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Recent unfortunate events of calamity have brought all the Earth’s people closer .. |
Allah did not make this world a permanent world. This is a temporary world and everything here is finite and has a time limit. When its time comes it will die. Neither the good things of this world are forever, nor the bad things eternal.
One has the challenge to frame the terrible traumatic events into a new crucible of meaning. Having been helpless does not mean that one is a helpless person; having witnessed or experienced evil does not that the world as a whole is evil; witnessing the devastation caused by earthquakes and tsunami does not imply that nature is destructive; the fact that God allows nature to take its course does not imply a lack of compassion. Rather, all this is a challenge to us as to what we do in the face of such challenges.
We have to respond to Allah’s call for helping the distressed than debate about Allah’s judgment as to why these disasters are allowed to happen.
Let’s Help Alleviate the Suffering
Southern Asia’s earthshaking event has brought all the Earth’s people closer. Few tragedies in history have opened so many hearts to so many victims. Such moments of shared mercy need to be more than remembered. This unusual drawing-together of millions and millions of people must be sustained in many ways, long after the images of a tsunami’s horrific images leave the TV news. The millions of people who have lost loved ones, their homes, businesses, and entire villages need help for months to come, through each after-stage of this calamity. The scale of the tragedy demands a continued global response. According to the World Health Organization, Disease could double the death toll from the tsunami; “The immediate terror of the tsunami may be dwarfed by long-term suffering in the affected countries where the risk of widespread disease is very high”
Experts said the top five areas to be addressed were water, sanitation, food, shelter and health. Humanitarian agencies began what the United Nations said would become the biggest relief effort the world has ever seen, and the costliest ever. As we commit ourselves to assist, remember, many of the victims are children and most of the affected are among the world’s poorest people in among the most densely populated parts of the world. The Prophet Muhammad 
constantly exhorted helping the poor, alleviating the suffering of the distressed and mercy for the young.
People have suffered an unprecedented calamity due to natural causes; it is our turn to respond to their needs with equal generosity and speed, rather than merely watch the process on television as detached spectators. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “Whoever meets the needs of his fellow human beings, Allah will meet his needs.”
