure and certain belief in Allah’s greatness and power and mercy and generosity and wisdom and his control of everything, and being behind all events, and seeing the beautiful design and harmony in creation, and knowing that we need to look beyond the immediate things that happen to us to see the test from Allah or the meaning), then that person will not be able to bring himself to do things which go against that.   It is to try to strengthen the tawhid of a person’s heart, that Muslims try to remember Allah at all times and in all situations, and this is what led to the formal ritual practice of dhikr, which is a time-tested way to help strengthen the connection with and awareness of Allah.  And this is what is meant by returning to Allah, it is a returning to our senses, a returning to awareness, an awakening and realisation, and a returning to reality, after being in a trance-like state of heedlessness, distractedness, or more seriously a deliberately refusal to listen or see the signs.

And although we believe that those who have gone far astray are not going to change, we also believe that Allah makes it so that a few people will listen, repent and turn back, even though the majority won’t, and that Allah wants the best for people, because it was said about the town of the Prophet Yunus (Jonah):

فلو لا قرية امنت فنفعها إمانها إلا قوم يونس لما امنوا كشفنا عنهم عذاب الخزي في  الحياة الدنيا و متعناهم إلى حين

If only there were a civilisation that believed so their belief benefited them, except for the people of Yunus.  When they believed, we removed the humiliating punishment in the life of this world and provided for them for a time. (i.e. until they passed away)

فلو لا كانت القرون من قبلكم أولوا البقية ينهون عن الفساد في الأرض إلا قليلا ممن أنجينا منهم وأتبع الذين ظلموا ما اترفوا فيه و كانوا مجرمون

If only among those generations before you were a remnant forbidding the spreading of corruption in the earth except for a few who we saved, and those oppressors pursued the enjoyment of good things in life and became criminals.

(Hud, 116)

و كم أهلكنا من قرية بطرت معيشتها فتلك مساكنهم لم تسكن من بعدهم إلا قليلا و كنا نحن الوارثين

And how many a community that [once] exulted in its wanton wealth and ease of life have We destroyed, so that those dwelling-places of theirs – all but a few – have never been dwelt-in after them: for it is indeed We alone who are the inheritors!

(Al Qassas, 58)

I hope that for me, and for whoever this paper reaches, at this time of great trial, confusion and fitnah, through the generosity of Allah and in His mercy which encompasses everything, that we become among the few whose faith benefits them, and who turn back to the truth and to tawhid – the true understanding of reality – and Allah is the one to whom we turn.

So, this leads us on to the next section of this paper, which is the question of knowing how we turn back to Allah, because people always disagree on what this means, and what Allah wants of them, but the majority of this disagreement is in reality what the Qur’an calls “بغيا بينهم” or rivalry amongst themselves, that is based on pride and ego, and this happens naturally after people have received the clear guidance and proofs because not everybody wants to accept it because it is asking for big changes they don’t feel comfortable with, and it leads to a lot of discussion – normally based upon rivalry between themselves.  So for example many Muslims today are saying that what Allah is sending this trial because He wants us to do is to pray and fast and impose the hijab, but they are ignoring the huge big injustices and problems that we are creating in the world because these big problems are political; it is easier to be very reductionist, stick to telling people to pray, criticise wine drinking and tell women to wear hijab.  However, we need to be honest with ourselves, because the Qur’an also tells us that humans do have insight into knowing the truth inside themselves, if they are honest, because it says,

بل الإنسان على نفسها بصيرة و لو ألقى معاذيرة

On the contrary, the human being has insight about himself, whatever the excuses he may proffer.

(Al Qiyaamah, 14)

So, we don’t at all want to get into this type of thinking or going into the opinions of different madhhabs or ideologies, and there is also no time for this type of armchair philosophising.  We need guidance that is clear and helpful to all of us.   However, it appears that by the complete mercy of Allah to his servants and also part of his “argument” against us, that he has placed the answer within the essence of the trial itself.

How?

It can be seen in what this trial has forced people to do.  Some people have been badly affected, and some have even died, but if we think about the changes in the lives of the majority of people, then perhaps we can understand the nature of this trial and how to return to the right path.

