Ask an Alim

Death is not a punishment; it’s a mere transition from this world to the next. So in case of a sudden death, it does not at all mean Allah A.J has intended to punish these people, rather it’s an act that took place because it was decreed by the Almighty.

No action will or can force Allah to change his decision or to make a fresh one. There are some acts that are decreed from before and no one and nothing can change them-‘Qadhaa ‘- such as death. There are some other acts that are destined to be- ‘Qadar’- but these are changeable and can be influenced by human act e.g. giving charity will save one from a sudden death. Again, this does not at all mean that Allah is influence by our acts and then makes decisions accordingly. Rather, Allah has fashioned the world to run on the basis of cause and effect. In that case an effect will be seen if the cause of it exists. E.g. it’s hot because the sun is up. The cause is the sun n the effect is the heat, in this case nothing can change the effect of the sun but a mere cloud can dramatically reduce the effect and change the course of the day. (Meaning a simple charity can be ‘the cloud’ in one’s life –Qadar) For a human mind to understand this phenomenon may be difficult since we are bounded by time and space and the powerful creator is boundless.

Allah is just. The first and common meaning that comes to one’s mind is ‘to equalize’ and or ‘to grant rights to one who deserves’. However, the concept of justice can have a vaster meaning ‘to place all things in their proper place’. Hence, every act (also decreed acts; death,..) are actually part of the Almighty’s ‘Adalah ‘. Nothing happens outside the boundaries of HIS justice.

Islam is a very sensible religion. It is in complete harmony with our Intellect. Out intellect – logically and philosophically- does not agree with luck(s) be it good or bad. It’s a sort of a superstitious whose culprit can be culture, fear…

After understanding the above, it’s just wise to re think about the recent aeroplane mishaps. The flights took off, nothing caused it to be delayed, it flew for a particular time span and then it came across a cause whose effect was a deadly crash and loss of hundreds of lives. All these acts; (from the time the flight was scheduled up to the point of crashing) are based on the rules and regulation that Allah has laid down for this ‘Duniyah ‘in the form cause and effect, and this in itself is the pure manifestation of ALLAH’s justice.

May Allah rest the departed, and our souls; who are to join them shortly in peace Ameen.

Naajiyah Ja’fary