The Organizing Thread In The Book Of God — Part 5
Then the Qur’an tells you about the phenomenon of calamities and damages that afflict a person in his personal life.
Although God has legislated for us to take reasons, such as medicines to cure illness and seek sustenance to relieve poverty, the Qur’an intensifies the spotlight on another important matter, which is that the heart is connected to God Almighty as he struggles with these calamities. Consider how the Qur’an formulates this meaning; God says :
And if Allah should touch you with adversity, there is no remover of it except Him. And if He touches you with good — then He is over all things competent. [Al-An’am, 17]
And our Lord says in another similar verse.
And if Allah should touch you with adversity, there is no remover of it except Him; and if He intends for you good, then there is no repeller of His bounty. He causes it to reach whom He wills of His servants. And He is the Forgiving, the Merciful. [Younes, 107]
Perhaps you have glimpsed another meaning, which is that both verses did not talk only about that the remover of harm is God, but surprisingly, they also indicated that the one who touched you this harm is God Almighty as well!
When the believer delves deeply into the secrets of these verses, his heart is filled with certainty that the one who touched him with poverty or disease is God and that whoever will remove this harm, he will enrich him and heal him; He is God too, so the beginning and end of the matter are from God and to God, so what is left in the heart other than God!
Only God — Exalted be His Majesty — is the one who brought Man down, and only God — Glory be to Him — is the one who will raise him! This is how the believer delves into the realities of knowledge of God, belief in Him, and building souls with His glory. Glory be to Him.
Then the Qur’an moves to a broader circle from the circle of (the individual) and his personal concerns, to the circle of (the society) and issues of public affairs and the crises they suffer.
What does God Almighty want by appreciating these societal crises?
Certainly, there is divine wisdom in assessing these societal calamities, so what are they?
It is nothing other than that same thread in the Qur’an, which we have seen running through the veins of previous evidence and models, clearly and directly, God Almighty reveals His wisdom in assessing these societal crises, He says:
( 42 ) And We have already sent [messengers] to nations before you, [O Muhammad]; then We seized them with poverty and hardship that perhaps they might humble themselves [to Us].
( 43 ) Then why, when Our punishment came to them, did they not humble themselves? But their hearts became hardened, and Satan made attractive to them that which they were doing. [Al-An’am, 42–43]
And our Lord identifies in another similar verse the same background.
And We sent to no city a prophet [who was denied] except that We seized its people with poverty and hardship that they might humble themselves [to Allah]. [Al-A’raf, 94]
Another verse adds a wonderful place of faith similar to supplication, which is “submission to God.” God says:
And We had gripped them with suffering [as a warning], but they did not yield to their Lord, nor did they humbly supplicate, [and will continue thus] [The Believers, 76]
These changes that occur to the individual and society in general, God wants us to return to Him, as God says:
And We tested them with good [times] and bad that perhaps they would return [to obedience]. [Al-A’raf, 168]
This is the basic lesson in the phenomenon of calamities that bring about individual and societal concerns, such as poverty, disease, economic crises, and natural disasters. God Almighty wants us to return to Him, Glory be to Him. With it, God wants us to awaken our hearts so that they may find rest in God, supplicate to Him, and cling to Him, glory be to Him.
Compare this with the way we deal with these phenomena, and it will become clear to you that we are far from the great truth that regulates the Qur’an.
I’m inviting you to listen to the below part of the Holy Quran, and then you judge by yourself: