My dear respected brothers and sisters! Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullah wa barakatuh! Subhan Allah! Today is the third Friday in a row that we are unable to perform our Jumu’ah Prayer in the masjid because masajid, churches, synagogues, temples, and other houses of worship across the nation, rather across a large part of the globe have been shut down as a preventive measure against the Coronavirus pandemic. Right now, we are not assembled in a masjid. My talk, therefore, is not a khutba. It’s just a reminder to me and you to be mindful of Allah (SWT), our Creator and Sustainer – the Lord of the universe. During this time of crisis, and also in normal times, we are told to remind one another about the teachings of the noble deen of Islam. Allah says is Surat Az-Zariyat:
وَذَكِّرْ فَإِنَّ الذِّكْرَى تَنْفَعُ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ
“And remind, for truly, the reminder benefits the believers.” (Az-Zariyat, 51:55). InshaAllah, my talk today will be on the topic: ‘The Signs of Allah’ and how some of these signs are sent to us to warn us and to inspire fear in us when corruption spreads throughout the earth. I’ll be focusing on just the Coronavirus as one of the signs of Allah, and what useful lessons we can take from this raging calamity. Allah says in Surat al-Isra’:
وَمَا نُرْسِلُ بِالْآَيَاتِ إِلَّا تَخْوِيفًا
“We send signs only to give warning.” or “We send signs only to inspire fear.” (a-Isra’, 17:59)
Signs are meant to warn the people so that they realize the terrible consequences of their disobedience and their deviation from the straight path. As Muslims, we believe that every sign that occurs, even if it is a calamity, has benefits in this life and the next, and a believer has the potential to always come out a winner no matter what the circumstances, if his or her faith, intentions, and frame of mind are correct. We believe that there is a spiritual purpose behind everything that happens, whether we perceive it as being good or bad. Therefore, we should not curse the Coronavirus. We should not call it an unseen enemy. Allah says in Surat al-Muddathir:
وَمَا يَعْلَمُ جُنُودَ رَبِّكَ إِلَّا هُوَ
“No one knows the armies of your Lord but He.” (al-Muddathir, 74:31). This microscopic organism is one of Allah’s soldiers. It is simply following the orders of its Lord who released it. It has come to wake us up from our heedlessness, from our disobedience, from our ungratefulness, from our negligence in fulfilling our duties towards our Creator and His creation, from not even trying to understand the purpose of our lives, which is to worship and obey our Creator and Sustainer – Allah (SWT). We are supposed to live by the Qur’an and to call the humanity towards the Qur’an but isn’t it true that by and large the Muslim ummah itself has abandoned the Qur’an:
وَقَالَ الرَّسُولُ يَا رَبِّ إِنَّ قَوْمِي اتَّخَذُوا هَذَا الْقُرْآَنَ مَهْجُورًا
“The Messenger will say: O my Lord! My people did indeed discard the Qur’an” (al-Furqan, 25:30). We have also become so casual, so carefree and so forgetful of the hereafter that we hardly ever realize the enormity of the Day of Judgment when each one of us will be brought one by one to stand before the Lord of the heavens and the earth to give an account of his or stay on the earth.
وَكُلُّهُمْ آَتِيهِ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ فَرْدًا
“And each one of them shall come to Him singly on the Day of Judgment.’ (Maryam. 19:95).
Brothers and sisters! Let us not be terrorized by the Coronavirus. Divine destiny (Qadar) is one of the articles of our Islamic faith.
قُل لَّن يُصِيبَنَا إِلَّا مَا كَتَبَ اللَّهُ لَنَا هُوَ مَوْلَانَا وَعَلَى اللَّهِ فَلْيَتَوَكَّلِ الْمُؤْمِنُونَ
“Say: “Nothing will happen to us except what Allah has decreed for us: He is our Protector”: and on Allah alone should believers put their trust.” (al-Tawbah, 9:51).
وَمَن يَتَوَكَّلْ عَلَى اللَّهِ فَهُوَ حَسْبُهُ
“Whoever puts his trust in Allah — He will be sufficient for him.” (al-Talaq, 65:3).
