Divine Punishment And Natural Disater

NATURAL DISASTERS OR DIVINE PUNISHMENT Since time immemorial man has often been intrigued by the question whether natural disasters have anything to do with God's displeasure. There are two apparent schools of thought: One school of thought holds that all major calamities and disasters are the results of natural laws and they have nothing to do with the good or evil conduct of man, nor have these disasters anything to do with man's rejection of the prophets sent by God. On the other hand, followers of various religions all over the world have always believed that whenever calamities acquire an extraordinary character, they cease to be a natural phenomenon and instead, fall into the realm of the supernatural. The followers of all religions generally agree in their own unique way and methodology, that a decree by some wise being manifests itself in such disasters. Though there are certainly differences in the details, religious people are generally unanimous that natural disasters are a Sign of Divine wrath. As evident from contemporary intellectual discussions appeared in media, this poses an intriguing puzzle. Contemporary man has fathomed deep into previously unknown secrets of nature. He has carried out painstaking research into the cause and effect of these disasters - how, where and why do these calamities occur. He has gradually begun to remove the cloaks of mystery and myth which surround the secrets of the cosmos. Discovered after painstaking research and experimentation, these facts reveal that natural disasters occur as a result of natural causes. There is no divine intervention in such natural incidents.

For both the disbelievers and the adherents of various religious dogmas, this issue has now become more important than ever before. It is even more relevant and worthy of serious consideration by the followers of religions who should not merely define their stand in this regard but should present fresh logical evidence from their own findings in support of their point of view so that they may satisfactorily respond to the higher standards of human reason and intellect prevailing today. The man who confronts us today is far more advanced in secular knowledge than his predecessor of previous centuries. Neither religious tautology nor shouting one's point of view from the roof tops is ever likely to appeal to modern man.

THE QUR’ANIC VIEW The Holy Qur’an claims that these divine punishments are not merely related to evil deeds but also to the rejection of God's chosen prophets. In fact, this Qur’anic claim goes as far as to state that irrespective of the transgressions committed by man, no punishments afflicts man until such time that God has sent His Messenger or Prophet to such people and that the Messenger or Prophet has warned and admonished the people and invited them to that which is good for them well ahead of time. The following questions are raised when we study the phenomenon of natural disasters as divine punishments: Why the Holy Qur’an clearly mentions various natural disasters as Signs of the truth of the Prophets of God. Why is the Holy Qur’an replete with instances of the destruction of one people after another who had rejected God's chosen Prophet sent by Him to them?

Is it right for any religion to claim that because of the outright rejection of the founder of their religion, world calamities are a sure sign of the punishment of God? In other words, must we wag the finger of God at every disaster?

AHMADIYYA INTERPRETATION Natural Causes:

Ahmadiyya Muslims do not for a moment dispute the fact that disasters, misfortunes, and earthquakes etc., occur because of natural causes and that their occurrence is in strict conformity with the laws of nature. According to Ahmadiyya Muslims, the God of religion is also the God of Mother Nature and the cosmos. The very laws which we define as the laws of nature operate under God's perfect attributes within God's pre-determined parameters. Although detailed and painstaking research has revealed to man many hitherto undiscovered secrets, these researchers are the first to openly admit that they have as yet merely scratched at the surface and that much more yet remain to be learnt. No point can be determined as the first base. Each cause seems to be an effect of another cause. Like Chinese boxes, opening up one leads to yet another box, and thus one effect leads to another cause. Insofar as the reach of human intellect is concerned, this chain of cause and effect is ad infinitum.

