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Earthquakes in your life

earthquake
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February 17, 2023
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Allah Almighty mentioned earthquakes in four places in the Quran, in Surat al Hajj, Surat Al Zalzalah, Surat al Baqarah, and Surat al Ahzab, Allah Almighty describes the shaking of the earth:

يَا أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ اتَّقُوا رَبَّكُمْ ۚ إِنَّ زَلْزَلَةَ السَّاعَةِ شَيْءٌ عَظِيمٌ

O people, be conscious of your Lord. The quaking of the Hour is a tremendous thing. [22:1]

يَوْمَ تَرَوْنَهَا تَذْهَلُ كُلُّ مُرْضِعَةٍ عَمَّا أَرْضَعَتْ وَتَضَعُ كُلُّ ذَاتِ حَمْلٍ حَمْلَهَا وَتَرَى النَّاسَ سُكَارَىٰ وَمَا هُم بِسُكَارَىٰ وَلَٰكِنَّ عَذَابَ اللَّهِ شَدِيدٌ

On the Day when you will see it: every nursing mother will discard her infant, and every pregnant woman will abort her load, and you will see the people drunk, even though they are not drunk—but the punishment of Allah is severe. [22:2]

أَمْ حَسِبْتُمْ أَن تَدْخُلُوا الْجَنَّةَ وَلَمَّا يَأْتِكُم مَّثَلُ الَّذِينَ خَلَوْا مِن قَبْلِكُم ۖ مَّسَّتْهُمُ الْبَأْسَاءُ وَالضَّرَّاءُ وَزُلْزِلُوا حَتَّىٰ يَقُولَ الرَّسُولُ وَالَّذِينَ آمَنُوا مَعَهُ مَتَىٰ نَصْرُ اللَّهِ ۗ أَلَا إِنَّ نَصْرَ اللَّهِ قَرِيبٌ

Do you expect to enter Paradise before the example of those who came before you had reached you? Adversity and hardship had afflicted them, and they were so shaken up, that the Messenger and those who believed with him said, “When is Allah’s victory?” Indeed, Allah’s victory is near. [2:214]

هُنَالِكَ ابْتُلِيَ الْمُؤْمِنُونَ وَزُلْزِلُوا زِلْزَالًا شَدِيدًا

There and then the believers were tested, and were shaken most severely. [33:11]

إِذَا زُلْزِلَتِ الْأَرْضُ زِلْزَالَهَا

When the earth is shaken with its quake. [99:1]

۞ إِنَّ اللَّهَ يُمْسِكُ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضَ أَن تَزُولَا ۚ وَلَئِن زَالَتَا إِنْ أَمْسَكَهُمَا مِنْ أَحَدٍ مِّن بَعْدِهِ ۚ إِنَّهُ كَانَ حَلِيمًا غَفُورًا

Allah holds the heavens and the earth, lest they fall apart. And were they to fall apart, there is none to hold them together except He. He is Most Forbearing, Most Forgiving. [35:41]

In these verses, Allah Almighty refers to earthquakes or being severely shaken. Earthquakes can strike with differing magnitudes. Some are literal and physical and high on the Richter scale as happened in Turkey and Syria – may Allah relieve them and cure them and support them and shower them with His mercy and accept those who passed away as shuhada (martyrs), and others are less severe.

Allah is talking about shakes in your life in different forms: physical, spiritual, social, marital, economical, political.
And at an individual level, family level, community level or Ummah level.

As the severity varies, the impact also varies, and the greater the magnitude, the further its effects ripple out, affecting others. We this with clarity when it is an earthquake but we do not always see the ripple effect at a personal level when it is metaphorical.

Allah is drawing our attention to the tests we face in our life – at Ummah level, at community level and at individual level. We have to pass these tests set by Allah.

Within 75 seconds, the earthquake in Turkey and Syria destroyed a huge area – those who were living under the roof, lost their roof, those who were working in factories, lost their jobs, those working in schools, lost their schools and those working in hospitals lost their hospitals.

