Islamic Guidance For Believers Responding To Widespread Tragedy

Responding to Tragedy as Believers

In the name of God, the most gracious, the most merciful. Praise be to God, and peace be upon His chosen servants. My dear respected brothers and elders, sisters in Islam.

Peace be upon you. In the last few weeks, we have, at a national level, been experiencing so many tragedies with respect to shootings that are taking place. Whether our African American community was targeted, or in the latest tragedy, innocent young children in a school were mercilessly gunned down — and their teachers that were guarding these young lives. And there are a lot of emotions that are stirred in the community and feelings. Multiple different feelings are going through our hearts.

There are feelings of fear, there are feelings of apprehension, anxiety, about the safety of our own loved ones, and what the future may hold. There are a number of different points for us to reflect on as believers, as those who have iman, and believe in لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ مُحَمَّدٌ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ. That Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala has given us this beautiful deen that teaches us and grants us guidance in every single facet of our life, in any situation that we may come across.

First Point: Mu'āsāt — Sharing in Human Grief

The first point that I want to remind everyone is that at a basic humanitarian level, we should feel the pain and suffering of our fellow human beings. This level is known as mu'āsāt. The relationships that we have with non-Muslims — above and beyond the Muslims, even the non-Muslims — the scholars have defined in great detail. And we can refer to the tafāsīr al-aḥkām, Imam Qurtubi rahimahullah, etc., under the āyah:

When he speaks about the different levels of relationship with the non-Muslims, there is mu'ālāt, there is mudārāt, there is mudāhanāt, and there is mu'āsāt. Different levels.

Mu'āsāt is at a basic humanitarian level — when people are in need, if there is a tragedy that strikes human beings, whether it's a hurricane, earthquake, natural disaster, or in this case, a man-made disaster, then we reach out, we offer our condolences, and we show that we share the same humanity, and we are with them in their time of pain. This is known as mu'āsāt.

Of course, going beyond that, we can interact — which we all do daily — with non-Muslims. That is mu'āmalāt. Third is mu'ālāt. Mu'ālāt is where a person allies himself with the non-Muslim to the detriment of Islam. That is what is prohibited:

Or:

That is prohibited. And of course, mudāhanāt. Mudāhanāt is when a person, in order to strengthen his relationship with a non-Muslim, ends up sacrificing the commandments of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. He invites a non-Muslim over and says, okay, fine, I won't drink, but I'll buy wine or beer for a non-Muslim friend. Because it is not sufficient not to drink — but at the same time, beyond that, a person has to not purchase drink, or even be seated at a table where drink is being served. Rasulullah ﷺ said:

Whoever believes in Allah and the Last Day should not sit at a table where wine is being served.
(Musnad al-Bazzār; also referenced in Sunan al-Tirmidhī)

So anyway, this is just the first point — that mu'āsāt, we should feel that pain. Because they are human beings. Whether they are innocent children — and of course, we have the aqīdah that they will not be mukhallad fīhā, they will not remain in the fire forever. There are different opinions, whether they will be the khilmān of Jannah, serving in Jannah, or they will enter Jannah — but they will definitely not enter the fire. Or even the adults, we still feel the pain.

Second Point: Death is Inevitable and Unpredictable

Second thing is, we should focus on the fact that this is a wake-up call and a reminder. Reminder of what? Reminder of the fact that death is inevitable. That's one aspect — we all have to die:

Every soul shall taste death. But it is also completely unpredictable. There is no set rule that the great-grandfather will die, then the grandfather will die, then the father, then the son, then the grandson, then the great-grandson. There is no such rule. Anytime the rule can be reversed. The great-grandson can die before the great-grandfather, if Allah wills.

Everyone has an appointed time. When the appointed time comes, it cannot be pre-poned or postponed by a moment, a second. So the fact that death is imminent, and death is coming, there is no way to escape it, and it could come at any time — therefore we must be prepared before it comes. اسْتِعْدَادٌ لِلْمَوْتِ قَبْلَ نُزُولِهِ — before death strikes, to be prepared for it. The purpose of this death is what?

The purpose of life and death is to test who amongst you is most beautiful in their actions. This is the reason why we are alive, and this is the reason for death. So let us remember that, and let us insha'Allah prepare for it before it comes.

