SARS & bird flu: two messages from God to mankind

During the first half of the year 2002, people would have understood
any reference to cars, bars, or Mars, but not SARS - a disease which
emerged at the end of 2003. They would have asked for the meaning
ofthis strange word, because Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome,
orSARS, had not yet emerged.
Similarly, before the emergence of AIDS)Acquired Immune Deficiency
Syndrome(, had one spoken about this disease his audience would have
undoubtedly understood him to mean nothing other than relief,help,
assistance, etc. Therefore, at that time, if poverty-stricken
countries like Somalia, Ethiopia and others weretold that they would
receive it from the rich and 'civilised' countries, they would have
been joyful and grateful.
Hence, dictionaries have to be regularly updated to include new words
like SARS, and to add newmeanings to words like AIDS.
The birthplace of SARS was southern China, from where it began to
spread more than a year ago. With thousands of infections and hundreds
of death cases to date in at least twenty-six countries, this disease
has rocked Asian markets, ruined the tourist trade, almost driven
airlines to bankruptcy, and spread horror through some of the world's
largest countries. It began to vehemently sweep through the mammoth
country whose gigantic dragon, with his horrific fiery breath, proved
helpless and confounded in face of this disaster.
In Beijing, hospitals and schools were shut down and thousands of
people were put under quarantine. Martial law, as the rumours went,
wasabout to be imposed. Onecould hardly imagine the extent of concern
and the uncountable sums of money spent to curb this furious epidemic.
This year, 2004, came to strike people with another arduous
disease,from the same part of theworld from which SARS spread, namely
South east Asia; it is called 'Bird Flu'.
It is noteworthy that the media, even in Muslim countries, devotes
much time and space to such diseases and tackles themfrom many
perspectives; scientific, medical, economic, social, and even
political, but never religious or moral. This is also applicable to
the coverage of all other natural catastrophes like floods,
earthquakes, fires, hurricanes, volcanoes, epidemics, etc.
People might talk about the scientific reasons behind these events,
the economic losses they inflict, the material preventive procedures
ofescaping, or at least reducing, their effects, and their
repercussions on tourism and trade. Butthey usually forget about the
moral causes, and themorals and wisdom induced from such dilemmas.
Concepts like 'morality', 'spirituality' and 'wisdom' are to be found
nowhere better than the supreme infallible divine constitution: the
Holy Quran, which is the sole intact source of guidance. It is the
Quran and only the Quran which has the loudest word about mankind)and
other creations( and how it should live. It is this Muslim Scripture
thatgives the direly needed regulations for man: howto live, how to
behave, do's and don'ts, the reasons behind tribulation and distress,
and how to look at bliss and torment both in this life and the life to
come, among other things.
Through all kinds of diseases and other natural infections that befall
man, there are great lessons and principles for the wise to infer.
They could be inflicted as punishments from Allaah for those who shun
the right path by spreading mischief and crooked behaviour. A
clear-cut instance of this in ancient times was the flood which
devoured the people of Nooh )Noah(after they rejected his call to
worship Allaah, their Creator, and shun idolatry. The Quran records
this event, sayingwhat means:"Becauseof their sins they were drowned
andput into the Fire, and they found not for themselves besides
Allaah]any[ helpers."]Quran: 71:25[
In our time, to take contemporary examples, AIDS and syphilis are two
diseases that have spreadpanic throughout the entire globe. What is
the reason behind these two killer diseases? Is it the consumption of
too muchcoffee or fruit? Does it evolve when one sleeps less than is
required? No. They are the outcome of perversion and immorality, when
man immerses in pornography and descends to the rank of beasts.
Prophet Muhammadwarned us, more than fourteen centuries ago, of the
unprecedented diseases that break out as a consequence of
illicitsexual intercourse; He said:"….If ever immorality)adultery and
fornication( spreadsin a community and there is no sense of shame on
its occurrence of mentioning it, diseases which were not present in
the lives of their predecessors will spread among them…."]Ibn Maajah&
Others[
Do we need a clearer reference to AIDS and syphilis than this prophetic warning?
Despite all the unimaginable sums of money spent all over the world to
spare humanity,has illicit sex, as the core reason, been fought or
atleast condemned? Can a disease be prevented without eliminating its
causes? What about the widespread motto doctors commonly chant:
"Prevention is better than cure"? Has it proved senseless? If not,
then let us adhere to the prevention, which costs no money and effort
- virtue and morality, which Islam provides freeof charge.
Allaah says in the Holy Quran what means:"And We send down of the
Quran that which is healing and mercy for the believers, but it does
not increase the wrongdoers except in loss."]Quran: 17:82[
Inflictions may befall believing people as a test. Allaah may test His
servants with distress, sickness, poverty, or anything else in order
to strengthen their faith, expiate their sins, and increase their
ranks in the Hereafter. Almost all prophets, may Allaah exalt their
mention, and other righteous figures endured one or more of the above
means of being tested.
These inflictions can also serve to act as reminders or precautions of
Allaah'sOmnipotence. They serve as messages to man reminding him of
his reality, his ability, and hisdestiny. In this context, let us take
tornadoes or earthquakes as two examples.
Allaah has subjected nature and all its sources and potentials to the
disposal of mankind. Through his God-given mind, man dominated the
land, sea, and space; armed with all the material aids Allaah has
provided him through nature. To achieve almostanything, there is a
machine made by his own hand, ready for his service. But is this
genius a credit and privilege for man to be a god? Is he in a position
to control but not to be controlled, and to subjugate everything to
his disposal, but not tobe subjugated to a Higher Authority?
Let us imagine man, with all his strength and shrewdness in killing
his own brother with the most destructive weapons, in confronting
mountains, and in conquering space, yet he is helpless before an
invisible microbe that could strip him of his life,to say nothing of
tornadoes and earthquakes!
Superpowers dominate the whole globe, with all other countries as
their states and cities. They determine their policies, economy, and
education,among many other things. In other words, they behave as they
werea god on earth. But why does their strength surrender to a tornado
ora hurricane? With their highly advanced technology, they may predict
the coming of a sweeping tornado, for instance, but can they stop it
or divert its courseto Afghanistan or Iraq?
Thus, a tornado, or any other catastrophe, is but a message from the
Supreme Matchless Power, Allaah Almighty, saying to those who
bragabout their muscles: 'Know your limits and remember that there is
an Omnipotent Hand reigning supreme.'
Allaah says what means:"Say: 'He ]i.e. Allaah[ is the ]one[ able to
send upon you affliction from above you or from beneath your feet or
to confuse you ]so you become[ sects and make you taste the violence
of one another.' Look how We diversify the signs that they may
understand."]Quran 6:65[
Thus, for man to know his reality and live in peace of mind in a world
full of discipline and stability, he has to surrender to the will of
Allaah, his Creator and Sustainer, and abide by the Quran, the source
of cure and guidance.