In view of these principles, the Ahmadiyya Community does not consider natural laws to be independent of or divorced from religious laws. Both are part and parcel of the laws of God. Therefore, the admission that physical changes are caused by nature, does not in any way contradict the acceptance that all laws of nature operate under God's powers and control and within His predetermined and pre-ordained laws and that God Almighty is the Source of all that energy and force that is expended or utilized at the time of each natural change or transformations. Not every disaster is punishment:

Despite harboring the belief that misfortunes and calamities are an act of God and at His Will, the Ahmadiyya Community does not believe that each and every accident of nature, disaster, upheaval or change for the worse is a reflection of divine punishment or chastisement. Islam does not claim anywhere that all natural disasters and calamities represent decrees of divine punishment. We most certainly come across the claim in the Holy Qur’an that at times God Almighty used physical and natural laws to unleash a havoc on those world powers which were not only opposed to religious and spiritual movements, but also had used all their material strength and resources to annihilate the emerging and nascent religions. It is at these times that we see the law of God proverbially setting a thief to catch a thief. In other words, for those who reject the existence of an Omnipotent Being and hold themselves unaccountable, for them their mutually-accepted material world is itself appointed as a pit for their annihilation and destruction. In religious parlance, this is termed as their divine punishment. When

this happens, there is no inconsistency between the punishment from God and its having been caused by the laws of nature. Take, for instance, the drowning of Pharaoh with all his hosts in the waters of Egypt. Over countless years, the tides emptied their waters into the sea twice a day. God knows how many animals and pre- historic men or for that matter civilized people of ancient Egypt were swept away by the currents in the rise and fall of tides or how many unknowingly or unwittingly were drowned from a navigational error or a gross misjudgment in the depth of the waters of the Nile. Yet, neither the Holy Qur’an, nor indeed any other religious scriptures, assigns such fatalities to be divine punishment. The cycle of the laws of nature continues to turn and repeat its course. Neither can any resultant fatality be called a Sign of divine punishment, nor does Islam make any such claim. In some cases, however, natural phenomenon acquires a specific characteristic known in religious terminology as divine chastisement. Certain Characteristics of Disasters:

Another viewpoint is that physical reaction and changes resulting from the operation of natural laws can only be categorized as divine intervention when they display certain identified characteristics and satisfy certain conditions. In the absence of such characteristics or a failure to satisfy such conditions, changes, effects or reactions cannot be called divine punishment. All such natural disasters and misfortunes of the age, which in religious parlance are termed as punishments or chastisements, must serve some important purpose or objective which we shall examine later. As opposed to this, although routine accidents of nature and even calamities causing some wide scale effect or misfortune do not

manifestly serve the said objective relating to or connected with religion. In the view of the aforementioned principles, one thing emerges very clearly. There should be no difference on this subject between Islamic philosophy and the views of the atheist, per se. However, the atheistic world places its sole reliance on the cause and effect of the laws of nature. Islam, on the other hand, whilst agreeing with natural phenomenon, has something to add to it. Islam admits that there is no doubt that all disasters and misfortunes are caused by natural laws. In pursuance of the noble aims and objective of religions, sometimes these very natural means are employed. These laws can also be used to serve as chastisement or a warning lesson through the effect they have on nature. These effects are called divine punishment. Reward and Punishment:

The Islamic philosophy on punishment and reward becomes very clear. The world at large knows that the deluge served as a punishment for the people of Noah but is generally ignorant of the fact presented in the Holy Qur’an that the rain could also be a divine blessing for the people. The choice of whether this rain serves as a source of blessing or punishment was left in the hands of the people of Noah. Prophet Noah (as) states: I said to them: seek forgiveness of your Lord; He is the Great Forgiver. He will send down rain on you in abundance, and will help you with wealth and children, and will bestow gardens on you, and will cause rivers to flow for you. (71:11-13)

Each one of these two events saw the phenomenon of nature in motion, but the waters from ancient Egypt which were unable to drown a fledgling and weak infant, Prophet Moses (as), who was

to grow up as a great Messenger of God, swept with it his great and mighty opponent. There is much to reflect on these incidents for the unbiased mind.

Distinguishing Features of Divine Punishments DISATEROUS EVENT FORETOLD

The foremost feature to distinguish a divine punishment from natural disaster is that divine punishment is foretold before it is afflicted. Indeed, not only is it foretold but the precise nature of the punishment is described in great detail. A very clear example of this can be found during the time of Noah, peace be upon him. He had forewarned his people that they would be destroyed because of their evil ways and their constant rejection of his claims. He forewarned them in the same breath that the means of their destruction would be water, a deluge whose like had never been seen before and that neither man nor animal would be safe from it.