Third Point: A Sign of the Day of Judgment

Third point that comes to mind, subhanAllah, is that one of the signs of the Day of Judgment — the Ashrāṭ al-Sā'ah — is:

That killing, murders, and assassinations will increase. (Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 85; Sahih Muslim, Hadith 157)

Rasulullah ﷺ prophesized this:

To such an extent that the one who is killing will not even know why he is killing, and the one who is killed will not even know why he was killed. (Sahih Muslim, Hadith 2908)

If there is a battle between two states and their governments are fighting over natural resources, or whatever the case may be, and a person has enlisted in the army — either to defend his homeland, or to get free college, whatever his motivation may be — he is in the army, but he knows, he has been trained, and he is expecting either to kill or be killed. But now what happens: لَا يَدْرِي الْمَقْتُولُ فِيمَ قُتِلَ — the one who is being killed, the teacher who went to teach at school, the African-American brothers who went to shop in Buffalo, or the little kids who went to school in Texas, they have no idea why they were killed. So this is one of the signs of the Day of Judgment.

And this is a wake-up call for us to pay attention about the signs of the Day of Judgment. There are minor signs — Alāmāt al-Ṣughrā — and then there are major signs — Alāmāt al-Kubrā. And if you look at a timeline, the biggest question you should have, and I should have — this should not just be a theoretical discussion, but what are the practical implications? The question you should ask yourself is: okay, this is a timeline, I see it, where are we right now? Where are we on the timeline?

So there is a consensus of all the ulamā' — مَا فِيهِ قَوْلَانِ وَلَا يَخْتَلِفُ فِيهِ اثْنَانِ — all the scholars have a consensus that every single one of the seventy-odd Ashrāṭ al-Sā'ah al-Ṣughrā, the minor signs of the Day of Judgment, without any doubt or hesitation, we can claim with confidence, have all appeared. Literally every single one, without a single exception. And the next thing in line are the Alāmāt al-Kubrā, the major signs. We're literally talking about: the emergence of al-Dajjāl, the Mahdī, and the Nuzūl al-Masīḥ alayhi salam. That's pretty much where we're at.

Of course, anyone who has any little knowledge of deen would know that we can't stand here — and no one should. Contrary to some people who, just to excite people on YouTube or here and there, may start making specific claims about this date and that date — absolutely not. We do not make takhṣīṣ and ta'yīn like that. All we're saying is the Alāmāt al-Ṣughrā, the minor signs, have all appeared; the next thing in line are the major signs. Are we going to give a date? No way, we cannot do that.

Only Allah knows.

Allah has hidden it. Even when Jibrīl alayhi salam came in the famous Hadīth Jibrīl and asked all the questions — مَا الْإِسْلَامُ، مَا الْإِيمَانُ، مَا الْإِحْسَانُ — the Prophet ﷺ was answering, and then he said, صَدَقْتَ، صَدَقْتَ — you spoke the truth. In the well-known hadith that we all know, the Ṣaḥābah said:

We were amazed at him — he was asking the question and then confirming the answer. (Sahih Muslim, Hadith 8)

He was asking the question, then saying, yes, yes, you gave the right answer — as if he already knew the answer. So then when he said, مَتَى السَّاعَةُ يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ — when is the Day of Judgment coming? — Rasulullah ﷺ could have just said, "I don't know." But he didn't say, "I don't know." He gave a very, very strange, counter-intuitive, unique, ajīb answer. He didn't just say, "I don't know." Allah Ta'ala says in the Qur'an:

Say it — you don't know. But he didn't just say, "I don't know" here. Because of the context, what did he say? He gave a very, otherwise seemingly convoluted, answer. He said:

The one being asked about it does not have more knowledge of it than the one who is asking. (Sahih Muslim, Hadith 8)

Which translates literally into: the one who is being asked the question does not have more knowledge regarding the answer, as compared to the one who is asking the question. What does that mean? In simple plain words, it means: I don't know, but I also know that you don't know. Because the only one who knows is Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. Because if I just stop and say "I don't know," then up till now, everything I'm saying, you're like, yes, yes, it's right — صَدَقْتَ. So you're like the examiner. Now if I say "I don't know," does that mean I failed this question and you know the answer as you're the teacher? No — I know, and I also know that you don't know. I don't know, but I do know that I don't know, and I also know that you don't know, subhanAllah.