People have had to stop rushing around doing things and have to sit at home for a period of time.  This gives us an opportunity to reflect upon the blessings of normal life that we have lost, as well as on what we really need for a good life, as well as taking up some very important things which we may have neglected because we were too busy to think about them.

People have had to curb their shopping habits, by which I mean shopping as a mere leisure activity and have stopped buying everything but the essentials they need that day (or that month!) – food and medicines. This has given us an opportunity to re-evaluate what is important to us. Now we are no longer sure of their continuing supply, it has highlighted to us the value of all the things which Allah blesses us with and which we have taken for granted so long.  The planet has got some breathing space as we put the brakes on unnecessary consumption.  Many of us even have more time to make or grow more things ourselves, which helps ground us after we had become so disconnected from the process of production.  Traditional pious Muslims preferred to eat what they had made themselves, because they believed that in this way they knew how that food had been made, whilst doing dhikr, and care over how the ingredients were acquired and paid for, and this would make it more wholesome and blessed. The maker would see themselves as a craftsman, helping others, and take joy in the making of something beautiful and wholesome.  You can see something of this if you watch a Turkish drama on Netflix like Urtugrul.  How far is that attitude from the long chains of mass production we see in the modern world, frequently associated with unhealthiness, exploitation, alienation, environmental degradation etc!

One of the consequences is that people have gathered together as families and they are getting to know each other better.  Although this is showing the cracks in our relationships, it must also be a good thing in a society where caring and education is increasingly outsourced to paid employees, and it is normal for a child to spend more time with a stranger than with a loved one.  People are getting in contact with each other, as far as social distancing allows, in their increased free time, of which we were so short of before, and reaching out to each other through social media.  This has shown the limitations of social media because people are missing the touch and the intimacy of face to face contact.  We are also thinking more about our neighbours, and being confined to our area, we are getting to know that better, which I hope will lead us to improve our area and pay more attention to it.  In general, this crisis is pushing us to improve the quality of our relationships and our locality and our homes.

Where social distancing feels uncomfortable and unnatural, and we are denied contact with others, this also prompts us to suspect whether we have been forced to keep apart because a lot of the things which we were meeting up to do are not helping each other to do good and fear Allah, but sin and enmity.  لا خير في كثير من نجواهم  There is no good in most of their meetings.  And وتعاونوا على البر والتقوى ولا تعاونوا على الإثم والعدوان  Cooperate upon goodness and the fear of Allah, and do not cooperate for sin and aggression.

Around the world people have adopted many cleanliness and hygiene practices which are also part of the sunnah of the Prophet, peace be upon him. One little example would be keeping nails clipped and short for hygiene purposes, but there are many more.  Muslims have seen the wisdom of our shariah.

I would like to mention here the confusion between real religion and fake religion which we see on social media, because who can claim that their faith and their culture can protect them from Allah’s anger if they don’t take the necessary precautions as laid down in the laws of Allah in the universe, such as prevention of infection and isolation?  People thinking this way are deluded, because when Allah shows anger to us or sends a punishment, the correct response is to isolate oneself and turn to Allah for refuge, and to cry over one’s sins, and to humble oneself, not to boast about one’s faith as if one were like a prophet or holy person close to Allah.  And just because we see this as a trial, and invitation to return to Allah, and a warning to change our ways, does not mean that we should ignore scientific advice and medical guidance.  On the contrary, we are Muslims who believe in the greatness of their lord, the ruler of the Universe, but at the same time, we try to protect ourselves through the scientific knowledge which He has made available to us.

We know that our prophet told us not to go to a region where there was contagion, and also not to leave a region with contagion, which is exactly what is intended by the current lockdown, to stop spreading disease.  It is practical and wise to take all necessary precautions.  However, Muslims remember that what happens to us is the will of Allah, and no power on earth can stop something which Allah wills, so we must accept what happens to us as coming from our lord.

However, the worst thing we can do is to refuse to acknowledge that this is a warning to us, and to treat it as a temporary inconvenience only, a random natural phenomena with no greater meaning behind it, and to get annoyed about it, and just see it as something that is getting in the way of what we want to do, an injustice committed against us.  We must use it as an opportunity to change our ways and no longer think that we can do what we like on earth and exploit it and others to get whatever we want, especially as Allah is showing us in every moment that we cannot do what we like and don’t have power over anything.   And if you think that one individual is small and insignificant and cannot make a difference against such huge problems, especially if most people seem hell-bent on carrying on as normal, then remember that it is not our responsibility to save the world – the ends of all things belong to Allah   و لله عاقبة الأمورit is enough for us to try, as we are only responsible for what we have done, and it is about what we have done that we will be questioned.

