BRIDGE OVER TROUBLED WATERS

By Babatunde Jose

When facing difficulties, our weak faith can sometimes drive us to question the fairness of it all. In this context, we should remind ourselves that believing in al-Qadr (Allah’s divine will and decree) is one of the pillars of Islamic faith.

“No misfortune can happen on earth or in your souls but is recorded in a decree before We bring it into existence: That is truly easy for Allah: In order that ye may not despair over matters that pass you by, nor exult over favours bestowed upon you. For Allah loveth not any vainglorious boaster.” (Quran 57:22-23)

As believers we should recognize that only Allah’s Grace and Mercy can deliver us from challenging situations. Life is full of twists and turns. We will all experience many highs and moments of great happiness, but there will inevitably be periods when we experience pain, sadness, and tougher times. It’s in these moments that we find comfort in the people closest to us. We all look for that special person who’s prepared to reach out a helping hand and ease our troubles with love and support.

For many observers, today’s world seems indecipherable. The Earth is in such jeopardy that some scientists speak of a new accelerated geological era. The resurgence of barbarism and terrorism in the name of religion is seen as a historical regression.

At the same time, waves of technological innovations are constantly surging, particularly in the fields of energy and information — sources of economic, ecological, and social transformations. These advances point to an accelerated evolution of the human being.

Never has the present been subjected to such a tectonic shock between its future and its past, the consequences of which seem difficult to foresee and can sometimes be distressing.

Between naïve belief in the unlimited benefits of technology and resignation to the cycle of calamities, there is room to build global governance aiming at organising a geopolitical order to derive the best of the human experience.

We live in a time when it is not popular or politically correct to be a believer. God and His people are mocked by the media. They are portrayed as narrow-minded, bigoted, judgmental, and self-righteous phonies. Our values and morality are scoffed at, and religious zealots are condemned and vilified. Yet there is a case for faith and a need for God in our lives.

We live in a time where right is called wrong and wrong is called right. The media is brainwashing our children into believing that there is no such thing as absolute truth – that truth depends solely upon what you think is right now.

As a result, morality has gone the way of the dinosaur, and those that are godly are feeling more and more like David did way back when he wrote Psalm 12: “Help, Lord; for the godly man ceaseth; for the faithful fail from among the children of men. They speak vanity to everyone with his neighbour: with flattering lips and with a double heart do they speak. . . . . .”

When we see the corruption and godlessness that surround us every day, we need to pray for one another so that we will be strong and not influenced by the world. We need a bridge over our troubled waters. When our souls are weary, and we are feeling small; and there are tears in our eyes and we need someone to dry them. These are very trying times indeed. Things are rough, very rough.

The rains and floods have ravaged our land, our homes, and our farms, impoverishing us, turning the haves into have nots and the marginal poor into the wretched of the earth, hewers of wood and drawers of water. Poverty in the land has been exacerbated by unrelenting disasters that still promise to come. Yet, our leaders are more concerned with our PVCs and our votes in the coming election. Unfortunately, a dead man cannot marry, neither can he vote.

So, we need to pray for divine intervention for God to open the eyes and minds of our leaders to our present predicament. Pray that they will make godly decisions and uphold what is right.

In the light of the ungodly society that we find ourselves in, we need to do everything that we can do to live beyond reproach. We should all be of one mind:

“So, verily, with every difficulty, there is relief: Verily, with every difficulty there is relief.” (Quran 94: 5-6)See also, (Quran 3:160), (Qur’an 2:214)

Natural disasters around the world are occurring at an alarming rate. We are witnessing earthquakes that demolish whole cities, wildfires that burn thousands of acres, and cyclones that cause mass flooding and property damage.

Whether they are raging wildfires, deluges of violent rain, or forceful movements in the earth’s crusts, the impact of natural disasters is merciless and immeasurable. High death tolls and property damage leave people devastated. The scope of these events inevitably causes political, social, and economic turmoil, amplifying the tragedy and creating a vulnerable climate.