A sign of the Day of Judgment

Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated that the Prophet ﷺ said:

عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ، قَالَ قَالَ النَّبِيُّ صلى الله عليه وسلم: ‏ “‏ لاَ تَقُومُ السَّاعَةُ حَتَّى يُقْبَضَ الْعِلْمُ، وَتَكْثُرَ الزَّلاَزِلُ، وَيَتَقَارَبَ الزَّمَانُ، وَتَظْهَرَ الْفِتَنُ، وَيَكْثُرَ الْهَرْجُ ـ وَهْوَ الْقَتْلُ الْقَتْلُ ـ حَتَّى يَكْثُرَ فِيكُمُ الْمَالُ فَيَفِيضُ ‏”‏‏.‏ البخاري.

“The Hour (Last Day) will not be established until (religious) knowledge will be taken away (by the death of religious learned men), earthquakes will be very frequent, time will pass quickly, afflictions will appear, murders will increase and money will overflow amongst you.” [Bukhari]

In his Last Sermon, the Prophet (peace be upon him) said:

Knowledge will be lifted with the carriers of knowledge die. [Darimi]

This is one of the signs of the Day of Judgement. Another sign is frequent earthquakes.

It is wrong to blame the earthquake on the sins of the people, rather this is a test from Allah and a sign of the Day of Judgment.

One of the lessons we learn from this earthquake is not to be complacent. It can happen at any time and within a few seconds one’s life can be turned upside down. The blessings of our life that we take for granted, can vanish in an instant, so prepare yourself, because you never know when it might happen. It can happen at any moment. This is why we need to be prepared.

Tremors and earthquakes in our life are frequent and Allah tests the Ummah through them, to see their mercy and compassion. Will we function as one body and support each other rather than blame each other?

Show mercy and kindness

We need to be merciful to each other. The Prophet (peace be upon him) taught us to show mercy to each other. It is time to support each other. It is not the last time we will be tested.

Treat people as you would like to be treated. When we show mercy to others, Allah shows mercy to us.

Try to finish unfinished business because you do not know your destiny.

Trust Allah’s wisdom. Do not question His wisdom. We might hate what is best for us, Allah knows best. As He stated clearly in the Quran:

ۖ وَعَسَىٰ أَن تَكْرَهُوا شَيْئًا وَهُوَ خَيْرٌ لَّكُمْ ۖ وَعَسَىٰ أَن تُحِبُّوا شَيْئًا وَهُوَ شَرٌّ لَّكُمْ ۗ وَاللَّهُ يَعْلَمُ وَأَنتُمْ لَا تَعْلَمُونَ

It may be that you dislike something while it is good for you, and it may be that you like something while it is bad for you. God knows, and you do not know. [2:216]

This earthquake is a test of imaan and our internal qualities and should bring us together.

Shaykh Haytham Tamim – Khutbah 17th Feb 2023

Earthquakes – time for compassion not conspiracy theories

Five signs of the Day of Judgment

Duas for protection

Dua for need

Dua for the oppressed

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Shaykh Haytham Tamim is the founder and main teacher of the Utrujj Foundation. He has provided a leading vision for Islamic learning in the UK, which has influenced the way Islamic knowledge is disseminated. He has orchestrated the design and delivery of over 200 unique courses since Utrujj started in 2001. His extensive expertise spans over 30 years across the main Islamic jurisprudence schools of thought. He has studied with some of the foremost scholars in their expertise; he holds some of the highest Ijazahs (certificates) in Quran, Hadith (the Prophetic traditions) and Fiqh (Islamic rulings). His own gift for teaching was evident when he gave his first sermon to a large audience at the age of 17 and went on to serve as a senior lecturer of Islamic transactions and comparative jurisprudence at the Islamic University of Beirut (Shariah College). He has continued to teach; travelling around the UK, Europe and wider afield, and won the 2015 BISCA award (British Imams & Scholars Contributions & Achievements Awards) for Outstanding Contribution to Education and Teaching.

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