I would like to finish by saying this:  the best way that we can please our lord during this test is by being kind to each other, and to increase our giving to others in every way possible, and doing all this only for the sake of Allah and hoping that he will remove this difficulty from us, because this test is exposing our bad deeds, such as our selfishness and big business trying to protect profits always.  The way to counter this is to do good deeds that are the opposite of this, in the hope of extinguishing the anger of our lord. For this reason, we want to see giving at all levels – in our local community but also cooperation between nations.

We can see encouraging signs when we look at some of the support which has been given by one country to another, and to help the most vulnerable members of society.    I hope that my dream will be realised and that the nations will cooperate with each other, although I know that those who understand and believe are in a minority.

We need this cooperation between nations because this virus, and many other issues affecting us, are affecting the whole globe, and this is strong evidence that Allah wants a global response.  As Muslims, we need to follow the Qur’anic instruction to come to an agreement with others about what is common between us and cooperate for the common good.  If a nation blocks another nation from receiving help, this does not mean it will be good for us.  We already know that this virus crosses borders.  We need to work together as a single body, just as in the hadith that says that the believer is like one body: if one part hurts, the rest hurts, or like the poem of Persian Medieval poet Saadi, inscribed at the entrance to the United nations, which says, inspired by the teachings of the prophet, peace be upon him,

The sons of Adam are limbs of each other, Having been created of one essence.
When the calamity affects one limb The other limbs cannot remain at rest.
If thou hast no sympathy for the troubles of others
Thou art unworthy to be called by the name of a human.

Cooperation is not good in itself, because people can and do cooperate to do bad things.  We must cooperate, the Qur’an instructs us, to do good and to have fear of Allah, and we need to recognise that rebellious, Promethean, pioneering man is finding himself hitting up against limits, and we need to fall into harmony with the universe, and not act against it, and to stop treating it like an enemy to be conquered, exploited and bent to our unlimited desires.

And we need to remember the hadith, which is the first hadith to be taught usually by those qualified to teach hadith, which says:

ارحموا من في الأرض يرحمكم من في السماء

Be merciful to whoever is in the earth, then Allah will be merciful to you.

Because there appears to be an increasing intolerance amongst people who are blaming others in this crisis, which is encouraged in our media, or not sympathising with certain cases because they are angry with them for one reason or another. And dividing people into worthy and unworthy people, which is an idea very strongly engrained in our English culture – see for example the idea of the deserving and undeserving poor in Victorian times, except we see it in many manifestations and all complexions, but the basic idea is the belief that some people just do not deserve our sympathy.   And this is not a wise thing to do with Allah, because who amongst us can be sure that we have done so little wrong that Allah could not be angry with us?  As the Qur’an teaches, if we want Allah to forgive us, then we need to forgive other people, and wish the best for them, even if they have done something very serious.  This is explained in Surah Noor, when someone said something extremely offensive about the beloved wife of the Prophet, and her very generous father was so upset that he swore he would not help that person again, and Allah asked him to continue to help him, and others like him in need, in the Qur’an and said, would you not love Allah to forgive you?  And if we are sure that we are not at all like that person who has made us angry, and could never be like that, because they have committed some disgusting crime or have some disgusting attitude that we cannot imagine ever doing or thinking, then Allah explains in the same surah that this is only by the grace of Allah to us that we are not like that

لو لا فضل الله عليكم و رحمته ما زكى منكم احدا ابدا

If it were not for the generosity of Allah towards you and his mercy not one of you would be purified.

Surah Noor 20-21

Oh Allah, have mercy on us with your mercy which cannot be taken away from us except by you, and make us one of the people who listen and follow the best of what they have heard, and one of those few people who will listen and turn back towards you.  And send your blessings upon Muhammad, and upon his pure, good family, and praise and thanks be to the Lord of al the Worlds.