What is Coronavirus, as a sign of Allah, teaching us? What is it really doing to us? It is reminding us that we are all equal. We may be having different nationalities, we may be belonging to different races and ethnicities and having different colors of skin, we may be used to different cultural practices, speaking different languages, pursuing different activities and occupations, possessing different social status and financial positions, but basically we are all children of our first parents – Adam and Hawwa (‘alyhim as-Salam). This Coronavirus is treating us all equally, and reminding us that we are all connected and something that affects one person has an effect on another person as well.
Everyone is feeling a little depressed and oppressed because of this virus. This small creature of God has come to teach us that there are people on this planet whose whole entire life is spent under oppression. Look around the world — the brutality meted out to the oppressed people of the occupied lands of Palestine, of people in Kashmir living as virtual prisoners in their own land, of the Rohingya people being driven out of their lands in Burma, of displaced Syrians in war torn Syria, of people in concentration camps for no fault of theirs, of a multitude of Muslims in China being indoctrinated against their own Islamic faith, of one country invading another country for its own sinister and imperialistic designs, and much more.
Look at the corporate greed that has set in making the life of the average person miserable in so many ways. Look at the gap between the haves and the have-nots. Look at the deforestation, the pollution, and man’s careless attitude towards nature and environment that has made the earth sick.
This virus has humbled the pharaohs, the Namroods, the Qaroons, and the Hamaans of the 21st century and broken the spine of arrogance in every one of them. Each one of them fears that they or their loved ones may be the next one to die from this virus. Corona is reminding us to keep our egos in check. It is reminding us that no matter how great we think we are or how great others think we are, a virus can bring our world to a standstill.
It has closed the venues of alcohol, fornication, and gambling. It has brought down interest rates and terrified the practitioners of usury. It has struck fear into the heart of every sinner and cornered him into regret. Gay people around the world have mobilized to build organizations, networks and know-how that changed our place in society. Moral decay cannot go without retribution. Allah reminds us in the Qur’an:
“So We seized all of them for their sins, against some of them We sent a storm of stones, some were overtaken by a mighty blast, some We caused the earth to swallow, and some We drowned. Allah would not have wronged them, but it was they who wronged themselves.” (al’Ankabut, 29:40)
This epidemic has awakened us to the need for the protection of marriage. It is time to realize how important our family and home life is and how much we have neglected this. It is forcing us back into our houses so we can make them into homes and strengthen our family unit.
We are also reminded of the shortness of life and of what is most important for us to do, which is to help each other, especially those who are poor, needy, vulnerable, old or sick. Our true work is to look after each other, to protect each other and to be of benefit to one another. We are being reminded how materialistic our society has become and how, in times of difficulty, we remember that it’s the essentials that we need as opposed to the luxuries that we sometimes unnecessarily give value to.
Allah has given us the freewill to make our choices – to choose to cooperate and help each other, to share, to give, to help and to support each other or to choose to be selfish, greedy, stingy, arrogant, egoistic, and finally to die, without faith and without having done enough good deeds to qualify for Allah’s mercy.
Whereas many see the Covid-19 virus as a great disaster, we should see it as a great reformer too. It is sent to remind us of the important lessons that we have forgotten. It is going to cause immense pain and suffering, but it will force us to reconsider who we are and what we value, and, in the long run, it could help us rediscover the better version of ourselves.
Plagues drive change. A crisis on this scale can reorder society in dramatic ways. People are finding new ways to connect and support each other in adversity; they are sure to demand major changes in the health-care system and maybe also the government; and they’ll become more conscious of interdependency and community. Here in the United states, perhaps, we will finally start to understand patriotism more as cultivating the health and life of the community, rather than blowing up someone else’s community. Hopefully, the de-militarization of American patriotism and love of community will be one of the benefits to come out of this pandemic.
Brothers and sisters, it is time to cultivate God-consciousness or taqwa in our lives. It is time to repent and seek forgiveness from Allah (SWT). It is time to promise to follow up every sin with a heartfelt apology. It is time to live with purpose and goals. The present crisis is a great time for reflection and understanding, where we learn from our mistakes.
May Allah bless each one of us and keep each one of us safe under His protection; ameen.