So this is an opportunity for us to reflect — are we ready for the Alāmāt al-Kubrā or not? Because this haraj, this killing and murdering, is happening all over the world.

Fourth Point: How a Believer Deals with Grief

Fourth point that comes to mind, subhanAllah, is that people are in grief. If you're watching the news, any form of media, you see that people are completely devastated. They're broken down, they're crumbling, and they're collapsing. The mothers, the fathers. Literally, they say the husband of the teacher died of grief — he literally died of grief. His wife was a teacher who was shot down, and he died of a heart attack. This is the reality. They are in so much grief.

So this is an opportunity for us to reflect. As a mu'min — may Allah protect us, and our families, and our children from ever having such a calamity — but if this were to strike, potentially, theoretically, how should we deal with it? SubhanAllah, our iman is there to save us. Because we have iṭmi'nān. That whatever happens, it happens with the will of Allah. And there is some hikmah that Allah Ta'ala has behind what He is doing. And this is the taqdīr that Allah has written.

The entire life is a test. The test of good conditions is: will we make shukr or not? And the test of trials and tribulations is: will we have ṣabr or not? When you have good conditions, إِمَّا شَاكِرًا وَإِمَّا كَفُورًا — will you be thankful or ungrateful? And when you have difficult conditions, will you have ṣabr, or will you have ya'ās — which is kufr — you lose hope and complain against Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.

So just like the birth of a new baby is a test whether we make shukr or not, likewise the death of a baby is a test whether we will make ṣabr or not. And we know that this is decreed by Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.

We cannot become so over-exalted and cross the limits in times of joy that we forget Allah and become arrogant. Nor should we become so despondent in the mercy of Allah at the time of test and trial that we lose hope in His mercy. That's ya'ās. These are the two extremes — the kāfirūn and the khāsirūn.

Yaqūb alayhi salam is telling his sons: don't lose hope in the mercy of Allah.

Go, try to find Yūsuf after decades — and go try to find Bin Yamīn who has been lost now too. Do not ever lose hope in the mercy of Allah. Only those who are kāfirūn, the disbelievers, their lot is to lose hope in the mercy of Allah. You can never lose hope. On the other hand, Allah Ta'ala says:

Those who are khāsirūn and lost are those who feel they are immune from Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala — that Allah cannot hurt them, or test them, or punish them. The one who feels he is immune from Allah is the khāsir, the loser. So if you do not want to be among the khāsirūn, if you do not want to be among the kāfirūn, if you want to be among the mu'minūn:

They invoke their Lord, beg from Allah — خَوْفًا, fearing His punishment, طَمَعًا, hoping in His mercy. الْإِيمَانُ بَيْنَ الرَّجَاءِ وَالْخَوْفِ — the reality of iman is between hope and fear.

The Prophet ﷺ's Example with the Death of His Son Ibrāhīm

And Nabi ﷺ so beautifully demonstrated the rights and limits in this regard. When his son Ibrāhīm was not shot down, but his son Ibrāhīm died in his lap. And just as we had a lunar eclipse — in fact, a solar eclipse happened on that very day. SubhanAllah, if he was an opportunist, this was an amazing opportunity for him. Because the pre-existing aqīdah of the people was that when someone great dies, even the sun sheds tears and becomes dark. His son died, and it was a solar eclipse. He could have said, "See, look — even the sun is crying, my son died." But he was not an opportunist, he was not a liar. He was the aṣdaq al-ṣādiqīn, the most truthful messenger of Allah ﷺ. He said the kusūf and khusūf of the sun and moon does not happen لِمَوْتِ أَحَدٍ — for the death of anyone. These are آيَاتٌ مِنْ آيَاتِ اللَّهِ — signs of Allah. That is another matter.

But when his son was in his lap and he cried, he shed tears. So one of the Ṣaḥābah asked, "Yā Rasūlallāh, you are crying?" — because he was not objecting, he was trying to learn. Is it permissible to cry, to show grief when the child is dying with the order of Allah? So Nabi ﷺ, so eloquently and concisely — qalīl al-mabānī, kathīr al-ma'ānī, this is his i'jāz, his miracle, that he was granted jawāmi' al-kalim, comprehensive words — said:

Verily, the eye sheds tears, and the heart is filled with grief, but we will not say anything except that which pleases our Lord. (Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 1303)