Historically, some natural disasters have almost ended the world; such as the Tunguska event, the largest impact event in recorded history which occurred on 30th June 1908 in Podkamennaya Tunguska River in Siberia, Russian. The explosion represents energy about 1,000 times greater than that of the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima, Japan. It knocked down some 80 million trees over an area of 2,150 sq km.

Because these are forces, we are yet to master the technology to prevent, the time has come for all men to seek divine protection from the vagaries of natural disasters.

We cannot stop the wind from developing into gale force or preventing it from transforming into a hurricane or typhoon. No matter the dykes we build and the seawalls we erect, we cannot prevent the rising of the tide and the ocean from surging and eroding our land. We are helpless against torrential rains that refuse to stop and create monumental floods.

We cannot stop the Arctic ice from melting, nor can we stop the volcanoes from erupting. We can also not prevent the earth from quaking: Science has not invented the ways to prevent tectonic movements. America, with all its technology could not prevent Hurricane Andrew, nor were they able to prevent the equally devastating Michael with its attendant cost in human misery.

Violent natural disasters have been a fact of human life since the beginning of time, but the death counts of the most ancient of these disasters are lost to history.

The Minoan eruption of Thera, dated around 1500 BC was one of the largest volcanic events in recorded history. It devastated the island of Thera (now called Santorini). Environmental effects were felt across the globe, as far away as China and perhaps even North America and Antarctica.

The legend of Atlantis and the story of the Biblical plagues and subsequent exodus from Egypt have also been connected to the epic catastrophe.

There are no first-person accounts of what happened that day, but scientists can compare it to the detailed records available from the famous eruption of Krakatoa, Indonesia, in 1883. That fiery explosion killed upwards of 40,000 people in just a few hours, produced colossal tsunamis 40 feet tall, spewed volcanic ash across Asia, and caused a drop in global temperatures and created strangely colored sunsets for three years. The blast was heard 3,000 miles away.

Thera’s eruption was four or five times more powerful than Krakatoa, geologists believe. A drop in temperatures caused by the massive amounts of Sulphur dioxide spouted into the atmosphere led to several years of cold, wet summers in the region, ruining harvests.

The eruption has also been loosely linked with the Biblical story of Moses and the exodus from Egypt. The effects of Thera’s eruption could have explained many of the plagues described in the Old Testament, including the days of darkness, and polluting of the rivers, according to some theories.

The earthquake that occurred in Japan on 11 March 2011 was measured at magnitude 9.0 by the US Geological Survey and was one of the most powerful ever recorded. The tsunami that hit north-eastern Japan following the earthquake was 15 meters high in some areas and it travelled 10 km inland. Moving at high speed it washed away everything in its path including people and property. It also devastated the nuclear power plant at Fukushima. As a result of this natural disaster the number of people dead or missing is put at around 30,000 and the Japanese economy suffered a major blow.

Hurricane Katrina struck the states of Louisiana and Mississippi in August 2008, 1,836 people died and overall damage was estimated as exceeding $100 billion. Although this was America’s costliest natural disaster, the deadliest natural disaster in US history was the Galveston Hurricane of 1900 that killed between 6,000 and 12,000 people in Galveston.

Natural disasters are happening here too, and they bring untold hardship to our people. Here we are, uninsured, insecure, and unprotected against natural disasters. Our farms are game for flash floods to destroy, leading to increased food insecurity in a clime where food is not enough.

Landslides and gully erosion are daily threatening the lives of people in parts of the East, without any succor or hope on the horizon. Most states in the country have been inundated by floods and the number of internally displaced people has increased astronomically.

Disasters may be explosions, earthquakes, floods, hurricanes, tornados, or fires: In a disaster, you face the danger of death or physical injury. You may also lose your home, possessions, and community. Such stressors place you at risk for emotional and physical health problems.

At such times we should realize: To God do belong the unseen (secrets) of the heavens and the earth, and to Him goeth back every affair (for decision): then worship Him, and put thy trust in Him: and thy Lord is not unmindful of aught that ye do. (Quran 11:123)

There is no doubt however, prayers, good deeds and meditation can be comforting and inspiring, but human exacerbated problems such as famine, plague and war can only be solved through human efforts. May Allah give us the fortitude to face our challenges.