MADE CONDITIONAL

The second hallmark of a punishment from on high is that it is made conditional upon some act as a result of which some earthly or heavenly visitation should directly manifest itself. We have the example of this during the prophethood of Salih who was sent unto the tribe of Thamud. As long as the people of Salih refrained from preventing the she-camel from taking water and tormenting her, God's wish of restraining the forces of nature from manifesting themselves was fully complied with, but when the she-

camel was withdrawn from water and hamstrung, the forces of nature were permitted to unleash themselves and show their might. BELIEVERS ARE SAVED

The third sign, which distinguishes divine punishments from natural disasters, is that the chastisement is not allowed to destroy believers along with the unbelievers. Believers are invariably saved and the unbelievers exterminated. This is a distinction for which we can find no natural explanation. Why is it that a run of the mill disaster should wipe out a large majority of the people and yet make an exception for a chosen few, passing them by without afflicting any loss on them? It does not end there. Perhaps even more surprising is that part of a nation comprising the most powerful and materially superior host and which is the fittest for survival should be utterly destroyed and a community of poor and aged weaklings commanding no physical resources for survival should be saved from that calamity. EVIL IDEOLOGIES ANNIHILATED

The fourth distinctive feature is that after the punishment from on high, the philosophy and way of life, which had hitherto been powerful and superior, is either annihilated or completely erased from the face of the Earth. On the other hand, the new ideology and way of life presented before the divine punishment, had been in a weak and dormant state, so much so, that it seemed as if nothing could breath any life into it. Yet it emerges victorious and rapidly ascends to the pinnacle of its glory. Sometimes, the philosophy, which confronted it, disintegrates into dust and the nascent philosophy reigns supreme. At other times the triumphant philosophy stands like a general over the defeated enemy, which

lies so disgraced and powerless that it has no choice but to surrender. TWO KINDS OF CATACLYSMS—NATURAL AND MAN-MADE

The cataclysms we observe in our material world are of two kinds: one which are completely beyond our control and once they start shaking our infrastructure and ultimately demolish it, we cannot stop them; the other being self-inflicted and initiated by our own hands can be minimized or prevented altogether. The Holy Qur’an mentions this fact that there are certain disorders appear in the Seas as well as on Earth caused by our own human hands:

‫سبَتْ َأيْدِي النّاسِ ِليُذِيقَهُم‬ َ َ‫حرِ بِمَا ك‬ ْ َ‫) َظهَ َر اْلفَسَادُ فِي اْلبَرّ وَاْلب‬30:42( َ‫ض الّذِي عَمِلُوا َلعَ ّلهُمْ يَ ْر ِجعُون‬ َ ْ‫َبع‬ The glaring examples of such catastrophes created by human intervention with nature, neglecting or willfully avoiding natural laws, are global warming, pollution, creation of ozone hole and certain epidemics like AIDS about which the Holy Prophet (s.a.) forewarned in the following words: "It never happens that permissiveness overwhelms a people to the extent that they display their acts of sex shamelessly and they are not uniquely punished by God. Among them, invariably, pestilence is made to spread and such other diseases, the like of which have never been witnessed by their forefathers." (Ibn-e-Majah, Kitab-ul-Fitan)

The Holy Qur’an wanes people not to invite their own death with their actions and deeds:

ْ‫سنُ َوا‬ ِ ْ‫ َوأَنفِقُواْ فِي َسبِيلِ اللّ هِ َولَ تُ ْلقُواْ بَِأيْدِيكُ مْ إِلَى الّتهْ ُل َكةِ َوَأح‬2:196 َ‫سنِي‬ ِ ْ‫ب الْمُح‬ ّ ِ‫ِإنّ ال ّلهَ يُح‬ It is now upon us to ponder which cataclysms fall under the category of natural disasters and which are those caused by our own misdeeds and deviation from natural and religious laws. Warning from the Divine Warner 

Truly do I say that the turn of this land, too is approaching fast. The times of Noah shall reappear before your eyes, and your own eyes will be witnesses to the calamity that overtook the cities of Lot. But God is slow in His wrath. Repent that you may be shown mercy! He who does not fear Him is dead, not alive." (Haqiqatul Wahy, pp.256-57).