This is a piece I wrote after the Tsunami that hit last December (2004). In light of the recent Hurricane, it may be worth a new read.
Our suffering and our Creator; putting the Tsunami into perspective.
When we as Muslims approach the issue of what we’d in English call “suffering” we have two categories: suffering in the hereafter and suffering in the world. For this letter, my focus is on the types of worldly suffering, which are four: internal, social, nature-related, and the suffering at the time of our death.
Internal suffering includes, for example: fear, grief, and the suffering that the Prophet -p- experienced when people would not follow him. Social suffering generally comes from some sort of oppression, be it an oppressive ruler, an oppressive family member, or an oppressive system of life. For some reason we only attribute the next two forms of suffering to our relationship with God: suffering due to some act of nature and suffering at the time of our own death.* But, we must remember that all four of these forms of suffering are connected to our relationship with God.
Because of recent events, let us focus on this third category, “suffering due to some act of nature.” When we read through the Qur’an we see two examples of suffering from nature’s actions.
(a) First, we often remember the destructions that God imposed on the various societies who rebelled against Him and/or His message. We remember the Ad, Thamud, the people of Lot, etc.. It is a big mistake to believe that the recent Tsunami is a similar act of punishment. We must remember that when the Qur’an describes those events, it tells us that the entire nations were completely annihilated, with nothing left except (in some cases) their homes. In the case of the Tsunami, this did not happen.
(b) Second, suffering at the hands of nature may include anything from a tiny horsefly taking something away from you, to a rainstorm destroying your cherished property, to something even larger in scope. We must look at the Tsunami from this perspective.
Before looking at the question of “why does God do this?” we should make an important point about our perceptions. Let me explain:
When a woman’s house burns to the ground, and kills all of her family members, and destroys all of her property, her suffering is not very different than the suffering of another woman who loses all of her family and property to a much larger act of nature, like a Tsunami. Because we have allowed ourselves to define suffering based on the **size** of the suffering we may completely overlook the woman whose house has burnt down. In fact, we may even overlook the woman whose family was drowned in the Tsunami.
Too often, all we look for are statistics, and we overlook the humans. The Tsunami shocks us because it killed so many people so quickly. But, we tend to easily overlook a house fire. For the people suffering, the two are not much different. When a father loses his daughter to a car accident, his suffering is not that different from the suffering of a father who loses his daughter to an earthquake.
And, for that matter, the difference between a mother losing her son to a random act of violence and a mother losing her son to cancer is a subtle but important difference. The mother, whose son was shot, can (in some societies) seek justice. Justice will not return her son, but the due process of justice will allow society to feel that it can breathe.
In the case of an act of nature, who can we seek justice from? Thus, we ask “why, God?”
If we understand the above points, we can now explore what God tells us about suffering. Intuitively, I think we know all of this already:
(1) First and foremost, it is God’s will. Our surrender to God includes a surrender to His will. It is God’s will that I was born, and it was God’s will that I was born when and where I was born. It is God’s will that the events beyond my control happen to me when they do. It is God’s will. Without accepting this point, it is difficult to move forward. It may be a bitter pill to swallow, but it is the reality.
(2) Second, God will not give us any burden that we cannot bear. Any suffering you get, you can persevere through. Anything. It may seem impossible, and throughout our lives God will give us those sudden events which may shock us, but as soon as we regain our bearings, we have to persevere forward, because if we do persevere, He will make sure that we can.
(3) Third, we cannot forget the Day of Judgment, and what waits for us beyond it. We can never forget that our lives did not begin with our births, and that our lives do not end with our deaths. We believe in a theology of justice, which includes the Day of Judgment (which is larger than 10,000 Tsunamis). On this Day, God will reward us for our efforts and compensate us for our sufferings. So, when we suffer from sickness, God will repay us for our suffering, and when we struggle through our trials, Go will reward us for our efforts. It is here that we fulfill our sense of justice within what God has given us.
If you understand these first three points, then you understand that the horrific acts are nothing more than temporary setbacks in our lives. Not only will we make it through those events in our worldly lives, but we will also be re-united, God-willing, with those we love, in the gardens beneath which rivers flow. Our job then, is to struggle through these struggles.
But, there is a fourth point we tend to forget.
(4) Fourth, suffering does not only involve those who have lost. It includes those of us who are witnessing the suffering. Meaning, you and I have a responsibility to those who are suffering. Some people need only to be reminded of the points above. Most people, however, need much more (including spiritual, emotional, or material/financial support).
If I do not fulfill these responsibilities to those who are suffering, I’ve opened the door for them to experience a double suffering. In the case of the person who loses his whole family to a snowstorm, I am now obliged to help him rebuild his life. Otherwise, if I ignore him, I may someday soon find this person living the rest of his life in squalor, and, for that matter, suffering. And, on that Day of Judgment, my God may ask me why I remained silent and still.
We belong to God, and to Him shall we return.
May Allah bless you.
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*A separate category may be made for “sickness” or “disease” because it crosses over all of the three categories. Some sicknesses are the result of our own conduct, some sicknesses are spread because of oppression, and some sicknesses come from nature.