The sincere believer, who has been taught by Allah, takes the necessary means and steps to achieve things, as if they are everything that matters. Then he depends on his Lord, as if these means are nothing. There are some nations that have taken the processes and means of achieving things as if they are everything, to the highest degrees. However, at the same time, they have become completely dependent on these processes and means and deified them. Their world has fallen into idolatry (idolizing and worshiping things other than Allah), major and minor. They have fallen into the trap of disbelief and partnering things with the Creator.

Then there are other nations that have fallen into disobedience. They have not adhered to or paid respect to the means and processes of things. They fell into the trap of sin (as Allah has commanded us to adhere to the means and processes to achieve things). So, on one hand, you adhere to the means and processes, fully depend on them, and deify them, while forgetting the Creator, and on the other hand, you neglect the means and processes and depend completely on Allah.

Allah said: “And none knows the soldiers of your Lord except Him.” (Quran 74-31)

A miniscule and unseen creature, such as this virus, has cancelled prayers in Mecca and has affected every corner of the world. Consider the priceless words of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace: “There is no contagion and no omen…”

Contagion is possible as we know. This means there is no contagion except with the permission of Allah. Allah has everything in His power, ability and control including this creature (virus) that is unseen by the naked eye. Allah is Great. No matter how strong, powerful, and superior you think you are to others, you are still under the dominion of Allah. In one moment, all the odds that were in your favour, all your luck and circumstances, can be flipped.

Look at how this disease has changed our daily life completely. We cannot meet, cannot go out freely, and we cannot even shake hands. The most powerful leaders in the world avoid shaking hands out of precaution. You would have been ridiculed if you had predicted any of this a few months ago. “And none knows the soldiers of your Lord except Him.” (74-31).

If you have an employee and he is doing his job properly, you keep him. However, if he keeps making mistakes, you can either let him go, discipline him, or perhaps marginalize him. These are some of the options you have as an employer. On the other hand, our Creator has infinite options when it comes to us. You only have to look at this small creation of His which first appeared in China and reached America, bringing the entire planet to a halt.

What is our duty then?

Our duty is to stay on the straight path that Allah has guided us to and to depend on Him. We have to adhere to the means and processes of achieving things as if they are everything, and finally, we have to depend on Him as if these means and preparations we have taken are nothing. This is not easy to do.

For example, you have an upcoming road trip. You check on your car engine, the oil, the brakes and everything in the car. At this point, you have adhered to the means and processes of preparation as if they are all that matters. Then, you depend on Allah as if they are worthless. That’s why it’s not easy; adhering to the processes and preparation delude you into thinking that you will be successful and thus you forget Allah. At the same time, if you don’t prepare properly, this will cause over-dependence on Allah.

In reality, we have no one there for us except Allah, but where is our adherence to His path?

Is our home adhering to His laws? Are our interactions and meetings in accordance to them? Is our night Islamic? Is our income Islamic? Are our social relationships Islamic? Is our free time Islamic?

Allah loves all of us. He created us to have mercy on us. He created us to make us happy. He has created us for a Paradise that is as wide as the skies and Earth. It contains what no eye has seen, no ear has heard, or has not occurred to the mind of any human being.

Knowing all this, we are asked to adhere to the means and processes of life as if they are everything, and then depend on Allah as if they are nothing.

Back to the hadith where it says that there is no contagion. There is negation in this statement, but in fact, contagion is there. Therefore, there is no contagion unless Allah allows it. We even hear this in the news; some people can be carriers of the disease without being affected themselves and that is one of the main reasons behind social distancing. Therefore, rationally speaking, your relationship has to be with Allah!

Let’s clarify this with an example; if there are 20-30 wild hungry beasts and all these beasts are leashed firmly in the hands of a merciful, knowing and wise individual, with whom would your relationship be? The beasts themselves or with the one who is controlling their leashes? If he releases one of the leashes, the beast will immediately head in your direction. If he takes it out of your way, you will be rescued. Then, with whom should your relation be? The clear answer is Allah!

Thus, the only thing we should fear is our own sin, and we should only plead our Lord!

This is the core and concise summary of what we are trying to say. Your relation and focus should not be with the hungry, wild beasts. Your worry should not be with the virus or the economic impact of the pandemic. Yes, take the necessary precautions and do what you can to survive. However, your focus and concern should be with the one holding the beasts’ leashes, the creator of all creatures. The leashes are in the hands of Allah the Almighty.

This Quranic verse is very detailed in stating that: “Indeed, I have relied upon Allah, my Lord and your Lord. There is no creature but that He holds its forelock. Indeed, my Lord is on a path [that is] straight.” (Hud 11:56)

Abu Ja`far said in the explanation of this verse: I seek protection in Allah, who is my owner and your owner, and the custodian of all His creation, from you and other creations that will cause me harm. There is nothing that turns on the earth except that Allah is its owner, and is in His hold and power, submissive and yielding to Him.  

All of this creation, from the tiny ant to the grand whale, yield to His will. Let’s take Prophet Younis who was swallowed whole by a whale. “And he called out within the darknesses, “There is no deity except You; exalted are You. Indeed, I have been of the wrongdoers.” So We responded to him and saved him from the distress. And thus do We save the believers.” (Quran 21:87-88)

Pay attention to this story that was transformed into a law. Is there a situation worse than finding yourself inside the belly of a whale? Is there hope? The hope of being rescued is next to zero. And so he called in the darknesses (darkness of the night, darkness of the sea, and the darkness of the inner whale’s belly), “There is no deity except You; exalted are You. Indeed, I have been of the wrongdoers.” So We responded to him and saved him from the distress. And thus do We save the believers.” He pleaded with Allah to forgive him.

If Allah is with you, who is against you? And if He is against you, who is with you?

What have you lost if you have found Allah? And what have you found if you’ve lost Allah?

This text was based on the translation of a speech by the Muslim scholar, Mohammed Rateb Al-Nabulsi. Here is the link to the YouTube video: https://youtu.be/LlzjMJuXdu0