So he showed: it is, as a human being, permissible to feel the grief in the heart, and it is permissible to cry and shed tears — because it doesn't mean that you are objecting against Allah. But with the tongue, you will never utter anything displeasing to Allah. You will say:

This is the specific du'ā when a test comes: الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ عَلَى كُلِّ حَالٍ. And Nabi ﷺ taught the du'ā:

Whenever anyone is afflicted with a calamity and says these words — "O Allah, I seek the reward of this calamity from You, and O Allah, grant me better than it in return" — Allah will surely grant him better than what He took. (Sahih Muslim, Hadith 918)

Whenever anyone is afflicted with a test and trial and he says إِنَّا لِلَّهِ وَإِنَّا إِلَيْهِ رَاجِعُونَ, and he says: "O Allah, I seek the reward of this pain, of this calamity, from You" — because even when a thorn pricks a person, that minor pain becomes a means of forgiveness of sins and elevation of status. Imagine such a pain. So I seek the reward — not of the pain, but rather the reward of being patient at the time of the pain. I seek the reward from You, O Allah. And O Allah, I ask from You something better in return than what You have taken. Then Allah will surely grant him or her better. Like Umm Salama radhiAllahu anha recited this du'ā when her dear husband Abū Salama passed away — and then Allah Ta'ala granted her Rasūlullāh ﷺ. SubhanAllah.

The Power of Innā Lillāhi wa Innā Ilayhi Rāji'ūn

The scholars of Tafsīr have written so many amazing points. They said this is such an ointment, a balm for the aching heart — and it is a gift from Allah for this Ummah. Even the Anbiyā' of the previous nations never had this. That's why Yaqūb alayhi salam, when he was missing Yūsuf, he said:

"Oh, my grief on my son Yūsuf." And he cried until he became blind. But he did not say إِنَّا لِلَّهِ وَإِنَّا إِلَيْهِ رَاجِعُونَ. Why did he not say it? Because this is a gift for you and me. But we have not realized the power of it, the meaning of it.

Look — number one: إِنَّا لِلَّهِ — we belong to Allah. I belong to Allah. Whoever died belongs to Allah. My wife, my husband, my parents, my children, my innocent baby — guess what? They belong to Allah to begin with. Just like Umm Salama told her husband when he came back home from a journey and the baby had passed away — she beautified herself for him, she gave him food, fulfilled his needs. Then she said: if someone gave you an amānah and then took it away, would you have an objection? He said no. She said: well, somebody gave you an amānah and took it away. That was Allah. He gave us a son; He took it away.

So إِنَّا لِلَّهِ — we belong to Allah. وَإِنَّا إِلَيْهِ رَاجِعُونَ — towards Allah we are returning. The word رَاجِعُونَ carries two things. One is the root word — رَجَعَ means to return. So if you're going somewhere for the first time, ذَاهِبُونَ, there's anxiety — how is it going to be? But if you're returning back, that means you came from there. So there's comfort when you go back to where you came from. We came from Allah, we're going back to Allah. Second thing is رَاجِعُونَ is plural — so you're not going alone. Everyone is going to be together:

Everyone is going together — father, mother, husband, wife, children. So this may be fine for us — we hear it and it goes in one ear and out the other. But if you're speaking to a young widow, this is very impactful. If you tell the widow: "Look, my dear sister, when your husband goes to work every day, when he goes to work in the morning, do you start tearing your hair out, and beating your chest, and crying, and wailing? No. Why? Because he's going to come home in the evening."

"Guess what — he died. If you were never, ever, ever going to see him, I will cry with you, and I will tear my chest open too. Truly it's a great tragedy if you're never going to see him, I'm never going to see him. But guess what — you're going to see him very soon. You're not going to see him only very soon, you're going to remain with him forever and ever in Jannah. It's only a tiny separation — just like you would see him in a few hours, you'll see him again in what will feel like a few moments. In what feels like a few seconds, you'll be together for eternity, with the company of your spouse in Jannah. So just be patient."

SubhanAllah, with those words the whole pain — you can literally see it, like a wilted flower comes back to life. You can see the hope, and the fear, and the sadness going away. So this is how powerful our deen is — it has provided solutions for every single problem.

May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala allow us to benefit from it, and be able to — insha'Allah — first of all, we ask from Allah that He protects us. And if the test comes, may Allah grant us ṣabr, and may Allah accept our supplication.